Day 6 - Loch Ness to Edinburgh
Day 6 was largely uneventful, save for one activity. Ruaridh had managed to work more than magic and had not only booked us a tour on Loch Ness, he managed to get us each a seat on the same boat as we were supposed to be on the night before. That meant we would also be getting the much anticipated commentary of the biologist on board.
Though interesting, his research was not exactly conclusive, and scientist-Lauren had a few questions which made him stumble a bit. There's now doubt that there's something down in the depths of Loch Ness (which though narrow is deep enough to cover the whole of Britain with 6 inches of water, and only has visibility on the ten feet nearest to the surface) the mystery still remains as to what exactly it is. The US Navy has recently put a lot of money into providing equipment with lights bright enough to explore the depths of Ness, which would be a big improvement to the impressive yet still primitive sonar screens currently installed on the front of the boat. They have the technology to tell when there is something directly below them, but it rarely has any discernible form, nor can it determine what kind of object it is, which leaves much room for speculation.
The cruise was, however, informative and entertaining. It was really neat to see that though it is very unlikely that the dinosaur-with-flippers type image which is most often seen to be 'Nessy' lives in the deep waters of Loch Ness, it is quite undeniable that something very big and very unlike any other animal on this earth swims in its depths.
After the cruise, all that was left was the long ride back to Edinburgh. Ruaridh made a few stops to walk in the woods and another stop at the same Safeway we'd hit on day 2 after we'd climbed the mountain. We sat in a park to eat and then asked a kind gentlemen to take a photo of us all in front of the big yellow bus, and we were on our way again.
When we got back to Edinburgh I found the city to be rainy and without the same allure with which the Highlands had captured my heart. It still is a beautiful city and will remain one of my favourites in the world, but no man-made structure, no matter how grand and tall, can compare with the beauty of nature. I came back to the city wet, tired and with a great sense of loss, knowing I had become quite fond of these people I had spent the last 6 days with, and it was very unlikely I'd ever see any of them again. We exchanged email addresses and have promised to keep in touch, but save for a few I knew these were idle promises. I guess that's one of the downsides of traveling, eventually you have to go home, and it never quite feels the same. I'm not home yet, but the Haggis tour was like a vacation within a vacation and the feeling of loss is just as strong (if not more so) then the one I'll have when I finally do leave this country behind.
The rain did not help our misery, and neither did the almost hour-long wait outside Waverly Station with our bags, waiting for the bus to take us to the Globetrotter for our last night in Scotland. It would be spent doing laundry, sporting our brand new Haggis shirts (our only clean clothing at that point). We also met an Australian couple in the laundry room who were booked in for a three-day tour, and had a had a nice time telling them all about our adventures.
I'll miss Scotland, but I know I'll be back. I've got mountains to climb, caves to explore, and a kilted Scotsman to bag!
G'night!
