The Circle and the Morning Boat

The Ring of Brodgar sits on a narrow strip of land between two lochs. The stones stand in a circle about one hundred and four metres across. A ditch was cut around it into solid rock. It was built between four and four and a half thousand years ago. It is part of a world heritage site.

Kruh Brodgar leží na úzkom páse zeme medzi dvoma jazerami. Kamene stoja v kruhu širokom asi sto štyri metrov. Okolo neho vysekali do pevnej skaly priekopu. Postavili ho pred štyrmi až štyri a pol tisíc rokmi. Je súčasťou lokality svetového dedičstva.

There were around sixty stones once. Thirty-six are standing now. The gaps are as much of the shape as the stones are. Polly walked around the outside of the ring, with heather to her knees and the light going flat across the water. Nothing about it was arranged for a visitor.

Kedysi tu stálo okolo šesťdesiat kameňov. Dnes ich stojí tridsaťšesť. Medzery patria k tvaru rovnako ako kamene. Polly obišla kruh zvonka, s vresom po kolená a so svetlom, ktoré sa ploško rozlievalo po vode. Nič na tom nebolo usporiadané pre návštevníka.

Then came the ordinary business of leaving. At the harbour office there was a shag behind a counter. "What time does the ferry leave?" Polly asked. "How much does this cost?" She looked at the printed sheet with him. "I would like to buy a ticket, please."

Potom prišlo bežné vybavovanie odchodu. V prístavnej kancelárii sedel za pultom kormorán chochlatý. "O koľkej odchádza trajekt?" spýtala sa Polly. "Koľko to stojí?" Pozerala sa s ním na vytlačený list. "Chcela by som si kúpiť lístok, prosím."

"How long does the crossing take?" she asked last. She put the ticket away. In the morning the boat went out past the same low headland, and the islands went down behind it one by one.

"Ako dlho trvá plavba?" spýtala sa nakoniec. Lístok si odložila. Ráno loď vyplávala popri tom istom nízkom výbežku a ostrovy klesali za ňou jeden po druhom.