Paddling under Scotland's gloomy skies to dreary beaches...just teasing!

The dreamlike land and waterscape, near Arisaig, 

The deeply evocative landscape of Scotland's west coast takes one's breath completely away. The turquoise, emerald, and deep blue waters, white sandy beaches, and dark volcanic rock create a stunning portrait - wherever you look. Inner Hebridean islands, their mountains reaching into the clouds on the horizon, beckon the paddler to cross over...to yet another world.

lan picked a perfect weather window and an ideal launch spot, Arisaig's Loch nan Cealas, for approximately 30 kilometres of paddling that will linger in the mind and imagination for a very long time to come.

Scottish philosopher, David Hume, wrote, ""Beauty in things exists merely in the mind which contemplates them." It would be very difficult to imagine a mind that could not contemplate, and be profoundly moved, by this pristine and timeless environment.

Water so crystal clear...it's hardly there. 

I have found, through many years of observing, that there is beauty everywhere. Sometimes it is expected, sometimes it is serendipitous. It can be secreted away, visible only when one is persistent. At other times, it is simply everywhere you look, such as in this place. Always, it is a reflection of this marvellous planet that we all share.

Looking "down", from the kayak cockpit,
 reveals a similar beauty to looking "around".

To look for beauty is to find it. To make each such discovery, is to be enriched...and that's why we must always be "searchers". On this day, over the many hours on the water, each paddle stroke, revealed a new and delightful treasure.

Ian and Joan and the distant "Nose of Sgùrr"
on the Inner Hebridean island of Eigg - between the paddle blades.

There's more to come...