A very murky start to the day. Boats feel damp very quickly. But fortunately dry out quickly when it cheers up! We went ashore at 10 as it was Sunday and I wanted a few gifty things and J was going to do the grocery shopping. A lot of people about and most of the shops seemed open. We went across to the marina office to pay our dues. I had wanted to go to the Hebridean whale and dolphin trust shop but it didn’t open til 12. I saw the Tobermory cat ! He is a notorious character in this small town…. has had books written about him and everything and he seems to be going strong. J did a meagre shop as the shelves were not very well stocked… very limited fresh stuff! Anyway. Got what I wanted and went back to our bakery buoy ( as we call it …..cos it’s near the bakers shop- though sadly no bakery open today! ) The Sunday papers hadn’t got in on the ferry yet so another trip was needed for that! When J got back with the paper he suddenly said “ get your camera “ , and there , sitting eating a fish on our bakery buoy , was an otter! We watched him/ her for a good 5 minutes before she/ he swam off ….. only to return a few minutes later when I got some video. Maybe our buoy is his/her favourite to sit on. We called it Max as you can see why from the photo! It is such a privilege to be able to observe wild animals at close quarters. Eventually we left Tobermory in the damp grey weather but Max had lifted our spirits and we set off. Before heading out…. went to look at Aros bay in the far corner of Tobermory bay, where we’d been told there are 2 visitors moorings quite away from the town so really like a separate anchorage. Looking forward to trying them next time we’re here. The sail down the sound was quiet and peaceful with the wind behind us. I had put in a request for attaching ourselves to a pontoon at Loch Aline tonight, as I wanted to have a shower ( proper) dry my hair ( properly) , have WiFi, watch telly ( the highlights of the open) and have a really good nights sleep! The little marina wasn’t busy so we found ourselves a suitable berth and had a lovely evening doing all those things! Chicken curry to eat followed by coop trifles! 😋
Tobermory cat 
Nasty polluting Glensanda boat
What I learned today…..otters and other sea mammals have a special way of keeping warm ( rather than layers of blubber like seals have) it’s all to do with the mitochondria in their muscles. Leaky muscles make them generate a 3 x metabolic rate. Meaning they must eat a lot in order to keep warm.🥶🍰 Sue x.
Angelique 