9. Small World

Thursday, May 23

Though we had internet signal strength problems in northern Scotland, I caught this up once we had signal and added pictures once I was home.
I pulled many late nights to catch up as I just couldn't waste time sleeping. Too much to do and see! However, eventually, I learned to type on the bus on highway stretches. The Blogger App let me type and then add it once I had a connection in the evening. What a relief!
I decided I'd better date these as I tended to run about three days behind with typing and posting. We do and see so much each day that we all keep journals to keep it all straight.

We started Thursday high in the cold, misty Scottish mountains. We drove in and out of rain and snow through narrow winding mountain roads. (Thelma, you were right. We love our raincoats.) The views were wonderful with pine and beech forests. We followed a beautiful lake or as they call them, loch, on the right with a steep mountain on our left. There were streams and many small waterfalls rushing along the rocks down to the loch. It reminded us of some places in Canada but with occasional fields of Heather.

We drove by quaint little mountain farms and saw more Hairy Coos which look so cuddly. We also saw Red Deer and we were lucky to see a big stag at the side of the road. He ran off so fast that I couldn't get a picture from the bus, but we did see several more at a distance.

We climbed up beyond the timber line to barren fields of Heather with jagged rock and many streams. We got as high as the patches of snow. I now understand the term, wind swept moors and it is so lovely in its own way.  We stopped and hiked a trail down to a bridge over a deep gorge named Corrieshalloch Gorge to view a waterfall.

It rained and blew, but we were all laughing and snapping pictures. One of our fellow travelers shivered past me and said, " I am so cold, but I am having the best time!" And then, it cleared and the sun peeked out...spectacular!

Henry put on soft Scottish folk music and we drove on to the quaint little fishing village of Ullapool. Picture white buildings with boats anchored in the bay with rocky  mountains all around us. There were many ewws and ahhs.

We had fish and chips at the local pub and explored.  Bob and I stopped in to the local post office to mail a card and chatted with the lady clerk. As she took my card, she gasped, "Jackson, Michigan! It's where I was born and went to school!" She had lived in Ullapool for four years as it is her husband's home. We had the nicest talk. What a small and friendly world.

We drove further north through sun one minute and rain and snow the next, all with blustery wind. The landscape was gorgeous. We hiked trails and took many pictures. If I gain weight on this trip, I will be amazed.

On the way back to our hotel we heard a bang and Andy our driver pulled over. A truck going by had side swiped him and broke his mirror. Andy is a large, very nice young man. He drives so well and makes us feel in good hands. He handled it all very well. He very much reminds us of our Florida friend, Dan Daniels. All was well and repaired the next day.

We discovered on a count that we are two of six Americans on this trip. Eight are Canadians, two are from Singapore, four from New Zealand, three from Tasmania, and all the rest are from Australia. They are a hoot and keep us laughing.

As an example, when we are traveling on the bus, we are all snapping pictures out the window as we can't always stop. It's hard as things often blur and things get in the way. Our Aussie friend, Robyn called out, " Does anyone need pictures of the road signs coming down the mountain, because I'm pretty sure I have a complete bloody set?" Doug answered without missing a beat, "Only if they're blurry!"

On we went down the mountains and then back to our hotel. The song, Gypsy Rover played and several sang along ( including me, as I remembered it from, my brother, Gary's folk singing days). I got chills it was so cool. We continually give thanks for this awesome opportunity and the health to enjoy it.

We ended the day with a cruise on beautiful Loch Ness. We didn't see the monster but we had a lovely cruise, a good time and a nice dinner. 

 Our Australian friends, John & Mary.

 Our U.S. friends from California, Barb & Alice with our story telling boat driver.

Once we were back at the hotel, we took a last walk through the quaint town of Strathpeffer and fell into bed.

8. Catch Up

Tuesday morning started with a tour of Edinburgh. Our guide was a cute young girl in a mini kilt who could really tell a story. She had us all laughing and the men enjoyed watching her.

Edinburg is so full of history and conditions long ago sure weren't pleasant. We toured the castle and the city. We were both fascinated with the architecture. There are such beautiful old, ornate structures and we can't imagine how it was built so long ago without technology.

