day 7 - march 22, 2009

Inverness.

Our hangovers were less severe than I imagined they would be, and a night of drinking did wonders for my back.

Back on the bus.

First stop: Fort Augustus for a coffee, but since we don't have any photos of it, I can't tell you much about it.

Next: Urquhart Castle.
We stayed long enough to take some photos and to disobey the rules (thanks again for the photo, Claire).
Back on the bus.

As we drove along Loch Ness (enormous, remember?) Graeme told us the story of the well of seven heads. I wrote it out in my journal, thinking I would transcribe it into this blog, but now that I'm sitting in my living room in Toronto, it seems an injustice to share it with you--you're not surrounded by the highlands, I can't type with a Scottish accent and I'm not even half the storyteller that Graeme is. Go to Scotland, take this tour, and ask to hear the story. It's a good one with treachery, murder, revenge and decapitation. You won't be sorry.

Our next stop was Glen Coe. Tori had told us how beautiful it was but I was totally unprepared for it. It's not that I didn't believe her, it's more that I had never been anywhere quite like it.

That's me up there, taking a photo of the hills. The term "as old as the hills" really meant something to me for the first time in the presence of these guys.

I wish I could have bottled the air there. It was fresh and sharp, and smelled like good, clean earth. My nose has never had it so good.It was very windy.

So, I have this red rain cape. My mum bought it for me YEARS ago and at the time I was like "Mum, I am NEVER going to wear this!" and she said "well, you never know, you might need it some time." And since then, every time I go anywhere--camping, Croatia, Cuba, doesn't matter--she says "OH you should take that li'l red rain cape!" in a cute Mum voice. It's at the level of inside joke now. I'm sure she thought I had tossed the LRRC ages ago, but it became the automatic hilarious response to any sort of travel announcement. When I was preparing for this trip, I said to my mum "I need to get a new jacket" and she said.. well, I'm sure you've figured out the pattern. So, I dug the LRRC out of my closet (OF COURSE I could never get rid of it!) and took it with me on the trip with the express intent of taking a photo of me in it somewhere in Scotland and giving it to my mum. Glen Coe seemed like the most ideal backdrop for a LRRC.

And this is why I don't wear the LRRC.
It turns me into a chubby 5 year old.

Back on the bus.

Driving through Glen Coe and seeing it through the bus windows was almost as stunning as walking around in it. Graeme spoke about a Highlander's tie to the land here and I began to understand (in a small, fractional way) why the Highlanders fought so hard for their homelands. Taking in the landscape also heightened just how heartbreaking it must have been when the Highlanders were pushed off their land and banned from wearing kilts and speaking Gaelic. It was very, very beautiful and I was sad to leave it behind after having only a small taste.

We were coming to the end of our tour and I was trying to ignore the fact that we were getting closer and closer to Edinburgh. Here's one thing that raised our spirits on the way back:

This is Hamish, the Heeland Coo, kp's new bf. He's a rockstar.
We have t-shirts that have him on them.
(My favourite Scottish souvenir, thanks kp!)

Our last stop was Stirling Castle to get a couple of shots of the outside of the castle, and the Wallace Monument across the way.

Here's me and our excellent tour guide:

I took the photo so I could show my Grandma the Anderson tartan and let me tell you: SHE WAS JUST TICKLED. She couldn't believe my luck that I had an Anderson for a tour guide (as if no other Scottish Highlander would have done... clan loyalty lives on!)

Back on the bus. FOR THE LAST TIME. Our tour had come to an end.

I know, kp. I feel the same way.

After arriving back in Edinburgh, we said a few quick goodbyes, and kp and I climbed up to check out Edinburgh Castle (and the view from there) one last time in the fading light of the day.
There was a nice man up there who really wanted to take our picture for us, so we let him, even though we generally prefer the self-portrait.
We wandered back through the city, trying to take it all in. Edinburgh did a good job of showing itself off to us one last time as the sun went down.
We ate some food and then headed out of the city to Dumfries, where Tori lives and works. Her flatmate Scott picked us up (thanks, Scott! You're a champion!) and we went to the 24 hour Tesco for some supplies. Kp and I had a job to find beans which she quickly got distracted from by rows upon rows of products.
It was certainly a stark contrast from the scenery we had become accustomed to thus far in Scotland.

I found the beans on my own.

Tori's room was very Tori and very welcoming and it was great to be somewhere comfortable. Although I was sad to leave the highlands behind, I was looking forward to seeing Tori's Scotland.