Today had a shaky start. I woke up bright and early (well, maybe not bright), giving myself a good 40 minutes for the (supposed) 15 minute walk to the departure point for my all-day tour to Glencoe, Loch Ness and The Highlander (hot!), I mean, the Highlands. I had prepped--google mapped everything and thought I was ready. As I walked and walked and walked, I realized I had never seen signs for my turn off. Starting to panic, I asked a passerby (hard to come by before 8a on a Sunday) where Bread St was. "5-10 mins back that way" was her answer. WTF?! Yeah--great. So I backtracked and started looking for signs and finding none, just started heading in the direction of the castle (close to where my starting point was supposed to be). Finding myself at the base of a cliff, looking up at the castle, with only 20 mins to go, I really started freaking out. I had 2 options: take the "pretty" path through the gardens and up the hill to the Royal Mile (would probably take 15 mins, at least) or head up the scary staircase that looked like it went straight up to the Royal Mile. Choice made--scary staircase. As I walked up the (millions) of steps, I started my praying, hoping to God that I was on the right road and that the bus wouldn't leave without me. I picked up my pace and started wishing for a taxi to come rescue me or for Olympic athleticism and stamina to strike. No such luck on either account. As I walked faster and faster, breathing heavily and checking my watch the whole way, I realized I had magically ended up on the right road, but was now fighting the time. As I rounded the final corner, I saw a Timberbush bus and embarrassed, sprinted up to the door, only to find the kilted ass of a man in my face. Apparently I was the last in, as he was giving an intro to the rest of the passengers. A woman in the front seat gave me a kind smile, obviously sympathizing with the winded, Hawaiian (ask anyone, I'm Hawaiian) girl who just wanted to get on the bus. Trying to be patient and polite, I waited til he acknowledged me, only to find he didn't have my name on his list, but, if I wanted he still had spaces. WHAT?! At this moment, I realized that this bus was only the first in a string of 4 other buses. Clearly on the wrong bus, and even more embarrassed then before, I apologized and ran to a group of fleece-wearing men that looked like they might know something. Jackpot. He asked if my name was "Patricia Pineda". I said, "yes". "Good. You can get on the bus." Jesus. As I boarded the bus, painfully aware that it was practically full (thank God I booked on of those smaller minibus tours so it was only 20-25 people) and feeling the sweat start to bead on my upper lip from the mostly uphill (upcliff) workout, I sat down, thanking God I made it but wanting to die a little bit at the same time. Oh well. What can you do. After I sat, caught my breath, and took a couple minutes to try to relax, I checked my watch--8:19a. I literally just made it. Departure was scheduled for 8:20a. Now safely aboard, I wondered what the hold-up was and saw the now very agitated fleece-wearing man pacing up and down the street yelling into his cellphone. Apparently I was not the late one. After a couple mins, a young woman strolled up to the bus and got chastised by fleece man, whom I know recognized as our driver/tour guide. After figuring her sweet talking and excuses were getting her nowhere, she simply said that her friends (2 ) were coming right behind her. Five minutes later, fleece man, thought apologetic, pulled out and made the announcement that we had to leave, as we had a tight schedule. We were then strictly lectured on making sure we were always on time as the bus would leave without us, with no legal repercussion, point being made with the left passengers. I knew I was in for a good time...
The tour was a long 12 hours, but seeing as The Highlands were quite a distance from Edinburgh, I knew it was worth it and I'd get to see a lot of the countryside this way. As I said, I opted for a slightly smaller minibus tour, figuring I wouldn't get lost in the shuffle and I'd be able to at least make nice-nice enough for someone to be willing to take my picture here or there, and I was right. Departing from The Royal Mile, we traveled North-West, passing Stirling Castle, to our first scheduled stop of three, Kilmahog. I just love Scottish names, don't you? Anyway, Kilmahog was basically a glorified rest area, but again, what I expected. There was a couple gift shops, a restaurant, an old wool mill, and the best, Hamesh the Highland Coo (or cow). There were some great views (a nice Brazilian couple took my picture) and Hamesh was adorably ugly. You could walk right up to him and some people fed carrots and cabbage into his slobbery mouth. As it was a Sunday, there were quite a lot of people and buses there, but it was a nice place to get some photos in and to stretch your legs.
We traveled through Rob Roy country (who was apparently less of a Robin Hood and more of a selfish thief) and really, just saw the countryside. We stopped in Fort William for lunch. Again, sort of a tourist trap but to keep it in perspective, I just thought of the stops as bathroom/snack breaks w/ a nice view. For some reason everyone wanted to wait in this horrendous line to get hot food. After debating my options and waiting a good 15 minutes just to get to the soda section of the line, I realized this and decided to break the cycle. I jumped ahead, politely reached across some crazies waiting for hot food, and grabbed a ready-made cold sandwich, some crisps (potato chips to us), paid, and got out of there. Another weird thing, everyone wanted to eat inside. I'm talking meager seating folks. There were about 10 picnic tables outside, and although it was a little chilly, I was properly dressed, and joined the other sane people eating their cold sandwiches. That left me with a good 40 minutes left to enjoy my food and browse the shop. If anyone decides to take this tour, I would suggest bringing your own food with you. I would've eaten way better had I just brought some fruit, cheese, and bread with me. Or a sandwich I made myself or bought in an Edinburgh convenience store. Oh well...next time. The interesting thing about this stop was there was a small Whisky (fun fact: Scotch Whisky is spelled with a "y" while those of other origins should always be spelled with an "ey"--guess people don't follow directions though, Maker's Mark.) shop with free samples. Yay! What better way to ride a bus than w/o your stomach coated with a thin layer of Scotch Whisky. When I say thin, I mean thin, as the samples were literally barely filled shot glasses. It was interesting tho as I tasted sweet, smokey, and bitter flavors. There was also a rhubarb wine on sample that I would NOT recommend. It tasted like old cough syrup. Yeah. Tasty. From there we drove on, passing Britain's highest mountain, Ben Nevis. I would show a picture, but apparently, Ben doesn't like to be photographed, as he was covered with a lovely jacket of clouds. Our guide told us, this is pretty usual. How rude of Ben. We drove pased the Caledonian Canal, Fort Augustus, and came to the 24-mile long/2-mile wide, Loch Ness, famous for its monster, whom the locals call "Nessie." Apparently, if you catch a glimpse of Nessie and can provide legit proof of her existence, you can win a reward of 1 million pounds, which is roughly 1.97 million American dollars. If you want to start investigating Nessie on the water, there is also a 3 year waiting list. When you get to the top of the list, you can only stay there for 6 mos, then you have to give the next person a try. Crazy, huh? At this point, we were given the option to tour Urquehart Castle (basically ruins) and take a 30 min boat cruise to the official Nessie gift shop for 15 pounds or to take a 1 hour cruise on Loch Ness and see Urquehart Castle from the water for 10 pounds or to do neither and just hang around the shop and on the shore. I chose the driver-recommended option #2--a better value as it was cheaper and you got to see the Loch and the castle (altho from the water) and the selling point was the excellent picture-taking opportunities...
OK...I'm sleepy...so I will continue this tomorrow, maybe. And you will have to wait to hear about my engagement. (And no, Mom (just in case she's reading), I'm not REALLY engaged. Sorry. lol.)
No comments:
Post a Comment