Loch Ness!!!!

10/09/2010

That's right just got back from Loch Ness. Unfortunately, I don't have time today to write everything about it so my usual is to give you a tantalizing first view and then I will add to the pics later. They are posted on Facebook to those who want to see more who have it at least...

10/15/2010

And here it is.... not. I said I would but I went shopping with Iveta and didn't get back till 8 pm. I've been up since 8 am. Yeah that is not bad and I should get used to long hour days when I work for a living but here is the thing, I am not working yet :P Here is the bottom line, I will expand only a little bit now. It was a beautiful day! It was a three hour trip in the bus. Just fine for me. We went to a castle (will have the name of it later) It was a interesting (reminder to myself: stairs and joke with the Belgian). Took a half hour boat ride on the Loch and then saw Nessie. Took a picture with her. Found her again and took another picture. I then had a 2 hour hike that had me crossing a river in three places one-way and the way back but the view was spectacular on the tiny little beach (reminder to myself: 150 people in the street). We spent so long on the hike that we could not go to Cullodon (spell right later), the battle ground. We headed back then. So that is the outline. I will give you more details... Sunday (I am going to Stonehaven tomorrow). I promise I will get my butt in gear.

10/17/2010

  Nearly a week after actually giving you the photos, I have sat down expressly to give you the accounts of my time in Loch Ness. I apologize for that. The trip itself began at the ungodly hour of 8am. All right I can wake up that early. I make it a practice to wake up that early. It doesn't mean I have to like it. You won't know though because I can be smiley and talkative. I'm just full of contradictions. Of course I do get cranky when I am waken up before I plan to. Like when the fire alarm rings an hour before the time I was expecting to be up. That's five times now. I'm keeping track.

Urquahart Castle

cut I talked more with Amandie or Delphine (both from Belgium). I have yet to be brave enough to try and speak french with them. cut I tried to get some required reading done on the bus (obviously though I tried it wasn't enough for the rest of the week).

  It was the usual rainy weather in Aberdeen but when we went farther into the highlands the weather got a lot better. By the time we got to Loch Ness it was a beautiful sunny day, as seen in my photos. The castle are the remains of Urquhart castle. I didn't get any information on it. That should be your homework. All right, that should be mine but I have enough of it so no luck coming from my end. See that tower though? well the stairs were impossibly narrow and it was crazy winding up to the top. What is up with the Scots and the winding staircase? That's a rhetorical question since I already know it but I am just blowing off some steam from having to climb those steps. I really dislike them.

  I hinted that I would tell you the joke I shared with Amandie. I changed my mind. That should be left between friends though we had a lot of laughs at it in two different languages. It had to do with her camera not working and then deciding to work at battery was charged. Can you see my sick sense of humor here? I'll let you guess what I said with those hints.

  Like I said I found Nessie twice more. To be truthful though I don't understand the obsession with saying you took a picture with Nessie. Sorry everyone. To me the castle, the beautiful loch, and the folklore was just enough for me to be very happy. If I had to say why I dislike the before said obsession is because it is more or less too touristy. I really do have a dislike of being touristy though technically that's exactly what I am (I said before I am full of contradictions). Nevertheless I took pictures of both Nessie monuments.

  We were rushed out of the parking lot only to wait in another (Bad planning on their front). In the first parking lot there was an actual gift shop. We waited for the other buses to come and then with 150 students we walked down the main street to get to a hiking spot. Can you see the problem with this? What would have been smarter was the first bus to go on before the other two buses since then at least it would have only been 30 students at a time instead of the large parade we had. Of course traffic was stopped as people didn't want to be those left behind and they crossed with the crowd. Mass Mentality at it's finest. There was a nice cemetery that I would have loved to explore. As it was we had to cross a river because the bridge was washed out and we didn't want to turn back. Then like I said we had to cross it twice more. I even have a picture of Amandie crossing the most sturdy of the bridges. The view at the end was well worth it though I thought the beach would be a lot wider after all that work but it was still an adventure. I enjoyed it though I think it was pointless to go on this hike. There was a funny moment as a girl tried to cross at one point on the rope swing and succeeded in falling in the water. Of course I laughed. She was okay so it was all right.

  After all this I was tired so I fell asleep on the bus on the way back. My nose also was congested so that was all fun. We actually got home late as our bus driver loved to tell us. I had fun though and it was well worth it. After my nap I was well rested enough to go out to a pub with the many of the girls in our hall. Maybe this is why I am falling behind in my studies? Oh well I've caught up enough that I felt okay with taking the time to post this blog.

I am having a blast!

Me on the little beach at the end of the hike

Amandie on the one actual bridge to cross