"If you don't swim in Loch Ness, your children will sell their souls to the devil and become drug addicts."

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Said the guide as we left Inverness. The idea was that our children would be very proud to tell their friends we had been to the infamous Loch Ness, but having to admit that their parents had visited but not gone swimming, they would be ridiculed and shamed and everything else would be a downward spiral.

Which was awkward because I hadn't packed a bathing suit.

We stopped first at a spring called Munlochy Clootie Well. I have no idea what it means but it's a spot for an ancient sacred practice that has found its way into modern religion.



The idea is that if someone is sick, you take a piece of his/her clothing (preferrably related to the area of the body that is ailing), dip it in this spring (bottom right), sprinkle the water three times, then tie it to a tree and leave it. Apparently it was the practice of a very old religion, and later reimagined to fit in with Christianity; now this is the well of a Saint who will heal the sick person if this is done.

Some of the items of clothing left were unsettling, and some were heartbreaking.



The mitten. Geez.

One person commented that it must suck to be the people living in the nearby farmhouse, because every time a huge storm hit, they'd end up with odd pieces of clothing strewn about their property.

After this, we visited a whiskey distillery somewhat north of Inverness called Glen Ord. One of the great things about being on a tour is that we often get prices lowered and hours extended. The woman who led us through was very friendly, and it was fascinating to learn about the process of making whiskey, even if it did nothing to change my opinion of its taste. (Pretty much all of us agreed: No I don't taste the vanilla overtones or the hint of citrus, it just tastes like someone setting my saliva on fire.)

The view of the River Ness and the valley around it is absolutely beautiful. We ended up on the northeast end of the Loch, where it was almost as windy as it had been at the beach yesterday. Equally as cold.



There's an English man who has been living on this beach since 1991, when he left his job, girlfriend, and whole life to come here and find Nessie. He lives in a trailer right on the shore, and earns money selling handmade Nessie figurines. He was very friendly. Our guide is friends with him. Apparently he has not seen her yet.



Several people changed into bathing suits, went into the lake...and immediately ran out and changed back. I hadn't brought a bathing suit, and was not interested in getting my clothes soaked with frigid Scottish Loch-water.

So I waded. This is me touching Loch Ness.



My kids will dabble in drugs. I think I can handle that. I still touched Loch Ness.

The road following the edge of the Loch was closed for construction, so we took a detour through beautiful barren mountains with lots of sheep and a few smaller lochs along the way.



Stopping for the occasional photo-op.



Our next stop was Eilan Donan castle, famous for being the filming site of a James Bond movie and Highlander. Historically, it was owned by clans and destroyed after the Jacobite uprisings.



A rich family refurbished it in the early 20th century, and their descendents actually lived in the castle until the 1980s, when the first Highlander movie was filmed. From what I've heard about that movie, I think I'd leave too.

Some of the rooms inside have been made to look as they would have in the days of clan ownership. There are peepholes and secret passages and chambers inside the walls for listening in on people. In a main room, there is a painting of a Highland man, and his left foot appears to be pointing at you no matter where you stand. I am not making this up. The castle guide pointed it out to us, and after that I literally could not look away. It's like someone's twisted version of the Mona Lisa.



We were ony allowed to take pictures in the courtyard.





This is the most famous shot of the castle.

The second hostel is in a small village on the Isle of Skye, just off the bridge. Again,it is very nice and the people are fantastic. The village is tiny, but we have great views of the mainland.

Also the hostel owns the British version of Cranium, which is hilarious when a German, a Canadian, an Aussie, a Scot and an American sit down to try it out. We got 3/4 of the way around the board in two hours, before giving up and calling it a night. Hilarious.

Whole day on the Isle of Skye tomorrow.

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