[Sept. 2023] At Glasgow Airport in Scotland, we went to the Logan Air boarding gate while looking sideways at people who were drinking alcohol early in the morning.
The boarding gate for the flight to Barra Island in the Hebrides was located on the far end of the airport and was deserted.
After all, it’s a small propeller plane, so it’s natural that there aren’t many people on board.
My husband was seated in 6C and I was seated in 7C, and my seat was at the very back.
After climbing up several gangways and taking our seats, the pilot explained to me and the lady next to me how to open the emergency exit.
The ceiling was so low that he had to bend down quite a bit to stand.
This person was the co-pilot and the captain was a female pilot.
The size of the plane was probably the same as the one we flew in Canada, and the number of passengers was 13.
It was windy that day, and we had to wait a long time after getting on the plane, so I was worried that it might not fly, but the propeller finally started spinning.
After a considerable amount of taxiing, the aircraft floated away.
Since the propeller plane is at a low altitude, I could clearly see houses and cars below, and I had a strong feeling that I was flying, and I was amazed at the ingenuity of human beings.
Well, there are many people who are not so clever, though.
After that, it seemed to have gained altitude and was above the clouds.
Fluffy, round clouds, rising clouds, and clouds that look like bubble baths – for cloud geeks, this would be literally ‘heaven’.
Eventually, the altitude began to drop and the islands of the Hebrides began to appear below.
My excitement level increased.
Waves were running crisscrossing the ocean, but the colour of the sea near the beaches of each island was stunningly beautiful.
Even in the northern seas, as long as the sun shines, they take on the bright blue-green colour of a tropical country.
After a flight of about 1 hour and 15 minutes, we finally arrived at the vast beach of Barra Island.
It was a smooth landing without much impact.
Before long, we stepped on a damp sandy beach.
The beach is so wide that you can’t even see the beginning of the ocean with the naked eye.
A long time ago, we had the experience of driving along a beach on Japan’s Noto Peninsula, but this was our first time landing on a beach.
Me and the lady of the next seat were very excited.
By the way, the purpose of this trip for this lady and her friend, like us, was to board this plane, and they would be returning to Glasgow on the afternoon flight.
Instead, we stayed for one night on Barra island.
Before we knew it, our suitcases were placed near the entrance of a modest building that was too presumptuous to be called an airport terminal.