The archway into the Edinburgh Castle  had statues of Robert the Bruce and William Wallace on each side of the entrance.

There were lots of people stories, ghost stories and even a sweet dog story. It was a great time. When our guide, Andrea, finished, we were on our own for the afternoon to explore. I love that freedom. We walked and walked.

We called our daughter-in-law, Kathy, who had just gotten to school (she is a teacher), so she could hear the bagpiper. She is of Scottish ancestry and has traveled to Scotland.

Robert Louis Stevenson's House.

We stopped in a tea room for a delicious lunch of smoked salmon, cheese and relish sandwich, and carrot cake. There are just unbelievable choices. We visited the Giles Cathedral and climbed a hill to an interesting very old cemetery. There were street performers and we listened to another bagpiper before we headed back to meet the bus.

We freshened up back at the hotel and jumped back on the bus to go to the Haggis Ceremony. What a riot. We had a great dinner with unending bottles of wine. People got pretty silly. I laughed till I cried and now we're all best friends.

Then the show started with singers, dancers, a bagpiper, and a young lady that could really play the fiddle. The lights came on and the ceremony started with the story of Haggis, a spicy sausage of sheep's brain, heart, liver, kidney and lung stuffed in a sheep's stomach and boiled. Yuck! But Bob tried it. It was an experience and worth it all for the wonderful music and hearty laughter.
















Thursday we headed north out of Edinburgh which took well over an hour. It is a big, sprawling city, while still so quaint and so many lovely gardens. As we drove, Henry, our guide went on with the very interesting, often violent history of Scotland. I took notes just to try to absorb it all.  We drove through an area called the Kingdom of Fife which is thought of as the bread basket of Scotland as the soil is so fertile. It was beautiful. There were bright green hills and valleys with some fields plowed and freshly planted. Again, I am in awe of the trees. They are huge, running three times as big as those we think are big at home.

Our first stop was St. Andrews where we could see the famous golf course and walk around the quaint seaport town. It was sunny, but cold and blustery. We thought of you, Chad. It was impressive.

Our tour guide called the strong wind a Scandinavian Breeze as it came across the North Sea from Norway. The countryside reminded me of rolling fields in Pennsylvania, western Wisconsin and northern Michigan.

As we drove, the hills got bigger turning into mountains with pines and ferns. The scenery was amazing. We began to see rocky snow covered peaks and more rushing rivers and little water falls. It is Salmon fishing country, but you have to have an expensive permit. We did find out there are trout in some of the lakes and you can fish from the shore for free.

We stopped in Pitlochery, a sweet little Victorian town for lunch. 

We went to a tea room with our friends who let me borrow their camera, John and Mary. It was delightful with homemade soup and scones.

The weather kicked in and we drove through mixed rain and sleet up winding climbing country roads. It was beautiful. Then the sun would come out and take our breath even more.

Besides the large numbers of sheep we saw, they have long haired cattle bred for the harsh weather of Scotland called Hairy Coos. They are cute.

We stopped at the very moving battlefield of Culloden Moor with a beautiful visitor center. We were able to hike around the battlefield which inspired a very somber mood and whispered thoughts.

Meanwhile, back on our bus, I want to mention how fortunate we are to have so many talented people onboard with several singers and some great comedians. As we drove past the Heather covered fields, our friend John softly sang The Heather on the Hill from the movie Brigadoon. It was perfect and sounded just like Gene Kelly. Then towards evening when a flute version of Amazing Grace came on our sound system, our friend, Judie sang with a beautiful voice and had us all in tears. How cool is that!

We got to our hotel which was old and full of character. It reminded me of Mackinaw Island. Our room had a great view of a snow covered mountain

 

. After dinner in the lovely dining room, Bob and I hiked up the steep streets to a golf course at the top with a gorgeous view. By then, it was growing dark, with a brisk breeze and the faint smell of wood smoke. I was in Heaven.

We seem to pass through mystical, spiritual places both in buildings and nature that have us speaking in whispered voices with an overwhelming, moving, Holy feeling. Then, the next moment we're in foot stomping, hand clapping, sing along, laughing places. It's magical and we're overcome with gratitude for the blessing of this whole experience.