MacBackpackers Bus Tour... HIGHLANDS!!

On Thursday Daniel and I got off work early and were told that we could have Friday off... three day weekend? okay. We had to take advantage of that SO Daniel found a bus tour company that had a sale and we booked a three day tour of the Highlands.  It was incredible. Two of the other interns (Claire and Danny)also signed up and we all had a blast together.

Here is the basic map/itinerary of what we did BUT our tour guides, Graeme & Richard, were so wonderful that they added a few extra things.

Day 1: We left Friday morning at 9:00am.  First we drove up to Dunkeld--a small town along the river Tay. 


Look at the clouds! They move so fast that the weather changes all the time.  One second it's beautiful and sunny and the next it's hailing cats and dogs.  It made for an interesting little trip.



 Then we visited the Dunkeld Cathedral (which dates back to the 1600's). Unfortunately, it was recently pretty destroyed by a fire so we just had to walk the perimeter BUT apparently you can still see musket-ball holes in the side from the Battle of Dunkeld which took place in like 1680. OK...I didn't actually see them, but I believe they are there!  It was really neat and naturally the old cemetery had me in awe.

Daniel and the River Tay

 Shortly after that little stop, we entered the Highlands.  Immediately the landscape changed.  The whole area has been carved out by ancient glaciers so there are deep valleys and grooves everywhere.  Also, the vegetation is way different too.  I didn't realize it but the Highlands are way WAY up north! I think where we were staying was only about 400 miles south of Iceland; therefore, it rains a lot.  Everything is green.  It's FREEZING. And it's absolutely beautiful. 

 We stopped at the Ruthven Barracks.  They were built around 1719.  Apparently, the Highlanders were always more than willing to fight against the British, as a result, the British went in, destroyed Highlanders castles and replaced them with these barracks so that they could have troops ready to put down any forming rebellions and so that they could spy on the Highlanders.  They were strategically placed all over the highlands.  Naturally, the highlanders hated them.

Daniel was plaing army man in the barracks and right when he was shooting at something, one of the little Asian girls from our group walked by and I think he freaked her out. haha

Just a pretty view from our bus window.  Brace yourself... we have lots of them.

 Then we went to Loch Ness.  Some of the kids in our group actually jumped in.  Daniel was going to, but changed his mind last minute.  It was probably for the best.  He didn't have a towel and it was freezing.

Want to learn about the Loch Ness Monster?!?  From the mouth of a native highland boy, the Loch Ness Monster is the equivalent to the US's Big Foot and she lives in the Loch Ness (that's easy enough).  However, I find this tale a bit more convincing than Big Foot.  A lot of people believe that there is/was a prehistoric breed of some sort of animal living at the bottom of the lake (which is incredibly deep and hasn't been adequately studied).  Why can't they find her??  They found underground water tunnels that lead to different lakes throughout Scotland!  She could be anywhere... not just in Loch Ness.  Love it and totally buy it. haha  I hope she's real.

Daniel and I in front of Loch Ness

Loch Ness again

 Then we got back on the bus and kept driving.  Oh look! There is a multi-hundred year castle just chillin out there! (I feel like I said this a lot during the tour).  This is the Urquhart Castle.  It overlooks Loch Ness and a lot of the Nessie sightings occurred here.

 During parts of the bus ride, we would listen to traditional Scottish music and I loved imagining living back in the day of the clans, kilts, and castles.  Naturally in my mind I was the Clan Chief's daughter (Chief Donald), incredibly beautiful and sought after, and living the high life--not cold or starving. It was so awesome.  Just seeing things that are so old and being places with so much recorded history created a whole different feeling.

 The next castle we ran into was the Eilean Donan Castle.  The original was built in the early 13th century and it sits at the point where three lochs join together.  They say it's one of the most romantic places in the world.  We didn't get to go inside because there was a wedding going on, but it was still beautiful.  We have a lot of pictures of this one.

 Finally we made it to our hostel (which was actually a house that the tour company owns) in Kyleakin on the Isle of Skye (Daniel just informed me that we know it was a Scandinavian settlement because of the "Y" in the name--I'll tell you more about a "Saucy" Scandinavian later).  Daniel and I packed some quick noodles for dinner, made them at the house/hostel and headed off for a night at the pub.  We got hammered.  Just kidding!!!!haha there was a live band and we stood there awkwardly listening while everyone around us was going nuts.  It's not my scene but it was interesting enough.  I didn't take any pictures of the pub the first day... but I think I have one later on.  I'll post it later.  I have to end this little entry here and pick up the rest tomorrow.

Daniel and me on the Isle of Skye

Be excited because my favorite parts of the trip have yet to be discussed!