Where Scotland meets Scandinavia and the North Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean... Collected these memories in our trip reports: Not So Fair Isle. ANd Am ending this for a week until our return.   2020 and 2021  is hindsight and we were also the middle of the  global pandemic. Yet that didn't stop us from traveling. We took social distancing  to the nth degree and self isolated on Britain's most remote inhabited island , Fair Isle, population 45. Now 42 ,minus a dog named Skeylark too. But As Mac Arthur says, We Shall Return View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ed Reif (@edreif) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ed Reif (@edreif)

 

 The loneliest bull in the world on Britian's most remote inhabited island.  "I kissed a dog and I liked it" Carlos the Bull finds love at last, dating outside his species on Fair Isle.

 T he UAV can carry 100kg of mail of all sizes for a distance of 1,000km, and it was flown to our Fair Isle.  It  can fly in poor weather conditions, and if the trial is successful, the technology will be considered by Royal Mail.  A key aim is for the autonomous flights to reduce emissions compared to current delivery methods for a low carbon future. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ed Reif (@edreif)

 Sometimes it can feel like checking out is easier than leaving, due to the unpredictable weather at either end, Shetland mainland or here or Fair Isle. If you can see Sheep Rock, they can land a plane View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ed Reif (@edreif)

Want to lose weight this winter? Going wild swimming in cold seas, lakes and rivers could help, study finds Danish researchers recruited eight men who swam outdoors once a week They found the men had a lower pulse and reduced blood pressure Outdoor swimming is increasingly popular in both the UK and Denmark and here in Shetland on Fair Isl e Results point to winter swimming as an activity that could increase energy expenditure, thus proposing a new lifestyle activity that might contribute to weight loss or weight control View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ed Reif (@edreif) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ed Reif (@edreif) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ed Reif (@edreif)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ed Reif (@edreif) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ed Reif (@edreif)  

More sheeple Less People- Population 43 Posing for their glamor shot Cloud 10- total immersion into the rock pool with the reflective background supplyig inspiration and ambience After the rock pool I hiked up Malcom's head-a vertical climb of 750 feet or so...and then the majestic vista of the crofts, including ours on the left side a close up Show rather than tell- So enamored with the technology and immediacy of youtube, instagram and FB. Ansel Adams, famous wilderness box photographer said, Paintings...welll only photographs can tell the truth... It is indisputable... You can embellish and BS and make things up, and I am all for one  not letting the truth get into the way of telling a good story---But Beauty is truth and truth is beauty and when you capture the motion of the ocean or these clouds in a reflective pool, there is a kind of integrity that usurps words. The visual vocabulary that the cinematic wizards use to trompe the eye are unnecessary here: Point and shoot and 

  The Geography Of Bliss-It was the best of vibes. It was the worst of vibes. We waited for 2020 to have that perfect vision.  Nobody could predict what they'd be seeing and doing last year- washing our hands, wearing a mask and social distancing because of the global pandemic. Normally, we would be sailing in the Norwegian Fjords, The Baltics or  through Alaska's wildlife super highway, and Glacier Bay.Tis the season but all fleets have come to a grinding halt. And then we found Fair Isle, which is like a cargo ship, surrounded by sea.