Today we arrived in Killybegs. The weather was okay - late teens temperature wise and no wind so fairly pleasant and the rain stayed away. Killybegs is pretty small, and not a whole lot to see. We managed to walk the community, have a great breakfast and then walk the waterfront. got our steps in and had quite a nice time.
The sail out of Killybegs provided some great scenery and some porpoise spotting. The eclipse was a bit of a non-event. The ship had a nice celebration leading up to the official time, free drinks and partial eclipse cookies, the eclipse itself wasn't very noticeable and not particularly photogenic. As you can tell from the photos it was quite cool and windy on deck watching.

Below: Irish Coast as we sail for Galway

Below: Eclipse event on deck 7 & 8 - 94-96% 

At 7:09pm the time of the eclipse.

Today we were back in Derry (Londonderry) for our second time. Last segment Portrush was replaced by Londonderry due to high swells. Today we took the shuttle into the city so we could walk the magnificent waterfront and trails.
On our first visit we barely paid attention to the Guild House. This time we spent some time admiring this magnificent building for its architecture, high ceilings, amazing pipe organ and it's history as the home of the Inquiry into the Bloody Sunday Massacre.

Today had a very full day. We took the ships shuttle into Belfast this morning and then went exploring from there. Our first stop was the post office - we brought some British Pounds with us from previous vacations without realizing that the money is now outdated. After some online research we discovered we could get our useless paper money into spendable polymer bills at the main post office in Belfast. Super simple once we found the right place.
From here we walked the city exploring the murals and fenced areas remaining and commemorating "The Troubles".
This afternoon we took a tour to the Giant Causeway. Before picking up our bus we visited the famous Crown Bar and even enjoyed a surprisingly affordable lunch there. 
After boarding our bus we traveled through the beautiful Irish countryside with a stop at a famous cliff crossing footbridge. 
We arrived at the Giant Causeway around 3pm. 
The Giant's Causeway is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, featuring over 40,000 interlocking basalt columns formed by volcanic activity 60 million years ago. Located 2 miles from Bushmills, the site is managed by the National Trust and is free to access from dawn to dusk.
The causeway is about a 1km walk downhill and is a very popular site as you'll see from the number of people here. After our visit we returned to Belfast to catch our shuttle back to the ship.

Today we took the train into Dublin. We had a great time exploring the city. We walked to the Guinness Stone House, The Brazen Head Bar (oldest in Dublin) had lunch in a lovely pub and then returned to Dun Laoghaire to explore the community. Ended our time ashore with a Parisienne style treat, soft ice cream topped with homemade marshmallow which is then toasted and topped with dark chocolate. Yummy!!!

Sadly we were unable to go ashore today. Yesterday we larned we would have to anchor off shore and tender into the dock because a ship experiencing mechanical issues was occuying our assigned berth and couldn't move. Today the swell was over one metre and the Captain and crew deemed it too dangerous to use the tenders. 
The sun is out, the wind remains cold and as a bit of accommodation the ship is circling the Isle of Man so we can see the island from the sea before we head to Dublin tonight.  So today became a bit of a lazy day, sleep in, coffee and breakfast in bed followed by a hot tub, lunch and some time in the loungs to admire the views. We're doing room service tonight for dinner in an effort to eat less and more importantly earlier. We haven't been leaving the dining room before 8:15 and often  closer to or after 9pm. Too late for my liking and Adrian's metabolism. So we're trying a big lunch and a light supper in our cabin - we will see!
Todays the last day on this cruise segment so I included our friend's artwork at the end of this post too! 

Our friend Steve's artwork from this segment.

Today we're in Londonderry. We were supposed to be in Portrush today but our itinerary changed do to high swells in Portrush. We would have been tendering ashore in Portrush and the swells made it unsafe - fortunately we are docked in Derry instead. 
The weather continues to be cool, cloudy with intermittent rain. We are docked 20 minutes away from the city centre so we had to take a shuttle into the port. Londonderry is famous for its Peace Bridge constructed in 2013 and for it's city walls. The 17th Century city walls, allows visitors to step back in time and feel the presence of the past when you encounter actors who play their historical parts and introduce you to the history in an entertaining way.
Today we walked the wall, took pictures of the view, walked the "old town" streets and then managed to walk the Peace Bridge before returning to the shuttle and then the ship. 
We return to Derry on our next leg as well so we didn't see all the sights today - for example we didn't get to see the murals - much like Belfast, Londonderry was involved in the Troubles and there are many murals depicting or commemorating moments in time. We'll complete our tour next visit when, fingers crossed, the weather will be better.

