It does seem almost like yesterday that Brian and I visited the Isle of Man, yet also seems far away since so many things have transpired in the time between.  My friends informed me that we were lucky during our visit last year as this year the weather is not as nice.  I really do think God smiled on us on that trip as the whole trip was really beautiful!  The weather was mild and everything was in full bloom.  And while I thought I had lost some of my pictures when my computer crashed last October, I found just recently that my son, Matty, had saved my pictures on a CD without my knowing!  Thus I still have all my pictures after all!  So I’ve been looking through them again, and also looked in my journal as to what we were doing this day last year.  One of the things we did was take a boat ride out to the Calf of Man.  Afterward we hiked out to Milner’s Tower, then had dinner with our friends at The Garrison.

The Calf of Man is a small island off the south end of the Isle of Man.  No one lives there and is primarily a site for observation such as wildlife observation and such.  Here’s a small map of it.As I mentioned, the Calf of Man is just off the south of the Isle of Man.  At that southern tip of the Isle of Man is the Sound where there is also a restaurant called The Sound with large glass windows where one can dine and watch the view.  Brian and I tried to go there for a meal, but each time we visited, it was closed.  Apparently they had short operating hours.  We walked around the Sound anyway and took some shots.  Here’s Brian at the Sound.  The Calf of Man is just across the water behind.  There were also a couple memorial placcards explaining some shipwrecks that occurred in this location in the past.  One in the 1800s was particularly devastating where a number of people perished.

We wanted to take a closer look at the Calf of Man, so we found a boat ride that would take us out there.  The boat left from Port Erin.  Here’s a pic of the tiny boat we took.  The background is part of Port Erin.

I still remember how quiet this place was.  Since Brian and I didn’t know where to take a boat we had driven to Castletown Harbour first.  All looked quiet with not a person in sight.  We drove around and could see the boats out in the water, but no obvious clues as to who could direct us to charter a boat ride.  Finally we found a man working outside.  As we got closer I could see he was completely weathered and fully tatooed.   We asked him where everyone was and why it was so quiet.  I was wondering if it was a special holiday or something and perhaps everything was closed.  The man replied, “Oh no, it’s like this here every day.  This is our busy day!”  Ha ha ha!  Well now. . . talk about a sleepy town!  Fortunately, he was a nice guy and directed us to Port Erin where we could charter a boat ride.

When we got to Port Erin is was a “tad” busier, but not by much!  However we did find some men hanging out, and upon asking about a boat ride, they exclaimed, “We’ll take you!  We’re just waiting for another couple to arrive who are going to the Calf, so once they get here we can get going.”  Ha!  Ah, so that’s how it’s done. . . At the appointed time, we paid our fare and off we went.  One of the first shots I took as the boat left dock was of Milner’s Tower.  It can be seen on the left of the tip of this peninsula.  Not long after our boat ride, Brian and I hiked up to get a closer look at that tower.

It got a bit chilly out there, so had to don my hat. . .

This is just arriving at the Calf of Man.

On the way back we went up just half way around the Calf before heading back to Port Erin.  This is the half way point.  The lighthouse on the Calf can be seen from here.

While it’s difficult to see it in these pictures, there are actually sheep on the sides of these rocks.  The guides on our boat told us that the sheep often graze just off the sides of the cliffs, so sometimes they fall off, and they find a sheep dead in the water. . . awww.

As I mentioned that the Calf really is only an observation point, there are no facilities for visitors to stay.  IIRC, I believe this structure is the only one on the Calf.

I actually took a lot of pictures trying capture all the birds and seals and anything else on the boat ride, but they did not come out clear enough on my camera.  However some of the other boats on the water came out okay. . . Here’s one of a boat we crossed along the way.  The sailor is at the door in a yellow overall waving at us.  Probably have to squint to see him, hee.  Such friendly people!

This is just a shot of some of the rocks we came close to on the way back.

And finally at the end of our ride, I asked if we could take a picture with the Captian with his mate and his dog.  His dog was so cute and really seemed to love sailing.  The Captian was obviously a natural at this and said, “Sure!”  Then he grabbed his dog and threw his arm around me for this shot, heheheh.

A year later, I imagine them sailing there still with their dog and the lovely sea.

Ah, thank God for pleasant memories. . .

Marlakins