Day 2 (post by Kay)
Mousa. Five years ago I tried to get to the island of Mousa, famous for the most well preserved Iron Age broch tower in the world. It was a glorious sunny day (each one is golden in Shetland) and I and my friend and colleague Cristina, who had come to visit, lured by the exoticism of Shetland, waited for the Mousa boat in vain while we watched it speed past and away to the broch without us. The departure harbour had been changed ad-hock due to the weather.
Today was a success story. Mousa did not disappoint. It was forecast to be the sunniest day of the week, and it was gorgeous. The boat was so packed; they had to do two trips. The island is now an RSPB nature reserve, with important breeding colonies of seals and seabirds, including the storm petrel, which nest within the Broch walls.
We spent three hours walking a circuit of the island, and saw seals, and a variety of birds including storm petrels, great skuas, black guillemots and arctic terns. Joseph made some sound recordings along the walk, capturing the sound of seals “snorting” and lots of birdcalls against the background murmuring of the sea. The interesting thing about me being with him while he is recording is that I have to be motionless so as not to make any noise so the microphones don’t pick up unwanted sound. Therefore I am forced to be still and absorb the environment through sight or sound, which is, I admit, unusual or one could even say a challenge for me! Anyone who knows me understands that I do not easily stop – for any reason. But I loved every minute of it. What a place! How lucky we are to be in a place where we can stop, perforce, and enjoy such treasures of nature.
After the boat brought us back to the mainland, we came back to the booth and sat in the sunshine on our terrace by the water’s edge. Idyllic.
