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Published: October 4th 2006
The Delicacy of Life
This is a picture of water droplets on a spiderweb from a roaring waterfall. It just reminded me of how delicate life can be.An update from the Isle of Skye...
The Isle of Skye is decieving--its actually a massive island 60 miles long in the Northwest of Scotland. Yesterday Adam and I hiked through marshland to see the old Nordic castle ruin of Castle Moil. Apparently, a beautiful, busty blone Nordic princess strung a chain across the body of water that flowed by the castle so that the ships couldnt pass by without paying a hefty fee. If she was pleased with the payment, she would pay the sailors back by baring her chest. Our tour guide suggested we visit the castle and "get into the spirit" by doing the same. I told the guide not to hold their breath.
Scotland has a lot of memorable stories like that.
We have continued the tour of Scotland with a group called MacBackpackers. Our group stopped at a few of the same sites as another tour group did who were called Edinburgh Tours. The only difference between the tours was that participants on our bus had far less money and more flexibility. We hopped off in our fleece jumpers and unwashed jeans, tearing down to the castle ruins, while they
slowly hobbled off in their leather penny loafers and slowly ambled to the lookout. It made me appreciate my health and vitality.
We visited a most bizarre museum in someones old cow barn. It must have been a flight of fancy because the focal point of the museum is a fictional character named Macquarie. All over the shed are hand-written signs with fantastic puns, "Watch for strong currants". My favorite sign reads like this:
A woman asked him if he would like some tea.
Macquarie winked and replied, "I would really rather have something stronger"
The woman replied, "Ive got a sheet of corrugated iron out back" and promptly retrieved it and hit him over the head with it.
Scottish humor.
One of our less bizarre stops was at Old Man Storr, a huge mountain with an incredible view. Another area that we toured was Faerie Glen, where faeries used to live. I have been corrected that faeries are not small, winged beauties that have magic dust but in fact actual little people that used to inhabit the island (and to some, still do!) who have very green eyes and
Mud shoes
After tramping through heather and streams... mischevious "cheeky" attitudes. We visited one of their homes that is now in ruins (like many things in Scotland...have they never heard of a bulldozer?!?) . It is now a place for people to come and think, contemplate, meditate or pray. It had a very calming, peaceful feeling about it among the green hills and we took 30 minutes to reflect on our journey. It occurred to me there that despite the fact that we were all people of different ages and nationalities, we are all travelers far away from home. Ive learned to appreciate home.
It was a very significant place...I found old strings of red buttons, coins, bracelets, and colored rocks that people had left there as tokens. I left a few of my own in a cave I found on a hillside, before sliding down the mud.
Scotland seems to remind me of a more gentle version of New Zealand. Its very green, full of sheep, cloudy much of the time, and rural. The people are friendly and tied to the land. Its a great place to visit.
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Ana
non-member comment
wow!
your much descriptive stories of your journey remind me of how sad our corporate and market focused lives are...you write of wonderful places in this world...of its history and such, i write about football players and cheerleaders (wonderful, smart women actually). carry on girlie!