SCOTLAND

May 27 - June 14, 2003

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The first 3 nights I stayed in Edinburgh (that's "Edinburrah," to you Yanks). During that time I went on a late-night ghost hunt, a literary pub crawl and climbed Arthur's Seat. Arthur's Seat is very large -- 251 meters high, to be precise -- and has fabulous views of the city.
Don't point at the crazy lady.

My 2nd night in Edinburgh I went to a "Scottish Evening" -- dinner & a show featuring traditional dancing and singing. It ended with The Celebration of The Haggis, where the said dish is brought in led by bagpipes & adorned with deer antlers. Burns' "To A Haggis" is recited with much fervor & the haggis is lanced with a dirk, to be enjoyed by all. It was actually very tasty. Sort of an exotic & spicy cousin to my first love, corned beef hash.
I thought the host resembled Dick Van Dyck.

I also enjoyed Holyrood Palace & Abbey ruins, Edinburgh Castle, St. Giles Cathedral & Greyfriars Kirkyard.

After Edinburgh I headed to the Lake of Menteith. I spent a full day at the lake, mostly on tranquil Inchmahome (literally, "Isle of Rest"), walking around the ruins of the old priory there. This is where my ancestors are to have originated. It was kinda creepy and at the same time tickled my imagination to see all the headstones with the name "Grahame" on them -- some even with the "e" at the end. Apparently the Graham clan was once powerful in the area.

I then spent one day in Stirling, seeing the sights there.

From the backpackers' bus I saw 2 castles that had been used in Monty Python movies. This is one of them.

A visit to Scotland is incomplete without a snog with a hairy (Highland) coo.

Glen Coe is just breath-taking. It's one of the many things on my Have To Come Back To See list.

Ben Nevis, Great Britain's highest peak. It's not quite a mountain, but it still takes, on average, 8 lives per year. The weather at the top is sub-arctic year round. I only went up halfway, as I was unprepared for a real climb.

I took a day trip to Mallaig, along the same track used in the first Harry Potter movie. Once in Mallaig, I took a boat ride around Loch Nevis. There was an icy wind but I stayed on the deck anyway, mesmerized by the views. It was a transport boat & we dropped off little old ladies with their groceries at remote "towns" (read: small cluster of homes) along the banks.

The views along the tracks on the way back were astounding and ever-changing. I used up an entire roll just on the train...

When I got back to Farr Cottage Hostel, what had been a quiet place with only 1 other guest the night before had turned into Party Central.

A Haggis bus had come in with a handful of backpackers & we all set about trying to empty the contents of the fully-stocked bar.
L to R: "Two-tone," Karyn from Australia, Robin from the U.S.

I remember laughing, shooting pictures, playing games & telling jokes.
Me with Stuart, the resident whisky expert.

Ali's very strong vodkas had me feeling quite good. It was a brilliant night. The next day I had no voice. Seriously, I was reduced to a whisper, lest I sound like Demi Moore turned into a goose.
Ali & me.

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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