Mainland Island in the Orkney Islands - July 14, 2016

Approaching Mainland Island in the Orkney Islands, where we stopped in the town of Kirkwall:

See that post coming up from the island on the far left?

It's called "The Old Man of Hoy, which looks like this up close (picture from Wikipedia):

Once we arrived in Kirkwall we noticed these large yellow contraptions in the harbor. They are wave/tidal power machines that convert the sea's energy into electricity, and Orkney is one of the global leaders in developing these devices:

From the advanced to the ancient, we visited the Ring of Brodgar, built 2500 - 2000 BC, which was before Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Egypt. When originally created, this ring had stones at 60 points, each 6 degrees apart, and formed into a perfect circle:

Lindsay, of course:

We also visited the Maeshowe Tomb, which is believed to have been built about 2800 BC.

Here's the entrance...claustrophobia anyone? Only Jill was brave enough to go inside!

What I would have seen had I crawled through that tunnel and been allowed to take pictures inside (thanks Google Images!):

The scenery was breathtaking:

Back to Kirkwall for a little souvenir hunting. While the Orkney Islands are Scottish, the place was really settled by Norwegians. Here's St. Magnus Cathedral:

Here's Jill discovering there isn't much--besides wave turbines--to buy on Mainland Island:

Departing Kirkwall we were serenaded with Scottish music: