365 Days of Solitude: Glasgow to Iona

It's 8:00 in the morning, the sun still hasn't risen and the wind is howling at a consistent 20 miles an hour over the small Isle of Iona. Thankfully I'm sitting in the living room of the hostel with a warm cup of tea trying to decide what book to read! Truth be told, the weather really isn't all that bad - it has been sunny for three consecutive days, which everyone on the island has said is nothing short of miraculous this time of year, and the wind just makes me feel like I'm back in NM! You can't really be expecting much better in the north Atlantic as winter approaches, right?

On the bus ride over to Fionnphort, a fellow passenger who has been coming to the Iona for thirty years described the island to me as a "thin place". These are places where, according to the Celts, the barrier between earth and the divine is unusually blurred and the two intermingle. While I'm not in a place to confirm or deny the holiness of the island, I have been nothing short of charmed by its beauty. It's almost like taking a step back in time - the island is covered with crofts (small scale farming/ranching operations) and the resident cattle and sheep keep an eye on you as you walk the length of the isle. They also keep you company when you slip and fall coming down the wet steeps from on top of Dun'i (the highest point of Iona)!

I first heard about Iona during my first day in Edinburgh. Since I was in Scotland, I thought it would be fitting to be adventurous and try haggis, although when I ordered I had no idea what the side dishes of "Nips and Tatties" were (they're actually mashed turnips and potatoes). I can safely say that I enjoyed haggis and would have no problems with eating it again - it turns out sheep heart and liver can actually be pretty tasty given enough spices and cooking. And this wasn't even the most adventurous thing I'd eaten to date - in the Alps I ordered "andouillette" sausage thinking it was "andouille" - the major difference being that the former is made of coarsely chopped pig or veal intestines - mmmm, gotta love that tripe! Anyway, I'm getting off track - the point of bringing this haggis dinner up was that I got to talking with the couple that was seated next to me. Their names were John and Liz and they hailed from Glasgow. John's birthday was coming up and they had decided to spend the weekend in Edinburgh to celebrate. We talked about everything from traveling to families to school and work - you name it - we might have fixed a few of the world's problems right then and there! It was during this time that they told me about Iona and recommended that I make visit before leaving Scotland. After we had finished up at the restaurant, they invited me to join them at comedy club. Off we went into the Edinburgh night! We were all laughing like crazy - the few beers and ciders we'd had made it easy for us to laugh at the jokes being told, even though it was standup night and more than one of the performers looked and sounded like they were new to it. It was a fantastic time as they are both wonderful people - I felt like I was out and about with family!

I spent a few extra days on top of the original four that I had planned in Edinburgh. This was mostly so I could attend a rugby game between Scotland and South Africa. I have been trying to go see some type of sporting event ever since I was in Spain, but it hadn't worked out until now. The Scottish team were having quite a rough time of it - they had been mercilessly defeated by the #1 ranked New Zealand All Blacks the weekend prior and South Africa was ranked #2! The game was absolutely freezing cold and that might have been the only thing the Scots had going for them because even though the final score was 10-21 South Africa, it was a very unmatched game. My knowledge of rugby is still pretty slim but it didn't take long to figure out that the refs were being overly cautious and slow with calls and resuming play - this was confirmed by a surprisingly loud yell from the man next to me "Ah speed it oop ref, I'm grooin' a fookin' beard!" Needless to say, the ref must not have been a fan of facial hair because the game resumed quickly.

Last Monday I left Edinburgh for Oban - home of the famous Oban whisky distillery. Of course this wasn't my only reason for going....just one of the main ones! It is also the gateway to the Isles of Mull and Iona where I hoped to end up. My original plan (I've noticed that I use this phrase a lot) was to stay four nights here before going out to Iona on Friday, but as fate would have it there were 5 other Americans at the hostel who invited me to join them for Thanksgiving dinner. They were there in the capacity of workers, a title which also belong to twenty other "youths" at the hostel. Being one of three guests I found this very interesting, but it turned out the owner would let them stay for free in exchange for 3hrs of work a day - pretty sweet deal. They couldn't put together a dinner Thursday because a large tour group comes through so they decided to move celebrations back to Friday. I was sad that I would not be able to get the normal Thanksgiving fixings this year but I needn't have worried! I was less than helpful with the preparations because I was out hiking all day on Mull in the rain and hail, but I definitely played my part in the consumption and enjoyment of the meal. It was a wonderful evening, with all twenty-five workers plus me in attendance. Who would have guessed that the largest Thanksgiving meal I'd ever been a part of was to be in Scotland with a bunch of other vagabonds?

