Kayaking with a Shark

Okay, perhaps I should clarify. When I say 'shark' I don't actually mean Bruce, but rather a toothless, plankton eating, basking shark. Still, a shark! With menacing fin and all. It's strange that I was so keen to get closer, as usually if I see a snapping turtle in the water I panic, and that hardly compares to a shark.
We kayaked for the day around Arisaig bay which after nine months of life on dry land almost fulfilled my kayaking needs. We were with a group of eight others and in addition to the shark saw many seals either curiously popping their heads out of the water or lounging in large groups on the surrounding shore.
We added to our collection of great picnic lunching spots as we perched on the top of a hill overlooking the bay, the ocean, and all the way back to Skye. It was great kayaking too, propelled by changing tides in a 17' venture kayak was just about perfect.
The next day we headed through Argyle (didn't get any socks though) and stopped in Oban to taste their fab single malt. One of our samples was so precious that the lady literally doled it out via a medicine dropper, then promptly knocked the bottle over, much to my amusement and her absolute horror. We didn't tell. We finally found a classic castle ruin that proved to be accessible only via a muddy bog, so, we didn't conquer it, but admired from a distance before continuing inland to our overnight spot in Arrochar. Yet another small town with nothing but hills, lochs, and bed and breakfasts. We had a great dinner (probably the best of the trip) in a converted old church that just had good food, great atmosphere and an excellent location.We had a lazy drive the next day back to Edinburgh, clinging to the highland views as long as we could before braving city driving again. What a difference a few hundred miles can make in Scotland, from chasing sheep off the road, to navigating terrifying roundabouts. Dropping the car off was a complete success and an enormous relief. Only about two times after that did I suddenly panic about where the car was parked only to be relieved to know it was not our problem any more.