Scotland - Inverness to Isle of Skye

Mel, Val, Sharee and Holly all met up in Inverness on Monday night and spent Tuesday at Loch Ness and Culloden.  At the Culloden visitors center they explained a lot about highlander culture and how the battle of Culloden was won.  I wasn't there but these pics of Mel and how a kilt would have been worn were so awesome - I had to include them. 

The kilt is just a huge piece of fabric with the pleated folded in as you put it on.  The kilt was difficult to put on and wouldn't have been changed often.

The layers would have also been used as protection from the weather.

The shield and spear of the highlander.  The more decorated the shield the more wealthy you were.

We had to take a pic for the boys.

Our first meal together was delicious - even the haggis meatballs.

Laura ordered the dessert for us and the waiter teased that that was a lot of dessert for one person.  She played it up as well so when he brought out the sticky toffee puddings and the cheesecake he placed them all in front of her.  They were so yummy.

The next morning we headed to Isle of Skye with a stop at Eileen Donan before we crossed the bridge.

Our first stop on the Isle was the Fairy Pools.  We put on all the rain protection we had and set off in an absolute downpour.  The wind sent the rain at us sideways which meant our right half was soaked in no time.  our pants were so wet they started dripping water into our shoes.  So much for being waterproof!  We could feel the water slowing creeping from the top of our sock, to the heel, to the arch, and finally the toes.  Soon water was squishing out of my shoe with every step.

The wonderful falls and pool were incredible and the intense wet made the experience memorable.

From there we drove to the lighthouse which was absolutely covered in fog, but it wasn't raining too hard so Val, Laura, Mel and I decided to see if we walked closer if we could get a better view.  The wind was absolutely fierce until we got a little lower and took a little turn and then it was lovely.  There were a bunch of sheep and lambs avoiding the weather as well.

The fog was such that we couldn't see the lighthouse until we rounded another bend this time into the wind again.  We opted not to walk any closer and retreated to the less windy section of the trail.

By that point we were getting hungry so we headed to the nearest town.  For most of our time on Skye the roads were narrow - only wide enough for one vehicle.  There was a lot of pulling off and backing up, definitely not driving for the fainthearted. 

We found a pizza place and were thrilled with food, warm beverages, and lots of chatting.

Our hotel that night had a lovely view of the sea complete with colorful houses and shops.  

The next morning looked beautiful until we got higher up and found fog again.  We intended to see the Old Man of Storr, not realizing that the hike was quite intense.  Sharee didn't last long and Holly walked her back to the van.  The rest of us trudged on through the fog, cold and rain.  My shoes were still wet from the fairy pools so I did the hike in my Chacos.  I received a few comments that I was crazy.  

We had on too many layers and more than one of us shed a layer but kept it in our raincoats to keep the layer dry.  It made us look pregnant. 

Just when the hike seemed too long and we started to feel bad for leaving Sharee and Holly we looked up and could see it.

The Old Man was pretty unique even through the thick fog.

We hiked up a little farther where we seemed to be on a mound in the middle of the clouds.  We were wet and cold but loved the hike and amazing rock structure.

From there we checked out Kilt Rock and Mealt falls.

We headed to Quirarang which was so foggy but as we walked the fog cleared for some gorgeous views of the valley.

We got stuck behind a biker on the one lane road on our foggy drive back into town - quite the adventure. 

The Fairy Glenn did not disappoint except with their lack of bathroom.  I may have had to wander off the paths and around a bit to find a place where only the sheep could see me tricky pee.

We had to wait our turns to climb through narrow path through the rocks to be able to view the whole glenn.

This is the rock we stood in a line to climb to the top.

Loved watching the sheep as we waited for them to cross the street.

We ended our day at Dunvegan Castle.

We were surprised and creeped out by this life-size figure hiding around the corner to show the servants hallways.

The grounds were beautiful with so many unique plants.

I tried to see the seals that live near the castle but struck out.  We headed to our hotel, which was right next to the bridge leading off the Isle.  While waiting for Laura to check in I spotted dolphins in the bay.  Our day totaled at 19,000 steps and 100 flights - not too shabby.  

We enjoyed an odd but good meal at our hotel while Holly asked us questions and we all enjoyed just being together.