What a great day we had in Oban. The sun came out with certainly lifted our mood. Today we were anchored quite a way from the port and the community of Oban. Nestled in a quite secluded harbour, about a 20 minutes tender ride from our ship, this is the home of Oban Whisky.
Our first stop was a bit of an uphill hike to McCaigs Tower. The remaining round stone structure has been loosely compared to the parthenon in Greece. The tower provided excellent views of the town, harbour and the surrounding islands. 
From here we wandered though some of the residential areas before landing on the waterfront for a coffee. After our coffees we headed down the waterfront promenade toward the Dunollie Castle. We didn't visit the castle, but we need walk beyond it wand along the harbour. It was a beautiful day for a walk. The community has a beautiful beach with plenty of access points along the way.
Once back in town it was time for some fish and chips at the famous Norries. While the fish was good, the fries weren't crispy enough for me and the meal was a bit dear, as they say here - $54.61 Canadian!!!!
After the fish and chips we headed to the Oban distillery for a wee dram or more. Adrian decided to try a flight os four beers and I opted for a cocktail. I was hoping to find something that didn't taste too much like scotch. Although very pretty my choice didn't quite masque the taste so Adrian had to come to my rescue. 
While waiting to take the tender back to the ship we spotted a boat from Nanaimo, BC - sure enough the owners were on board and we got to say high to a few fellow Canadians - it is indeed a small world. 
Quite hilariously the tender back to the ship was full of lots of conversations - seems most of the ships passengers had indulged in a tasting at the Oban distillery or equivalent too - they were a jolly bunch.

We had a marvelous day today in Ullapool. The rainy weather stayed away and we even saw the sun for a bit this morning. We're anchored today and had to use the ship's tenders to get shore. Happily we were close enough that it was only about a 10 minute ride and the tenders ran continuously. 
We ventured ashore just before 10 am. We arrive in port most days around 8 am, however since very few stores/restaurants are open at that hour, we usually sleep in a bit, enjoy our coffee and head ashore after all the folks headed on tours have left. 
Ullapool is a lovely coastal and walkable town. Once ashore we realized that there were several hikes available around and/or up to the top of Ullapool's hill. So we chose to do the hill hike - listed as 1 hour and 45 minutes. Ullapool and indeed some of Scotland reminded me of past trip to Fogo Island, Newfoundland, during covid.
The hike up the hill, following the stone paths, surrounded by blooming heather was simply magical. Exactly the way I had envisioned a hike in Scotland might be. It was a decent climb and we were excited to get some real exercise in. The weather held and we had a wonderful dry trek up the hill and back down. 
Once back in town we hit the shops and then the Seaforth Restaurant for some authentic, albeit very expensive, fish and chips. The prices here are very high and the exchange just adds insult to injury. 
We were back on board for our 3 pm High Tea - this tea was for those of us doing the full 80 day voyage - there are 12 of us. We started with the ships cocktail of the day, followed by our choice of hot tea and scones with clotted cream and jam, finger sandwiches and all kinds of cakes, cookies and a truly exceptional lemon  macaron. Having just had lunch we decided dinner was off table for tonight - so to speak. 
Adrian has bad knees from a lifetime of hockey and other activities and his fall in Bergen didn't help one of them - however the hot tub on the ship, along with the cocktail of the day served at the tea both went a long way to making him feel better. We're off to Oban tonight. So far we've had pretty good seas and winds, fingers crossed tonight is the same.

Today we visited Kirkwall. A lovely small town. Sadly we had a very rainy day in Kirkwall and another large ship in port. It was rainy enough that we didn't walk to town, we took the shuttle. Adrian wanted local fish and chips for lunch but we were unable to find a restaurant (that wasn't take out) so that lunch continues to be on our agenda for the next pot. All of these coastal Scottish communities have a similar look and feel. This one was an interesting mix of quite lovely high end-ish shops and at least a dozen charity shops. For a small community the number of charity shops was quite remarkable. We had a great day despite the rain and chilly 10 degree weather.
The wind came up in the afternoon and our departure was delayed a few hours while we waited for a tug boat to assist in our departure. The tug happened to be working on our side of the ship!

Today we're are docked in Invergorden and we decided to take our first guided tour offered by the ship. Titled" The Ultimate Loch Ness Outlander Experience" our tour starts with a tour of 14th century Urquhart Castle situated on the banks of Loch Ness. After touring the castle we boarded a boat for a cruise and storytelling in Loch Ness. Loch Ness is 37 Km long, 1.6 kms wide and 230 meters deep. We disembarked at Dochgarroch Loch and  we went to the Kings Mill Hotel for lunch. After lunch we visited the famous battlefield of Culloden. About 1500 Jacobites  were killed during the battle in comparison to about 50 British Soldiers. The site graves and clan names are marked by stones and a croft erected by the landowners to commemorate the battle and mark the area as a gravesite. You can see red and blue flags marking the battle lines. Our tour ended with a visit to the Clava Cairns built about 4,000 years ago to house the dead. The standing stones are a huge draw for outlander fans. We had a great time - even though it was cool and rainy. 

Above visitor centre for Urquhart Castle and below the castle tour.

Rocks listing all the clans who participated in the battle