Pictures from yesterday

Flying back

Again, I'm impressed by the free wifi in both the Edinburgh and Dublin airports.

Something of note - after getting off my flight to Dublin, they asked us to board the second bus if we were headed to the US. On the way we were given our US customs forms. We then entered an area called pre-clearance for the US. It was just like customs and immigration in the US. I had checked my bags through to NYC and at the immigration window they showed me a picture of my bag on a carousel and asked if it was mine. I said yes and he pressed the button allowing the bag to be loaded into the plane. How interesting! Very sophisticated! I can only hope I don't have to go through immigration and customs again in the US but somehow I'm skeptical...

I have arrived in the US. No further immigration or customs. Very nice. Only thing is that the customs pre boarding makes the transfer time a but tight, no chance to shop.

(Photos to follow in a later post)

From Oban to Edinburgh

We headed towards Edinburgh through the towns of Inveraray, Luss, and Glasgow.

We drove through the Cobblers mountain range and along a mountain pass called Rest and Be Thankful. Again, the sight was immense and awe inspiring but couldn't be captured on film.

We drove along Loch Longer which at 24 miles was the longest loch in Scotland. The scenery was beautiful, especially with the alternating rain and shine.

When we arrived in Inveraray, it was pouring fiercely. We drove to the castle, took a picture and got out of there.

Next, we drove along Loch Lomond where many Scottish go for vacation.  Along the route we spotted a beautiful rainbow (see below). The lake was beautiful and we stopped in the picturesque town of Luss. The rain had stopped by this point and had been replaced with warm sunniness.  Luss has a row of pink little identical cottages built for workers in the area one century ago which now serve as tourist attractions with perfect little flowers adorning them. We walked along the lake which had impressively clear waters and then along a river which had even clearer waters. The river was so clear one could see every pebble. We were inspired by a coupler we saw before us to skip stones in the river. When we reached the river banks, it was clear why they chose to - the rocks there were amazingly flat. We had tea and a snack here in the Village Rest. I had fried black pudding (pig blood sausage) which I really enjoyed.

Apparently, there's a pilgrimage route that goes to/through Luss, not sure what the destination was though.

Next,we stopped in Glasgow where we walked along checking out the city sites (almost everything was closed or closing though since it was after 6pm). We went to a little restaurant called Ra Ha' where I had my last meal in Scotland - chicken liver mousse and Haggis with tatties and neeps with a cloudy ale. For dessert there was sticky toffee pudding again. Everything was great, particularly the price.

After this we drive to Edinburgh and packed up before heading to bed.

Morning in Oban

We had a nice little breakfast in our wonderful B&B and again enjoyed the wonderful view from their balcony (see below).

Then we visited a couple stores in Oban and then the distillery before departing. We tasted a couple Scotch whiskies and tried to distinguish the difference. I liked the lighter and less "smokey" (though I tasted a whole lot of smokiness) Glen Elgin and liked it even more with done water. I don't understand this water to whiskey thing. I'm not sure why it changes the taste instead of just diluting it, but it definitely does. It's almost like the water coats your tongue our something.

Oban

On arrival to Oban, everything was wonderful. Our B&B is amazing - Dunheanish - beautiful rooms, great staff, excellent wifi, and best of all-a fantabulous view of the sea and islands from both the room and the rooftop deck. Simply beautiful, couldn't ask for more. For dinner we found a wonderful spot on the north pier called EE-USK - gaelic for fish. The restaurant had wrap around glass windows overlooking the sea so we had an excellent view of the sunset over the waters. The food was amazing! I had crab and sea bass. Best meal yet!

Driving down to Oban

Along the way to Oban, we drove through Glen Coe - a valley nestled between commanding mountains. I wanted to take some pictures there but my camera just couldn't capture the power of the location. On passing Port Appin, we noted a delightful little castle in the Loch and had to stop for pictures. As we got out of the car, we saw this beautiful rainbow (probably the 5th we've seen on this trip). The castle was Castle Stalker-apparently of Monty Python and the Holy Grail fame. Its was super idyllic.

Castle Stalker

Fish and tea in Plockton

After leaving Skye we headed to Plockton - a "postcard perfect town" complete with "palm trees" which are actually cabbage from New Zealand. The tide was out but we could imagine the charm on a warmer day when the tide is in. We did enjoy a nice lunch there, particularly since the rain started and stopped during our lunch.

Leaving Skye

We drove to Elgol on our way out of Skye. The road back seemed like a whole new experience from our arrival. On our arrival it was very foggy and dark and today it was super sunny so we saw all these mountains / hills that were not visible last time. In the same way, our drive towards Elgol was unlike our drive back.

I have to say, Isle of Skye is a beautiful island. The coastline and hills are quite picturesque and of course there s plenty of waterways, lakes, and oceanside.

Of castle and sheep

We later went to the Dunvegan castle - home of the MacLeod clan who controlled half of the Isle of Skye with part of the mainland and other islands. The castle has some beautiful grounds with some well kept gardens. Inside the castle there were memorabilia including a 2.2L drinking horn John MacLeod was said to have drink the entire contents of within 2 minutes, a flag from 4th to 7 th century, and a 2.5 kg broadsword or the original MacLeod s. The castle was still the residence of current day MacLeod who stay on the 2nd and 3rd floors when in town. The first floor, basement (servant quarters) and dungeon were on display to the public.

One thing of note is that we`ve noticed a lot of deforestation throughout Scotland. At the borders of the felled trees there appeared to be sickly discolored trees. We wondered whether this was intentional or due to disease. We definitely planted forests so purposeful deforestation definitely played a role. however, we also noted greenish tree moss that seemed to be affecting a lot of the trees here. A parasite perhaps?

Along our travels we saw many sheep along the road. Of particular cuteness are the babies of course...

Continuing along the coast of Skye

We stopped at several more geological formations but no more hiking these times. We were tired and our feet were wet. We admired from afar An Lethallt and Creag an fheilidh (kilt rock).