Day 3 (Sandamhòr - Traigh Lathaig)

A beautiful dawn just before yon time (see extra).

The hut owner’s daughter (she does have name, but... ) told me yesterday that a walk over to the beaches on the west of the island would be worth the effort. Good advice. A beautiful beach and wonderful views of Rùm.

I got my socks and shoes off and paddled along the beach. Released my inner child... My feet needed a wash anyway. Mind you, the warming effect of the Gulf Stream wasn’t very noticeable.  

A few interesting facts about Eigg:-
- the island has never been connected to the national electricity grid, so each house had a noisy, dirty, expensive diesel generator to produce power (the diesel arrived by ship from the mainland);
- in 2008 the islanders set up their own electricity supply grid. They generate using 4 wind turbines, PV panels, and 3 micro hydroelectric generators. They have batteries for storage and diesel generators as a fall back in case there has been no sun, wind or rain;
- each home is allowed a maximum of 5kw electricity consumption, and has a meter to show how much is being used. People have learned not to boil the kettle and run the washing machine at the same time.   

The Blip? Rùm seen from Traigh Lathaig.

Another extra is one of the crofts over at A’Chuagach. I wonder if they fly the flag every day, or if there was a special event today?

Having bumped into a rusting Zetor 6911 on my walk, and it being a Tuesday, I felt the need to add a shot of it as an extra too. Seems Zetor was a Czechoslovakian brand, and sales of their 6911 started in 1977. Clearly this one is going nowhere, but the engine is hooked up to the saw behind it, so it must still work! It’s a long way from Brno to Eigg...