Meeting people of the world

I'm starting to blip again after our sad loss of Bomble. I'll add some backblips in due course. Right now Helena and I are now on holiday on the coast of the west Highlands of Scotland (see map) a few miles south of Ballachulish. We are staying with her mother Kirsty in a house close to the beach at Cuil Bay, near to the old house in which the family when Helena was in her teens.

Our day started with a twenty-five mile drive south along the coast to Oban, where Kirsty had business with her accountant. This was followed by a visit to M., Helena's youngest sister, and her partner S., who earlier this year moved to their new small holding in an ancient woodland formerly belonging to the local Barcaldine Castle. There we met and were entertained by their four goats, eight ducks, chickens, cat and dog. It is early days but they are already on their way to creating an amazing homestead.

Late in the afternoon Helena's sister K. arrived and attired with wetsuits they walked down to Cuil beach, which has been their playground off and on for forty years. I drove down with my camera gear a while later hoping to catch part of the fabulous sunset over the hills on the far shore of Loch Linnhe. We sat chatting for a while until the sisters walked back to the house.

I sat on the edge of the beach on a large driftwood tree trunk watching other visitors to the beach swimming and on playing on paddleboards as I took occasional pictures. I noticed a man had returned to his towel on the grass on the edge of the beach just behind me, and before long he started unfurling a tent. I said hello and we engaged in conversation fore some time. After some lengthy chat we soon introduced ourselves and I asked James if I could take his picture. He kindly agreed and when he offered to stand in a pose I said I'd prefer to just catch him as he set up his camp. That may not have been the best suggestion as the diminishing light and his movements made getting a 'good' shot tricky.

I'm blipping this picture as it shows James' vehicle, and the red canoe on top. Earlier he had canoed across from the big local harbour and port at Oban across to the Isle of Mull. When we go to Mull we have to take the forty-five minute ferry ride! He told me about his life as a wandering sailor, adventureer, climber and film-maker. His sailing yacht had to be left behind in the West Indies after he'd single-handedly sailed it there just before Covid changed all the world's travel arrangements. He has now returned to the west Highlands which is a region he loves and combines climbing, canoeing, walking and planning his next film project in the Arctic. James loves Cuil Bay and being allowed to camp on the seashore here. We discussed the mutual area of media employment, although my time in the tv industry had mostly ended by the late 1990s.

I really enjoyed meeting James and I'm very glad I made conversation so that he can be part of my blips. You can have a look at his world in these articles about him:

James Aiken shares his passion for solo adventure on the high seas

Solo sailing with James Aiken

Helena (aka Woodpeckers) has already blipped the reverse view of the sea from this same spot.

Earlier in the day we had lunch at a cafe near Dunstaffnage Castle. I saw a curlew feeding on the mud flats as the tide was out, which I've added as an 'Extra'

PS
Kirsty's house is a few hundred yards to the right of the white house you can see towards the right of thispicture.