Day 1 had a rocky start. The tour guide was a half hour late and it was pouring rain. After that, however, things got better. I was there with four other girls from my program so I was in good company. The rest of our group was made up of 6 Spaniards and 3 Italians. Our first stop was Doune Castle. You may remember I have already been to Doune Castle, so that was not particularly exciting especially since we didn't stay very long.
After that we headed north. After picking up lunch we stopped to eat at Loch Lubnik, which was gorgeous!
We stopped again after driving more into the highlands. We were driving for hours but it felt like minutes. The scenery was so gorgeous it was hypnotizing. We finally stopped to take a picture of this stunning view. There were quite a lot of walkers and hikers around. It is THE LAW in Scotland that you are allowed to walk and hike anywhere you want, even if it is private land.
We kept traveling north with our tour guide providing us with little stories the entire way. She was kinda crazy...and horny. She talked about sex a lot. She was also very dramatic. When she told stories about tragedies that happened hundreds of years ago she worked herself into fake hysteria. It was...interesting. Anyways we were headed for Glen Coe. This mountain here is called the Dark Shepard. It is the mountain that guards the entrance to Glen Coe.
And here is the magnificent place itself! I was blown away by how amazing and beautiful this glen was. I wanted to set up a little house there and never leave it.
These three peaks are called "The Three Sisters". The two on the left hide a "secret" glen where cattle thieves used to hide stolen cattle.
Our
tour guide told us a very sad story about what happened to the
MacDonald clan here. The English King of the time (possibly James 6th,
don't quote me on that) wanted to control the people of the Highlands,
and so he offered them a deal: money for loyalty. Unfortunately clan
MacDonald did not sign the agreement in time. Therefore the king ordered
clan Campell to slaughter clan MacDonald...which this did in this very
glen after the members of the clan MacDonald had given them shelter from
a storm. The anger and hatred for the clan Campell for their betrayal
continues into modern times. She told us a ridiculous antidote how, in Glen Coe village, there was an Inn that had a sign that said "No Campell's allowed". (This is in the last ten years btw) One day an American was hiking and a horrible storm blew in and he went to the Inn to get cover, and when they discovered his last name was Campell they refused to serve him and threw him out into the storm! WTF He could have died! So naturally he sued and the Edinburgh court THREW THE CASE OUT! Seriously? It happened hundreds of years ago, get over it. I thought that was so stupid.
Anyways after that depressing story she brought out some whiskey and had us all take a swig (which was disgusting btw) and then after that we lay on your backs on this rock looking upsidown at the glen. This is what the camera saw, this is not what I saw. What I saw was an entirely different world. Not exaggerating. It looked entirely different. It was like the clouds were the ground and the mountains stretched out forever. It was incredible.
After the rock I lay down in the grass and just stared at the sky and listened to the wind blow...
Don't judge me, but I just love ferns, and they were everywhere! So....I went and sat in them.
After leaving the Glen we stopped briefly to see the tallest peak in the British Isles, Ben Nevis. It is that peak in the middle. It was very far away. The mountain is 1344 meters tall.
This next spot was to see Loch Gary, which from above looks like Scotland. Seriously, it does. I was skeptical until I saw it.
By this time it was nearing the end of the day and we finally made it to our hostel. This place was gorgeous. It was in a small village named Stromeferry. Population: 18. Isn't that insane!! I couldn't even get my mind around it! The hostel was an old house that had been converted and it was ride on the edge of the loch.
This is the hostel. Isn't it stunning? I loved staying there.
That night the Spaniards and Italians did the cooking, which was spectacular. They literally cooked us a feast. I hadn't eaten that good in LOOONNGGG TIME (sorry mom). Of course the American girls got stuck with dishes but it wasn't bad. By the end of the day I had learned everyone's names. When I fell asleep that night I was so excited for what the next day would bring.....
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