Time changed overnight and we totally screwed up the alarm (trying to figure out if our phone would change time on or off wi-fi really screwed things up) and instead of being able to sleep in late, we were jolted out of bed at 6:00am!!! Lerwick is a charming town of about 23,000 folks. Peaceful and full of wildflowers and more sheep than you can shake a stick at: approximately 100,000-150,000 sheep. The oil industry in this area is very robust.  In Norway, the Oil Fund developed by the government supports healthcare, education, pensions, and infrastructure. A similar fund in Scotland supports recreation centers and elder care. The Shetland Islands continue to improve their services like hospitals and education to become more independent since the mainland is 110 miles away. 

When you make it to Mousa Island, you notice how green and boggy the island is and there are no trees. The early inhabitants of the island, the Norse Vikings, cut down all the trees for heat and building. When new seedlings would start to grow, the numerous sheep ate them, in addition to gale-force winds and poor soil quality. So now there is not a single tree on the island. The island is famous for the Broch of Mousa, the best preserved Iron Age roundhouse in the world, A stone structure that was built about 300BC and was later occupied by the Norse Vikings, but no one seems to know who built it.  This particular Broch remains in good condition partly because it was not cannibalized to use the stones for other buildings because no one else lived there until 1765 and was abandoned by 1865. There are currently no inhabitants except for sheep, Shetland Ponies, and Storm-kestrels.

Our guide was an older woman who became very insulted when I asked a question and used the phrase “The Shetlands”. She said it was an insult to the residents and they preferred Shetland (no s) or Shetland Islands. She started to walk huffily away from me then came back and said” that would be like if we called North Carolina and South Carolina “The Carolinas” and I said,” We do that all the time” and she stormed off!!

We then headed into the town center of Lerwick for some shopping. Their sweaters are beautiful (just make sure they do not have a Made in Norway tag on them) and a couple found their way into my suitcase!