Two Whites

Luskentyre Beach

Many things can be colored white. Take for example, our outing in the rental car across vast stretches of lunar-like terrain. We drove from the northern end of the island of Lewis to the southern end of Harris. Yes, that Harris, where they make Harris Tweed. The topography was unlike any we have encountered elsewhere. Barren. Dramatic. Rocky to an extreme with vast swatches of low lying heather. Lakes punctuated the landscape, as did occasional houses.

The only road was as narrow as can be; much of it was one lane each direction with oncoming vehicles mere inches away. However, much of it was single track. That's right, one lane for vehicles going both ways. An oncoming vehicle, if it saw us, would inch off the side of the road at a "passing spot;" nothing more than a slight widening. We tried to do the same. Since it was raining, and since the winding hilly road had constant blind turns, visibility was compromised. The white in this case refers to Mike's knuckles. He was white knuckled (gripping the steering so hard that the blood left his hands and his knuckles turned white). Maybe, as a passenger, Beth's knuckles were also white.

Thankfully, the second white occurred at the end of the road at Luskentyre Beach. It is a stunningly beautiful beach set against a dramatic backdrop of rocks and mountains. Impressively, it has been rated one of the top 25 beaches in the world; it came out ahead of the Virgin Islands and some of the most photographed beaches in Spain and Italy. The sand, for miles, is a white as can be (see photo).