Dawn broke around 3am but my tour to the Isle of Skye didn’t start till 9. Everyone who I told about my trip to Scotland said that I must see the Isle of Skye. The bus driver wore a kilt and fed us with fun facts all along the way. I squished next to a man from Mumbai who was in Scotland for work for 9 months. We drove North around the mountain (the fast way to Skye) and he stopped at the pretty points along the way (when it wasn’t raining) so we could take pictures.
At about 10:30 we stopped at a place for “bathrooms, restrooms and toilets” and coffee. I thought it was a little silly when he told us to be back at the bus in half an hour, but after waiting 10 minutes for the toilet and another 15 for coffee, it made sense. I overheard a guy from Virginia say he’s been to Ed-in-BERG and shook my head, now also understanding why all the guidebooks tell us how to pronounce the most famous city in Scotland. There were also a couple of girls from Sacramento.
There were plenty of people to offer to take my picture and I, in turn, took theirs (so they could have one with their whole family).
Here was another spot. Of course, I look at these and they don’t even do the view justice.
The bridge far off in the distance is the one to Skye that we would soon drive over
From the bridge
This was such a pretty spot
There are some of the others, standing where I wanted to stand to get a better view
There’s the guide behind me
Some Cairnes– the Scotts pile rocks to honor the dead.
We stopped in Portree for lunch. When I saw that the only vegetable in the sandwich shop was lettuce, I went for the “caught this morning” fish and chips down by the pier. I sat under my umbrella and kicked at the begging seagulls as I ate.
Downtown Portree
Looking out beyond the busses
From the bus -My buddy, who I tried three times and still couldn’t say his name, switched seats so I could have the window on the way back.
We had to stop for goats crossing the road
I wasn’t satisfied with this picture, but when I moved in forward to get a better view of the waterfall, my phone had died again. More memory pictures!
Next stop was a castle. It was optional to go in. We could sit outside or we could pay the discounted rate of 6.50 to go inside. I went back and forth about what I wanted to do. If it were more ruins, I could pass. But, I love castles. I figured, when am I going to be in Scotland again? So I paid, and asked the guide the name of the castle. I looked it up in my Rick Steves guide book and he said the outside was spectacular, but you could pass on going inside where they had everything set up in kind of a fake display of what it might have been like to live there. Damn. Oh well. I would decide for myself if it was worth the price of admission.
We arrived at the castle and it was spectacular. The castle had actually been in ruins and then was rebuilt to be about 85% accurate to what it would have originally looked like 100 years ago by a rich American. I crossed the bridge to the main entrance and was unimpressed by the informational multi media display in the first room. Then I went out into the courtyard with beautiful views and signs saying we couldn’t go through doors. Not yet worth it. Then I found a door that went into a little room with some mannequins in there looking over some papers. I climbed the narrow spiral stairs into the great hall where facts were being translated to a big group of Italians. Now this was getting to be cool. I climbed further up, my arms and shoulders brushing against the walls and saw how the bedrooms were set up. This was fantastic. I could finally imagine what it might have been like to live in a real castle! I climbed around the top part where guards kept an eye out for intruders and down and around to the kitchen. All the rooms and hallways were so tiny! I wanted to stay there for a few days and feel what it would be like to live there (although the beds didn’t look too comfortable and I didn’t see any showers). I wanted to buy this castle or one like it and invite people over. I was having the best time and to think I almost opted out! I bought myself a postcard and floated back to the bus grinning, so glad I’d opted in.
Winding south of the mountains this time, we stopped at Invermoriston for a bathroom break and picture opportunities at one of the pretties places yet. I wrote down the name of the town so I could tell anyone coming to Scotland to be sure to stop at the Invermoriston bridge. Or go back when I returned.
Our final unplanned stop was just above the Urquhart castle that I had gone to the day before. It was fun to see the ruins without tourists crawling all over it.
We got back at half 7 and I stopped at a grocery store and bought frozen broccoli and stuff for cheese and tomato sandwiches for dinner. I was thinking of making bruschetta with the cherry tomatoes that had been rolling around in my backpack all day, but they didn’t have french bread or mozzarella. So I improvised with slices of gouda and rolls. As I made my sandwiches in the hostel (for that night and breakfast the next morning) I was imagining the other hostelers thinking that my food choice was strange. It worked for me! Especially when I found some left behind pesto to go with them!