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Tour Day 7
“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”
Tolkien
 July 28th, 2019 |  Me. A few of my incredibly caring new friends spotted the inscription on the back of this bench at the Commando Memorial in Lochaber, and suggested I take a seat for a photo. The monument honors the the commandos and their brave sacrifice during World War II and the inscription reflects the love of those left behind. To me it was also very personal as I had lost my Mom shortly before my trip, but she was with me in spirit and I carried her ashes in a small blue glass vial close to my heart. |  The Scottish weather cooperated and we all were able to enjoy lunch on top of the majestic Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the British Isles at 4,413 feet. Haggis the dog wasn't sure he wanted to be on top of the world but he certainly enjoyed watching the trail bikes blitz down the rocky trails. Haggis? He's a Scottish Deerhound & Border Collie cross, with out a doubt, unique. |  When you travel you should open your eyes and ears to new sights and sounds and your taste buds to new foods and flavors. Haggis chips. I'm not sure that I've found my new favorite snack but it was interesting. I tried haggis several times as I traveled around Scotland. My favorite was Chicken Balmoral, breast of chicken, filled with haggis, wrapped in bacon and served with a whisky sauce. An amazing combination of flavors and textures. |  In the cold and dreary winter of 1692, Campbell foot soldiers staying with the clan McDonald, received orders to turn on their hosts and kill all. The stunning, ragged and haunting beauty of Glencoe is soaked in the tragedy. Strange mists and clouds come and go. Pause and listen to the past move around you. Traffic packs the narrow road, we all cheered the skill of Grant, our driver, as he skillfully maneuvered our coach into the best place to park for our visit. |  Scotland's weather is ever changing and when glimpses of sun shining on a far hill would bring the coach alive with calls of Soot, sun's out over there! Is too much tourism a bad thing? I shared a gondola down Ben Nevis with a councilman from Glenfinnan, home of the Hogwart's Express which attracts visitors from around the world. In 2019 the numbers were expected to top 1/2 a million - and little parking. Maybe a good problem to have and a car park is in the works, scheduled to open in 2020. |
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Ben Nevis
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Tour Day 8
You only live once but if you do it right, once is enough. ~ Mae West
 July 29th, 2019 |  I wave good-bye to the tour as they head out from Oban to the Isles of Mull and Iona. I stayed back, took a day to explore Oban, to work on some writing and mostly to skip the ferry boat from Mull to Iona. Though I was missing the company and humor of my fellow travelers, and seeing the birthplace of Christianity on Iona, I was determined to make the most of my day and 7.5 miles of walking later, I felt I would give myself a B as my own tour guide. Ok, a B+. |  Oban in the early morning is quiet on the roads but busy in the port. Charter fishing boats and commercial boats vie for space on the big docks, steam rising from the pressure cleaners, fisherman getting ready for the next run out to the channels between the islands. It was a good time to bird watch and a local bird photographer was kind to share her knowledge freely, she spotted a few pair of Black Guillemots by the seawall, a slow but educational start to the day. |  Kilmore Church is only a ruin now but it's worthy of taking time to wander through the medieval foundation. It is thought the church could be built on a foundation which is much, much older but it has never been proven. Moss covered, weather beaten gravestones fill the cemetery, some of the fascinating celtic carvings still visible. |  Lunch time found me at the water again and waiting in line at the Green Shack. It's a busy, family run venture that turns out platter after platter of mussels and my lunch, a big thick salmon sandwich that had the seagulls eyeing me from atop a nearby light post. Had I known how skilled the pesky birds were at stealing I would not have held my sandwich out in front of me to admire it! And there went my lunch, on the wing. The wing that had just slapped me on the back of my head, the final insult |  After losing my lunch to a pesky bird, I felt a trip to the Oban distillery was needed for a tour and to pick up a bottle of one of my favorite whiskys. I hadn't planned on going to the Oban War & Peace museum but something about the outside pulled me inside. Go, please go and donate what you can. This fascinating place is full of local history, maps, photographs, artifacts and memorabilia. It's a hidden treasure. Our B&B was the perfect place to end the day watching the sunset. |
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