This would be the last port day in an English speaking country, though I didn't know it at the time. We had scheduled an excursion to see the Ring of Brodan and Skara Brae, and that wouldn't leave until 11:15. So that meant we would have room service deliver breakfast to the room, and we could enjoy it at leisure.
At 9:15, our breakfast came, and we feasted. (It's nice to have room service for breakfast!) Then, we were off on our shore excursion. I didn't know much about the Orkneys, especially about its ancient settlements. It was good to hear the tour guide talk about the Ring of Brodar and Skara Brae on the way to these sites.
The Orkney islands are beautiful, and the road to these heritage sites was alone worth going on the shore excursion. Our first stop was at the Stones of Stenness.these stones are a henge similar to that at Stonehenge. And next was the Ring of Brodar. This ring was older than Stonehenge, and likely served a similar function. It's hard to believe that these stones were moved to these sites without the use of modern technology. Finally came Skara Brae - a settlement site that is 5,000 years old. This was the most the most interesting site on the tour, but not the most photogenic one.
Finally, it was back to the ship, and we were among the last to board the ship.
