SCOTLAND 2

May 27 - June 14, 2003

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Onward, to Kyle of Lochalsh, where I departed Haggis Adventures (the backpackers' bus) & hopped over to the Isle of Skye. Erica, my roomie, had been on a guided full-day tour run by MacBackpackers (similar to Haggis), and was very excited about her experience with them. So I signed up, and it was great!
This is Kilt Rock, so named cuz it's supposed to look like a kilt. It doesn't, but it's cool just the same.

Colin, the kilt-clad guide, took us on these incredible, breath-taking walks through the wilds of Skye.

I like kilts. I like high winds and kilts. Hence the wonderful spectator sport of kilt-spotting...

But I digress. Among the gorgeous walks & interesting stops we checked out Faerie Glen (below), possibly the most magical place on the planet, and Macurdies Exhibition, a very indescribable, funny, odd exhibition in the middle of nowhere. If you ever get to Skye, be sure to check it out!

An Isle of Skye traffic jam...

After the day-tour, we all retired to the local pub for refreshments. A second MacBackpackers guide joined us, who looked like Joey from "Friends."

Back on the Haggis Bus, I headed towards Inverness, which was to be my jump-off point for Orkney. On the way we stopped at Altan Dubh (Black Water River), who's waters are naturally filtered through peat. The result is very brown, but very clean water.
That's Robin, posing like an Egyptian.

We also stopped at an excellent stone skipping beach.
Ryan & Robin, doing their best to overcome the waves.

After an uneventful night at a haunted castle, we had a quick photo-op at Loch Ness.

This was as close as I ever got to spotting any monster. We called him "Rory."

Once in Inverness, I left Haggis once again to hop a bus (and ferry) (and another bus) to get to Orkney. Orkney is filled with all sorts of neolithic sites. The most archaeological sites per square mile in the world, I'm told. This is the Ring of Brodgar.

Skara Brae, a 5000 year-old site that was covered with sand until a huge storm revealed the homesteads, complete with stone beds and dressers.

The Orkney coastline is just amazing.

After my stint with Haggis Adventures I took a train to St. Andrews. There are some great ruins there, as well as a massive sandy beach.

Back in Edinburgh, on my last night, I went out with some people from my hostel dorm. We had an excellent time!
L to R: Meredith, Shan, Tim, Hugh & Emily.

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