Sumburgh Head - puffin hunting

Before I left Denmark I did quite a lot of research that would prevent me from wasting valuable time whilst in Scotland. I read about Jarlshof, a prehistoric archaeological site near the Sumburgh Airport. I read about birds, otters, whales and the weather. And today I wanted to go see for myself. So instead of driving back to the Alderlodge Guest House I headed south. Around 45 minuts later I arrived at the Sumburgh Hotel where Jarlshof is situated.
The weather had changed again. More rain.
Before anything else I had to go eat something. I parked in front of the hotel and went in. In the bar people were eating and talking vividly. I went straight up to the bar and grabbed a menu card and ordered a lamb burger :) It was good and afterwards I had a single scoop of ice cream with a wafer on the side.

Quite full I went outside and took the time to read the sign about Jarlshof - in some sort of Norwegian :) Surprisingly enough they charged an entrance fee. Rather weird since I could see it from where I stood. Anyway, I thought I'd go see some puffins instead. They had been my main priority all along. My dad thought 'puffins' was another wool related word ;) And now we all know that he doesn't know a lot about knitting or birds ;)


I didn't see any puffins to begin with. But I did get a taste of the extreme winds that blow here on Shetland! And I saw a couple of rabbits - yes, rabbits, not hares. So cute :)


Top left: The Sumburgh Lighthouse.
Top right: A puffin!!!! :) You should see those little guys fly; every other bird I can think of holds its feet close to its body while flying. But not these fellas. No no, their feet just hang out like an aeroplane's landing gear still down. Puffins let the wind carry them, not just up like seagulls do it, but also from left to right and back again. They're like little missiles (cute ones, that is) so fast and fun to watch :)
Buttom left: It was actually somewhat sunny in spite of the darkness in the photo. The wind, however, was overwhelming and very real.
Buttom right: View to the South