我們在碼頭邊瀏覽一下風景，一會兒一條小船靠岸來，載我們這一團還有其他遊客約30人，開始向大海駛去，目的地是一個十公里外的小島，還有這島上的芬格爾岩洞（Fingal's Cave)。據說1829年8月德國音樂家孟德爾松來此遊覽，對此島和芬格爾岩洞留下深刻的印象和產生靈感，因而於1834年寫出著名的《芬格爾岩洞管弦序曲》-The Hebrides (overture)。

這一天風和日麗，晴空萬里，陽光燦爛，正是搭船出海的好天氣。海上行程約50分鐘，領隊事先提醒若擔心會暈船的團員可先吃暈船藥，自認為不會暈船的人就可免了。小船慢慢駛離岸邊，風微微地吹，將船上的英國旗飄揚起來，海浪越來越大，有時會打進船裡，所以坐在小船艙外面的乘客都要穿起黃色雨衣。

來到外海，海浪洶湧，不斷拍打和推擠小船，小船左右晃動，又奮力向前。當船啟動不久，沿著岸邊行駛時可看見海豹和海鳥，都讓人很興奮。小船上的搖晃有如坐在大海的搖籃裡。然而時間一久也會讓人感覺不適，有些反胃，有些人開始找船上準備好的紙袋來吐。

船離陸地越來越遠，前方有幾個小島，不知哪一個才是我們要上岸的斯塔法島。時間在晃動搖擺中過去，看見慢慢接近一個

有許多巨石柱構成的岩壁的一個小島，還有更早來的遊客在巨石柱旁走動參觀一個很大的洞穴，我們終於來到這島。

船靠岸，團員下船後，開始爬上階梯來到島上的高處，環視四周海天的美麗景色，曬著太陽，吹海風，站在穩定的泥土上，剛才海上顛簸不適都恢復了。事後許多團員說來到斯塔法的這一趟行程是這次旅遊最難忘的經驗。

我想當年孟德爾松於1829年8月那一回來此遊覽，也一定經過海上和初次看到岩洞壯觀奇特的景色，才觸發他的靈感，譜出一首動人永傳後世的曲子。 2017/8/28 攝

「Staffa斯塔法島是蘇格蘭內赫布里底群島的島嶼之一，位於馬爾島西方10公里處。 斯塔法島最引人注目的是其西南部的巨石柱，為1772年由英國博物學家約瑟夫·班克斯發現。是大約6000萬年前，從北大西洋海盆深處噴發的巨大火山所遺留下來的玄武岩柱狀節理遺跡，其中以芬格爾洞最為壯觀。」 維基百科

The Hebrides (overture)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Initial sketch for the theme of the Hebrides Overture, found in a letter dated August 7, 1829 to his sister Fanny (original in the Music Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts)

Mendelssohn’s “concert overture” The Hebrides (/ˈhɛbrɪdiːz/; German: Die Hebriden) was composed in 1830, revised in 1832, and published the next year as his Opus 26. Some consider it an early tone poem.[citation needed]

It was inspired by one of his trips to the British Isles, specifically an 1829 excursion to the Scottish island of Staffa, with its basalt sea cave known as “Fingal’s Cave.” It is not known whether Mendelssohn set foot on the island, the cave being best visible from the water, but the composer himself reported that he immediately jotted down the opening theme for his composition. He at first called the work “To the Lonely Island,” or “Zur einsamen Insel,” then settled on the present title. However, in 1834, the year after the first publication, Breitkopf & Härtel issued an edition with the name “Fingalshöhle,” or “Fingal’s Cave,” and this title stuck, causing some confusion.

Being a concert overture, The Hebrides does not precede a play or opera but is instead a standalone composition in a form common for the Romantic period. Dedicated to King Frederick William IV of Prussia, then Crown Prince of Prussia, the B-minor work became part of the standard orchestral repertoire and retains this position to the present day.