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We awoke to no rain this morning but the skies held the possibility of showers in the heavy clouds that were rolling in from the ocean. After breakfast and showering, we drove into Oban where I was dropped off at the Internet Cafe (hope you all read the posts that day) while everyone else went to the bank to exchange money (Yikes! The 1.94 exchange rate gave us half the pounds we had in dollars) and stopped by the Tourist Information Center to get tickets for the ferry trip on Wednesday and the rail trip to Edinburgh on Thursday.
Then we drove 30 miles (an hour long drive on the winding, sometime single-track roads) south of Oban to an area known as Kilmartin. We made the Kilmartin Museum and Gift Shop our first stop. As we arrived it began to rain, but it was a light misty rain which seems to be prevalent in Scotland. Obviously, everything is so green here because it's constantly watered. And the temperature began dropping as the skies darkened. After buying our tickets we took the tour through the museum which shows the history of the land and it's people over the past 7,000 years.
This part of Scotland is where the first signs of man occurred with simple tools, boats and community living. By the time we exited the museum it was raining harder and getting colder.
We thought we might try to wait out the rain, so we opted for lunch at the cafe in the gift shop. The cafe had a roughhewn wood main dining area and a glass-enclosed dining area overlooking the field where a large cairn had been erected thousands of years ago. We chose the warm, wooden dining area, since we knew we'd be outside the rest of the day.Cindy, her mom and her dad had steaming hot bowls of potato and leek soup with bread, while I chose the homemade celery and yellow pepper soup (perhaps the best bowl of soup I have ever eaten) and a cheddar cheese sandwich on brown bread. We all agreed that the hot soup hit the spot on a cold and rainy day.
Deciding we could wait no longer we ventured out. The rain had lightened to a slight sprinkle, but the temperature was still very, very cold. I was wishing I had worn the thermal underwear I had packed.
We drove about a mile down the road to our first stop, The Nether Cairn, a field with several standing stones. We parked in the area set aside and emerged from the warmth and dryness of our rented car to walk across the sodden fields that held the items Cindy really wanted to see. After a few minutes of rain pelting our faces like needles, Cindy's mom and dad decided they had suffered enough and returned to the car, while Cindy and I continued trodding across to the next historical area, Temple Wood, where a cairn known as Nether Largie South Cairn and a stone circle had been erected.
Now here's the funny thing (if you believe in these sorts of things...and I don't), when we opened the gate and I stepped into the area of the cairn, a massive wind suddenly blew up from behind us. I mean the kind of wind that will knock you off your feet. I struggled to set my footing so I would not suffer that particular indignity, and the wind rose in even greater force. Cindy said the spirits of those buried in the cairn were expressing their displeasure with our presence.
Standing Stones
Three separate stands of stones (one is behind me in this picture). I say it was just a manifestation of the inclement weather we were enduring. Besides, my ancestors on my maternal grandfather's side of the family came from Scotland and, if anything, they would welcome this distaff descendant back to their shores.
Cold to the bone and wet from the steady but light rain, we returned to the car and drove another mile or so down the road to Fort Dunaad, a castle relic far up on top of a small mountain. Cindy's mom and dad remained in the car while Cindy and I bundled up and began plodding our way to the top of the mountain, since seeing these kinds of historical sites and relics is one of the main reasons Cindy wanted to visit Scotland. After we had made it about 3/4 of the way to the top, I became concerned that with the less and less sure footing of the trail, Cindy would become like the proverbial cat in the tree, able to make it up and then too afraid to venture down. Plus it had began to rain harder and harder by this point, making the trail of broken rocks from the castle and trampled gfrass
Cindy Standing on Cairn
Looking into the opening, thankfully no bodies or bones. even more slippery than usual. So I asked her to remain at that point while I went ahead and took pictures for her. She wasn't happy about it, but I'm glad she agreed because the footing on the rest of the path was difficult at best and downright dangerous in spots. I made it to the top, took some pictures and then carefully made my way back down to where she was waiting, and then we descended the remainder of the mountain together through the pouring rain and icy cold winds. By the time we reached the car, our heavy jackets were soaked and we were too. We stripped off our jackets, hats and gloves and tossed them in the trunk and then we scrambled to get into the car with the heater running and its shelter from the rain.
There was one more castle remnant we wanted to visit, but the rain was not letting up, the temperature was dropping more as the day wore on and we were cold, wet and hungry, so we headed back to the cottage where we had a nice meal of tomato and basil soup with bread and put ourselves to bed,
Circle of Stones...
...where the wind suddenly blew up behind me and almost knocked me over. tired from our day's journey and and climbing.
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AnnMarie
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Too bad about the weather, but I know you expected it. Glad you got to see some things you (or Cindy) wanted to see!