Friday on the Isle of Man...

[fajrdrako]

I'm sitting in the Amber Bar, underneath my hotel, with live music and a cup of tea. No one here serves Earl Grey. What's with that?

I love the Isle of Man. I walked myself nearly to exhaustion today. I took an electric train to the top of a mountain, Snaefell Mountain, and I saw a lot of sheep with odd horns, a 19th century mine, a huge red waterwheel - and a sweet little girl waving bye-bye to the wheel from the train. I walked around Ramsey and bought an irresistible piece of cloth in a charity shop, and ate fish and saute for lunch. I wrote a pile of postcards and went by bus to Peel, where I walked around Peel Castle after its closing time in heavy rain and wind, musing on how many other castles I've seen in similar adverse conditions, loving every minute as I watched my map disintegrate in my hands. I met a girl at the Peel bus station, who is from Winnipeg.

Man isn't quite like I expected. As islands go, it's more like Malta than Orkney, though colder. It rained when I was in Malta, too. Though only once. I'll reserve judgment till I see what the weather of Man offers tomorrow. Mild temperatures and dry sunshine, I hope.

Bus drivers here are delightful: polite, friendly, funny, and they drive like stunt men on a bender.