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  Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Sunday, September 28, 2008

It feels like weeks since my last entry because I've seen so much. My "Skye High" 3-day tour with Haggis Adventures started at 8:45 am on Wednesday. My bus was made up of 12 people - two Australians on their honeymoon, two ladies from Brazil, a Kiwi father, a German girl living in London, a Ukrainian girl, three more Aussies travelling solo, Kirstin (a girl from New Zealand, and the person I was closest with), and myself. Our driver/guide was Alan - a hilariously-Scottish former musician. Another bus load of 30 Taiwanese travellers followed ours, but we mostly kept with our own group.

On the first day, we drove northwest towards the Highlands, through the Trossachs and Rannock Moor (the largest expanses of inhabited wilderness in Europe), and stopped in Glencoe - site of an infamous massacre between two clans, and the reason why Scots hate all people with Campbell as a family name. I soon learned that much of Scotland's history is about battles, wars and massacres! We past Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK, and ended the day on the tip of Loch Ness in Fort Augustus. There, we went to the Clansman Centre where we learned about the traditional Highland clans' way of life. We finished the evening in ons of the small town's three pubs.

The next morning, we drove to the Isle of Skye and stopped for a visit at Eilan Donan Castle. We made a number of picturesque stops throughout the day, and stopped at Portree for lunch, where we ate at this amazingly cheap bakery! We had to watch out for the gigantic seagulls who would fly down and steal food right from our hands! After dinner that night, we hung out at the hostel bar and listened to some live music.

On Friday, we drove the length of Loch Ness and heard all its stories.

Kirstin and I

This loch (aka lake) contains more fresh water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined. Although tales of Nessie, the Loch Ness monster, have long been disproved, there is evidence of extremely large creatures (3 tons, 9 meters long) living at the very bottom. However, the loch is so deep and dark that it's impossible to explore its depths. The mystery of what lives there will likely never be resolved!

On the way back to the Lowlands, we stopped at Culloden Moor, where Bonnie Prince Charlie led the Jacobites (catholic Highlanders) in the final Jacobite uprising. The Hannoverians (English protestant troops) surrounded them, and massacred all men, women and children they could find - a truly dark moment in Scottish history. To this day, the battlefield has never been used for anything but a memorial for those who died there. We returned to Edinburgh at 5:30 pm on Friday, and I had dinner with Kirstin and her friend, who were heading to Croatia the next morning.

Yesterday morning, I wandered around this great city and joined a walking tour in the afternoon, where I met two girls; Sarah (a Paris-born American living in Italy) and Sally (a Korean-born Australian currently staying in London). After the tour, we ate dinner at the Deacon Brodie pub. Brodie was a well-respected locksmith in the 18th century, until he began making himself copies of his wealthy clients' keys and robbing them! I ate a typical Scottish soup called Cullen Skink - a deliciously-filling creamy soup made with haddock and potatoes. I still haven't eaten Haggis, and as adventurous as I am with food, the idea of it really freaks me out! We spent the rest of the night hanging out at a pub in the Grassmarket area, where we had a beer and enjoyed more live local music. Oh - and I finally heard bagpipes in Scotland! Actually, bagpipers line the streets of Old Town!

Sarah left for Glasgow early this morning, but Sally and I met for breakfast and then toured Edinburgh Castle. We walked around the city some more, bought a few souvenirs, and she headed back to London. Tomorrow morning, I'll be heading back to England to spend a few tranquil days in the Lake District, and I'm hoping to get decent enough weather that I can walk around.

Keep the comments and emails coming - it's good to hear from you! :)

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

Glencoe	Highlands	Highlands	Fort Augustus
Lauren, Kirstin, me and Lydia	Eilan Donan Castle	Glen near Eilan Donan Castle	Glamaig
Our guide Alan	Isle of Skye	1-Isle of Skye	2-Isle of Skye
The bus clan	Ruined Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness	My very first deep-fried Mars bar!	Ruined cathedral in Dunkeld
Edinburgh	A bagpiper!	Royal Mile (High Street)	Edinburgh Castle on a rainy day
Sarah, Sally and I	At Edinburgh Castle

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