60 Degrees North

 

Shetland is at 60 degrees north. On par with Norway, Greenland, the Yukon and Nunavut. Obviously there is a craggy, mountainous range that follows along the parallel as they can clearly be seen rising from the inland waters here. In places, the scenery is similar to what I have seen of the Fjords in Norway and indeed the inner passage in Alaska.

The scenery is just so incredibly dramatic at points and there simply aren't enough laybys to be able to get out and capture even a portion of it. 

I left Yell this morning and was one of two vehicle/passengers on the ferry back to Shetland's mainland. The scenery in those first few miles is absolutely breathtaking. 

On the recommendation of a couple I had breakfast with at the B&B, I went to visit St Ninian's Isle. Again, absolutely breathtaking but on a very different level. Instead of crags and fjords, this was a sandy beach. Split in two by a sand tombolo. The tombolo was formed by the sea from the west being sent around the island in both directions and meeting again on the eastern side of the island. The waves carried along sand and shells from the sea as it moved around both sides of the island, and deposited them here, forming a sand spit that links the island to the mainland, much like a causeway, but made of sand and shells. Very dramatic while also very peaceful. 

I will be staying in Lerwick for the rest of my time in Shetland, making short trips to see other parts of the island.