The Scottish Highlands

Stu and I took a nice trip up North for a few days. The Highlands of Scotland are probably the most famous place in all of Scotland. These mountains are the magical place that was home to the Picts and Scots, the beginnings of Scotland. Rough and rugged mountains showered by torrential rains and bitter cold, these are the lands of the tough. Additionally, this is where Whisky was invented and still thrives today (notice that we don't say Scotch. Here, there is no other whisky!).

We had a rainy, but beautiful trip up North, visiting the small village of Crinan for lunch and then staying the night in Oban, gateway to the West Isles. Near Crinan, there are several boat lochs in which you can run your boat or canoe through in the summer. Its very rustic here, but nice, well off the beaten path. Oban was a great town, small, but full of life. Quite touristy because of its access to the island ferry boats and its famous single malt whisky distillery.

(Loch Fyne)

(Boat lochs at Crinan)



(Road to Oban)

(Stu and I at Oban)

(Oban)

(Bridge at Clachan, near Easdale)

The next day we drove through some of the most gorgeous country consisting of ocean bays, pristine lakes, rugged mountain peaks, and rushing rivers. In New Zealand, several of the mountains and valleys are named after Scottish locations. Now I see why. It is strikingly similar to New Zealand here.

(Loch Leven, near Glencoe)

(Loch Linnhe, near Ft. William)

We visited Ft. William for lunch, which seemed to be a mecca for mountain climbers, as Scotland's highest peak, Ben Nevis (1334m), loomed in the background. Skiing is also popular out of this small township. On we went through Glen Coe twisting through narrow mountain roads surrounded by snowy mountain peaks. This drive was so similar to the road to Milford Sound in NZ, or Glenorchy NZ, or maybe Glacier National Park in MT.

(Ft. William)

(Near Glencoe)

Driving through here sure brought back memories of good old NZ and especially hanging out with my mate Stu. We were up to our usual shenanigans...

(High mountain Ninja action!)

So as you guessed, I had a great time in Scotland and I will definitely be back, next time when the sun is out so I can engage in some outdoor activities. Stu and his family were nothing but generous and lovely. They wouldn't even let me wash up after dinner. Ever. Thank you to the Byer's family!! I had a great time.

So now its off to my next adventure: Italy--a place I've been wanting to visit my whole life! I'm quite intimidated by the language barrier, but I'm sure it will be OK. I just found out that another one of my best mates from NZ, Angelo, will be moving back to Italy the same week as I arrive! How perfect. I'm also quite unsure about this next part of my journey because instead of being the relaxed tourist, I'm going to try to get a job here. It sounds impossible, especially because I don't speak Italian, but with a little luck we'll see what happens! If this doesn't work out, I'll go back to being that tourist and enjoy the sights before coming home for Christmas. So with that, I leave you with a nice Christmas tree from Edinburgh. Cheers!!

(Christmas tree, Rose St., Edinburgh)