Day 1- August 11
After 10 splendid, much needed hours of sleep in our comfortable hostel, Budget Backpackers, last night, Beth and I woke ready to head off on our adventure around Scotland. We partook of the 2 breakfast offered at the hostel, then gathered all our luggage. No one told us that Edinburgh is quite a hilly city, so it was a struggle when we got off the airport bus the day before to haul our bags to our accommodation, and unfortunately we had to haul it all back to the tour office again this morning. And then discovered the office is located up a long set of narrow stairs. So we definitely got our morning workout getting our large suitcases safely into the Wild in Scotland office to be stored for the duration of our tour. When I checked in, I was told that my tour guide would be Danny- the one wearing the kilt. Needless to say, I was excited.
Our group of 16 loaded onto the bus and we prepared to leave the city. Danny is a young guy (we found out at the end of the tour that he's only 24), with shaggy hair, a woolen sweater, and a tweed kilt. Fabulous! As we drove out of the city, he immediately directed a swarm of curse words at the horrible traffic. It's Festival during the whole month of August in Edinburgh, and they say the population doubles during this time, so it's pretty hectic. We headed northwards today towards the Highlands. Our first stop was in Stirling, where we saw the statue of Robert the Bruce and heard the story of William Wallace and the struggle for independence from England. I was amazed as we continued into the Highlands. I didn't know what to expect from the scenery and I was blown away by the heights of the hills and mountains surrounding us, all covered in heather and with waterfalls and streams running through the many furrows in the land. We made a stop at the popular Green Welly Shop for lunch. Beth tried Cullen Skink, a regional favorite soup made with smoked haddock. It was a lot like chowder, but with a stronger fish taste. Our next stop was in Glencoe, where we were told we would take a "wee walk" into the glen. I soon learned the Scottish tendency to grossly underestimate. The wee walk turned out to be a 3 hour round trip hike up the mountainside. It was worth the effort though- absolutely beautiful and at the top we turned back to see a perfect rainbow arching across the sky.
Our home for the night was in Spean's Bridge on the banks of Loch Lochy. Yes, that's right, Loch Lochy. It was a cute little hostel so long as you ignored the plethora of itsy bitsy spiders hanging from the ceiling above our beds. Dinner is cooked altogether every night, so we had made a stop at the grocery store earlier to pick up food for a spaghetti dinner. I offered to help cook, which I soon regretted. The hostel had the tiniest of stoves and only two saucepans. It took two batches to cook the meat for the sauce, another batch to heat the sauce itself, and then a whole separate pan to make the vegetarian option. As for the noodles, the water refused to boil and the two bags of pasta nearly overflowed the pot. It was delicious in the end though and everyone appreciated our hard work. I went to bed absolutely exhausted, but well-fed and content.
As for the other people on the tour, they are all very friendly and we are the only Americans! There is a German couple (Anne and Christian) and three single women (Simone, Kris, and Birthe), an Australian couple (Tegan and Steve) and two single men (Dave and Steve), a French couple (Ghislaine and Gilbert), an English girl (Catherine), a Scot girl (EJ), and a Canadian girl who is dating Danny and just moved to Edinburgh (Lisa).
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