Day 2 - Oban to Skye

Everyone was up, showered, fed and back on the bus by 8:30 a.m., and Ruaridh took great pleasure in ribbing all those who were remotely late. Robyn and another girl, a Kiwi named Sam, celebrated their birthdays which meant that Ruaridh would have to be nice all day to the two of them. However, when Robyn was the last one on the bus and then had to go back because she forgot a bag, teasing from all of us was simply unavoidable.

Weather-wise, day two was by far the best of the tour, and Ruaridh made sure we took full advantage. We left Oban and made our way further north, but not without a bit of a detour to Ruaridh's parents' house to pick up his golf clubs in case he had time over his three days off following the tour to play a round. To our surprise, we found out that he used to live in full view of a really cool landmark: the castle that is stormed at the end of Monty Python and the Holy Grayle! It was obviously not a big deal to him since he'd seen it pretty well every day while he was growing up, but being the annoying tourists that we are, we made him stop so we could get a snapshot.

Back on our way, we drove through the countryside, listening to Ruaridh tell more stories of Scottish clans and legends. His knowledge of the land's history was really astounding. He showed us Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in Scotland, and then took us to the Three Sisters, a chain of inviting-looking mountains. We took a couple of photographs and were about to get back on the bus when Ruaridh informed us that we would be earning our lunch today by climbing one of them! There was apparently a rough trail going a fair ways up the mountainside, and after everyone filled their packs with everything they'd need, we were off. The climb took 2 to 2 1/2 hours and was one of the most physically exhausting things I've ever done. Ruaridh's pace was faster than I'm sure many of us were used to and a few people, mainly 2 of the 3 Spanish girls (Vanessa and Pila) looked as though they'd bitten off more than they could chew with the tour in general. In place of hiking boots and water bottles they had high heels and hair straighteners. They meant well though, and were as sweet as can be. Lucia, the only one of the three who decided to do the climb, did it in a pair of very stylish though highly impractical ballet-type shoes. I took my hat off to her; she did Spain proud, even if the others didn't!

The views from the mountain were spectacular, and I'm not even sure my pictures will do them justice, so I won't even bother trying to describe them here. I didn't know it then, but getting to the top of that mountain was the precise moment I fell absolutely head-over-heals in love with Scotland.

After making our way back down to the bus, Ruaridh drove us to a supermarket to get our well-deserved lunch. He took us to a park at the base of Ben Nevis where we could lie in the sun, relax and enjoy our meal. The sun was so hot we almost felt like joining the locals for a swim in a near-by stream, but decided instead to all lay back and have a short nap in the shade. Robyn, on her way back from a walk remarked that it looked like a battlefield with all our exhausted bodies strewn about! Ruaridh came along and collected us all after a while and herded us back onto the bus to continue the tour.

At this point Lauren and I noticed that we hadn't had a bathroom break since we'd left the hostel that morning, so we asked if we would be able to stop somewhere before we continued on our way through the mountains. Well, that was a mistake! Apparently in Scotland all the supermarkets have public toilets in them. Not having that in Canada and not being told of the situation here, we hadn't gone. Luckily, once we brought it up a couple other people piped up saying they hadn't known about it either, so he had to stop. However, for the rest of the trip, every time we stopped for groceries, Ruaridh would shoot a look and a grin in Lauren's and my direction and would remind us that we could use the bathroom there as well, if needed!

That afternoon we made our way up to Eileen Donan Castle, the most photographed castle in Scotland. Before that, however, we were given a tour of Glencoe, the most beautiful region of the highlands and the site of many feature films. Braveheart, Harry Potter, Highlander and countess others were all filmed in the mountains, glens and lochs of the region. We were told the story of the Five Sisters and the well of the Seven Heads, both of which included the faery folk, a people Ruaridh best described as being "Scottish leprechauns." They were all great stories, and whether they ended with a laugh or not, there was always a moral to be found.

Eileen Donan Castle was a beautifully restored castle which is still the home of the MacRae family, who have owned it for a few hundred years. It seemed to be a large shrine to the family and their friends, and almost crossed the line between proud and conceited. Still beautiful though.

Finally we made it out to the Isle of Skye, where we would be spending 2 nights in a hostel by the name of Saucy Mary's. This hostel got its name from a local legend in Kyleakin, a small fishing village just across the bridge on Skye. Apparently, as legend goes, the ruined castle (not a ten minute walk from the hostel) was once owned by a Viking king and his wife Mary. The king owned a ferry which was the only way to get between the Isle and the mainland. Having a monopoly on this important service, he was able to charge exorbitant amounts (a practice which is still done today with a 41£ charge for the bus to cross the bridge). Mary, however, felt sorry for all the men who had to pay the toll to get back and forth, so as they made their way across she would run up to the top of the castle and would flash her breasts out to the sea for all the men to enjoy. For this activity she acquired the nickname "Saucy Mary," and it has now become a favourite activity for tourists who have been told the legend, especially for those staying at Saucy Mary's. But more on that later (*wink wink*)

Saucy Mary's is part hostel, part public watering-hole, so we quickly dropped our stuff in the rooms and headed down to the pub for a pint and a meal and a game or two of pool. Isabelle, Lauren and I were in a room of our own, which was nice as we all got along really well and wouldn't be disturbing anyone if we decided to come in late.

Dinner and cake for the birthday girls was done in the bar, and then we headed across the road to the only other bar in Kyleakin to enjoy the live music they had playing that night. Word got round at the bar that Ruaridh was going to take all those who wanted to go up to the castle with some beer for a bit of a party, and after a small fiasco with people being picky about their drinks (BEER people, it's not that hard!!), we headed out in the dark. Now you would think that even our tour guide would be sober enough to remember to bring a flashlight when taking a bunch of drunk tourists to a castle in a place we've never been before, but no. We managed to make do with the LCD screens of a couple of cell phones and my digital camera which gave off some light. Paul slipped once on a wet rock, but got up quickly and declared rather drunkenly "I'm....ok.."

Halfway up to the castle, however, we hit a snag. It seems they'd had a lot of rain in Skye the few days previous and the tide along the beach had come up higher than usual, blocking our way up to the castle. We'd already paid for our beer though, and were in full gear for a party, so we sat and drank on the beach instead. Another dark and drunken walk back to the main road and we fell into bed, looking forward to our tour of Skye the next day.