The Bog of Eternal Stench

Given it was my first time in a sea kayak, we thought it prudent to paddle the short distance to Arisaig to collect some fresh water. The journey there was straight out of a Disney movie. Seals came bobbing along to say good morning. Oystercatchers would swoop by to whistle hello. Herons stood to attention as if they were giving us a guard of honour into the bay.

At the entrance to the harbour a flotilla of sea kayaks greeted us and warned of the a turn in the weather... A storm is brewing.

With our jobs done in Arisaig, we discovered our first rookie error of the trip... The tide had gone out, leaving an ever expanding expanse of mud mounds made of grey gelatinous gloop. Alistair took charge and led our first futile attempt to escape our pestilential prison. We admitted defeat as we were knee deep in the most foul smelling, putrid, rotting organic matter. That smell will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Our retreat resulted in losing the odd shoe, which, unlike our pride, eventually resurfaced. The winning strategy was to carry our three fully laden boats over slimy, seaweed-covered rocks. The eventual escape led to Loch Nan Ceall and the Arisaig skerries. Here, we stopped for a spot of lunch on a pristine white beach.

Around the headland, we left behind the crystal clear waters surrounding the sandy skerries and entered the emerald green depths of the Sound of Arisaig. A swarm of jelly fish guarded the entrance to the sound and once they allowed us to pass, we threaded our way between the turrets of sedimentary and igneous rock. Beyond the rock sentries, we found a white shell beach with gin clear waters. Closer inspection revealed a babbling brook of fresh drinking water and a flat green meadow where we could pitch our tents. No discussion was required. This was home for the night.

After establishing camp, we watched a sea otter playfully hunt for his evening feed. This special moment ended abruptly when the sea otter, with a mouthful of food, swam directly towards us. He was less than two meters away when our eyes met, he paused momentarily and then scarpered. Come to think of it... Given his reaction, the sea otter was probably a girl ;-)

The storm, as foretold by our fellow sea kayakers, arrived with surprising punctuality forcing us into our tents for the night.