The sun has finally peeked above the horizon, the wind is still howling and my tea is now room temp - time to go make another cup! I hope that you all had a great holiday this past week and were able to get plenty of relaxing and enjoyment in. Tomorrow I head out for London - the first leg of a mad dash down to Rome, where I will be meeting my brother on Friday! I can't wait to see him. Until next time!

Glasgow:

Oh no, not more black and white photos! (Don't worry, there's plenty of color ones too)

Queen's Park in Glasgow

This was set on top of a wall - not sure if it is some type of Celtic barbed wire or just a decoration.

I'm guessing that this is Glasgow's answer to the Buffalo Bar back in NM - I didn't stop in to find out.

The ceiling at Glasgow's Modern Art Gallery.

Edinburgh:

Me with my new friends, John and Liz!

Edinburgh!

St. Giles' Cathedral

It's a poster child! Get it?

See what I did - followed up a joke with a picture of a joke shop - cheeky.

You have to love the humor!

A Celtic cross near the Edinburgh Castle.

Holyrood Park

Still in Holyrood, climbing up above Edinburgh

Looking towards Arthur's Seat (it's the mountain) in Holyrood

A pair of ravens

Autumn is still very much alive here.

Donaldson's College - its for sale if anyone is interested.

Interesting sculpture/sign outside the modern art museum in Edinburgh.

Deep in thought with a triangle.

Couldn't have said it better - it's nice to be reminded of this from time to time.

Eddies in the Water of Leith.

Reflection in the Water of Leith (that's a fancy name for a river isn't it?)

YEEEEEESSSS!!! They had 23 different White Russians on the menu - I wasn't aware you could mix vodka, kahlua, and cream in so many different ways!

Oban:

Everyone take note of the phrase "Cooked to Perfection" - now please make sure you say this every chance you get the next time you are in front of Luke.

The wharf in Oban.

Whisky tasting here I come!

Sinister fruit.

Oban as seen from McCraig's Tower.

The inside of the "tower".

I've noticed that

This vessel ran aground some time ago...

Isle of Mull:

The Duart Castle at dawn (as seen from the Oban-Mull ferry).

Something straight out of Fangorn.

Nope, this is not another castle - just a home on the Isle of Mull.

Aftermath of a sudden hail storm.

Looking back toward inland Mull, on my way to Duart.

Duart in the distance.

Cemetery and the sea.

The view from the backside of the Duart Castle.

Iona:

Plaque outside the hostel in Iona.

Dun'i and my home for four days on Iona.

Creepy, leftover Halloween display and/or scarecrows.

Remains of the Iona nunnery.

A'Mhachair on the west side of Iona - this must mean "the footpaths double as rivers" in Celtic.

Ah, the sea!

Cast away fishermen's cages.

Even though it is near wintertime, there were still plenty of snails and flowers to be found in the grass around the island.

Columba's Bay to the south.

Driest patch of land I found all day! Okay maybe not, but I much preferred this terrain to the bog that I stumbled into later in the day.

Out above the water at Columba's.

The Scottish version of crop-circles.

Last picture before the bog incident.

Road on the way back to Baile Mòr (post bog incident).

Wind ravaged trees.

Traig an Suidhe on Iona.

It's great to be on the beach, but I wasn't tough enough to brave a swim in the North Atlantic.

The perfect beach - the only thing that could make it better is above fifty degree weather.

Lookout from the top of Dun'i - at a whopping 600m!

Look at those long locks blowing in the wind!

Nothing is open on Iona, as far as restaurants or other places for food, this time of year so I've been spending a lot of time here - I've enjoyed being able to cook again.

The Iona Abbey.

A Celtic Cross from the 8th Century!!! How crazy is that?!

Inside the abbey - no one was there so I popped in without paying the fee (shhhhhh!) It seems ridiculous to me to charge six pounds to walk around a building anyway.