Today my good friend (and fellow Texan) Sara and I went on a tour of the Highlands, Glencoe, and Loch Ness. After revising for a week, we decided that we needed one last get away before exams started.
We were in a tour group of 14 leaving Edinburgh at 8AM, which meant that we had to leave St. Andrews by 6AM. Our cab driver's GPS misguided him a bit: he ended up driving up an incredibly steep hill and had to back down in reverse when he realized that it was a dead end. However, rolling down the steep hill he lost control and hit a wall. He then couldn't find our destination, and when I pulled the map up on my phone to show him, he said, "I don't have my glasses on." Needless to say, we were thankful to get out of there.
The tour bus was extremely comfortable, and the driver was much more competent than our cab driver. We drove for about an hour and a half West to a small town called Callandar. It was absolutely adorable, and we want to go back. We only had the chance to spend thirty minutes there (it was more of a restroom/food stop than anything), but the town was so cute.
Next, we headed North to the Highlands. It was truly incredible. The greenery, mountains, and lochs (lakes) are absolutely breathtaking. The bus stopped at various points for us to take pictures. We saw where the recent Bond film "Skyfall" was shot, along with other beautiful scenery.
On this drive, we made our way to the famous Loch Ness. Here we had lunch and went on a one hour boat tour of the loch (in search for Nessie). On the tour we were told many interesting facts about the loch (like how it has more water than any of the lochs in England and Wales combined). The water also looks black because of the peat in it, but is extremely pure and ready to drink. The loch is surrounded by massive mountains, and it's interesting to compare the depth of the water to the mountains: a lot of times the guide would say: "Look at the height of that mountain, add 20 yards, and that's how deep the water is at this point."
However, Loch Ness is probably most known for it's (alleged) monster Nessie that lurks in the water. The guide (clearly an avid fan of Nessie's) gave some compelling information, as I tried to keep an indifferent outlook. I questioned whether or not it was believed that this same monster has been alive for 9,000+ years. The guide informed me that it is believed these creatures are asexual and that there are eighteen "monsters" in Loch Ness. He also showed images that look shockingly like the drawing of Loch Ness Monster that appeared on the sonar less than a month ago! (And the 2.5 ton object was moving against the current, something a tree-what some speculate it to have been- would not have been able to do) Additionally, he explained that the remains of an animal gave a 99.6 percent DNA match to another animal called the Macroplata (one was even found in Lake Eerie) If you look up pictures of Macroplata, they again look eerily similar to the pictures of the Loch Ness Monster. However, while this information is interesting, I find it difficult to believe that with so many searchers and such improved technology the monster (or monsters if there are 18) has not been caught. Whether you believe in Nessie is up to you, but let these photos speak for themselves.
After Loch Ness, we slowly made our way back to Edinburgh taking a few more photo opportunities along the way. Once back in Edinburgh we had some delicious Chinese food (the first time I've had Chinese food since a few weeks before I left Texas). I then successfully navigated the train station and brought us back to St. Andrews. It was quite a lovely day, and though it was busy, we spent a good amount of time in each place (though there are definitely places I want to revisit.)
I love having moments where I look around at the beauty surrounding me and realize that I get to call this place home for the next three and a half years.
Callander
(it is believed that Nessie tried to climb out of the loch here, but it was too steep, so she fell back down)
(we found her!)
