Day 7: Bus Tour to Cairns/Standing Stones, Culloden Battlefield, Glen Affric, & Loch Ness

Apr 24

I can’t believe it’s been a week already! My body is feeling every waking hour but my mind feels like I just got here!

Today started early by getting my tattoo. I wanted to get one in each of the countries but I decides to squeeze all 3 in when I had the chance. Most shops require advance appointments and I was lucky to find a guy who was able to accommodate my tight schedule. I ❤️ them! Best souvenir ever! My daddy would not be proud, BUT he did teach me to express myself, so there you go!

I ended up signing up for a bus tour because I didn’t want to deal with renting a car again but I experienced the reason I didn’t want to do group tours in the first place. I don’t like being on someone else's schedule. I felt like I had to race back to the bus at every location and I was always the last person that they were waiting on. I’m a very contemplative person and I like to take my time and read everything and feel the feels these locations arouse in me. Others seem to just zip through and wanna be off to the next one. Other than a few half-hearted “sternful” reminders from the bus driver, it worked out OK though.

The first group of standing stones is what inspired Diana Gabaldon to write the Outlander series. (I bet she took more than 45 minutes to experience them on her first visit!!) It was pretting amazing to think that they’ve been there for over 4000 years (from the Neolithic Era) and how the people got them there. It’s been said that there were no beasts of burden (horses/oxen) available to them at that time, so it was all manpower. I overheard one of the other guides mention that really thick kelp (seaweed) placed underneath helped slide them along but who knows?

Culloden was… its hard to find the words. I thank Ms.Gabaldon for teaching me about this cause and fight and the whole period of history with its subsequent events because our history books certainly didnt. Its hard to imagine what the Jacobites went through… with their whole hearted belief in something/someone that cost them their lives and their future ancestors way of life and it basically amounted to nothing.

We stopped in Beauly for lunch which I learned was named that after Mary Queen of Scots visited the area and called it beautiful in French (she was fluent after being raised in France). I went in (a very dangerous) award winning gift shop (who knew gift shops could win awards?) called Old School. We won’t talk about my receipt but I DID refrain from buying an absolutely gorgeous $200 handmade Scottish wool sweater.

Glen Affric is said to be the most beautiful valley (glen) in Scotland. We took a few nature walks along the river and up a hill. I had to sit out the last one. My knees and legs are D.O.N.E. after this last week. I’m seriously considering throwing away most of my clothes and the large purple suitcase. Sorry, Joanne Levine! Anyway the walks did deliver gorgeous scenery. I didn't get a BIG waterfall though. That wasn’t on the tour.

Lastly, Loch Ness! It was a just a quick stop and no Nessie sightings, except for the big plastic green one. The tour guide claims her parents saw something back in the 70’s and are convinced that Nessie is actually a giant 10 ft slug. I might be able to buy that one. With that, the tour was done. It was a long day but well worth it.

I found a Chinese restaurant near my hotel and it was actually some of the best Chinese food I’ve ever had! Imagine that… in Inverness!

I barely made it back to my room, which is up 5 flights of stairs before collapsing… which is why this post is a day late. My apologies.

Off to Edinburgh today, if I can get out of bed.

Love to all back home!