I Is for Iona

 

Welcome to the Island of Iona

Yes, we're going to another island, Iona, and you  may see a pattern here. I have a love of islands. In the last few days we've been to the Faroe Islands, Greenland and now Iona. Our next stop will also include a chain of islands, and there are more islands to come in later posts. I'm still thinking about what draws me to islands, but I'd wanted to visit Iona since I read about it in History class in college and I was not disappointed. 

Iona is an island in the Western Hebrides off the coast of Scotland. It was part of a cruise I took in 2019 that stopped in several Scottish Islands and ports. As eager as I was to see a number of the ports, Iona was a major part of the itinerary for me. It's not easy to access and I knew that if I skipped this opportunity it would be difficult to get there. It's lack of access is also what made its history. In the early Middle Ages, St. Columba established a church, monastery and many beautiful manuscripts were created by the monks of Iona Abbey. The Abbey functioned for three centuries and became the center of Celtic Christianity. 

The beautiful stonework of the Church

Though fifteen hundred years have passed since the founding of the Abbey and the world and methods of travel have speeded up, it was still a lengthy trip to get to Iona once we were in Scotland. Our boat traveled to the Isle of Mull -- a lovely place to visit -- and once there we drove across Mull to the ferry to Iona. It was then a quick trip across the Sound of Iona to this beautiful green and historic island. It was a rainy day on Iona, though May (when I visited) with only sixteen days of rain on the average, is the least rainy month. 

Betsy, my traveling companion, and St. Martin's Cross outside of the Abbey 

St. Martin's High Cross, standing fourteen feet high, is one of the most iconic scenes on Iona. One of the best preserved Celtic Religious monuments in the British Isles, it was dedicated to the French saint, Martin of Tours, who was venerated in Scotland, Wales and Western England when the Abbey was established. The cross is highly sculpted with scenes from the Bible on one side and Celtic decoration on the other. 

 

There are times when I've waited a long time -- years, decades -- to finally live out a dream and I've found that the expectation was better than the reality. But that wasn't the case with Iona. It was as mystical and serene as I'd always imagined. There are two reasons for this. The first is that I was able to be there in "off-season."  There aren't other people in the pictures, because there were very few other visitors the day we were there. It's not often these days that a historic site is quiet and uncrowded, but we were fortunate we had Iona almost to ourselves. The second reason is that Iona is that special, serene and spiritual and even the rain added to its beauty.    

In the next A to Z Blogging Challenge post we're about to go half way around the world. One of the places will also have serene and ancient beauty and the other location in the post will be as lively and modern as anywhere on earth. Any guesses?

As ever, thanks for visiting and wishes for a good weekend.