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ISLE of SKYE
Friday, 06 April 2007
I stayed in Edinburgh for a few days until my friend’s schedule cleared up. On Thursday morning Korbi and I walked to the bus station and headed to Glasgow. We had to take another bus from Glasgow to Fort William, and then another to Mallaig. The last bus ride was a wild one. It had every granny and grandpa in western Scotland on it and all of their groceries. Their food was tossed about as the bus driver whipped around the little windy roads extremely fast. At each bus stop the driver would help the folks off of the bus with their groceries and trolleys and walking apparatuses. It made for a long trip, but it was good opportunity to meet the locals, eh? Ill, green and tired we arrived in Mallaig and got some of our own food for the next few days. We took a ferry over to the Isle of Skye and arrived in the little town of Armadale. We had one final bus ride to Broadford. It was time for a cup of coffee and a Guinness. Yes, the Guinness here DOES taste different and YES it does taste better. It’s lighter and doesn’t have that thick coffee aftertaste. We got a ride to Kilmarie from a really sweet man named Paul. He has been on Sky for about 10 years, but he grew up on a neighboring island with 14 other people. His Dad was the school teacher and only had three students, Paul was one of them.
We got dropped off at the trail head and walked to Camas Fhion. The mountains were big and bare. The landscape was open and sparsely covered in trees. The sky was full of color as the sun sunk into the Atlantic Ocean. It was a perfect way to end the day after all of that traveling.
The next day we walked along the rocky coast of Loch na Cuilce. We crossed a little river that connected to Loch Corusick, our final destination for the day. With each step the scenery grew more and more spectacular. There was so much rock around Korbie and I were bummed that we had not brought our climbing gear and ropes. The weather was amazingly warm and sunny. This part of Scotland is known for being wet and windy. We set up our base camp near some flat rock slabs and went on an evening walk. There were falls nearby and the sea was gorgeous. I could have stared at that sparkling water for ages.
The next day we scrambled up the 3000 foot high Sgurr Dubh Mor. There were a few spots where we had climb up, but nothing that required a rope. The first peak we reached was surprisingly green. It was so quiet up there. No wind, plenty of sunshine… it was magnificent. We sat and had a nice long meditation on top of the mountain. The particular ridge we were on was called the Cullin Ridge. It can be done in a day but most people take two to three days to complete all of it. We opted to just do a bit of it. The gully we descended that day was rocky and steep but not too bad.
The next day we hiked inland and finished up at the pub in Sligachan. We met some fun guys from Canada who were only in Scotland for a few days but were determined to hit up as many of the pubs and whiskey distilleries as possible! It was a fun night. We eventually made it back to Edinburgh via buses Monday at midnight. I got up early to pack my bag, say goodbye, and yes… get on another bus. I flew into Dublin in the late afternoon. I tried to make it to the Guinness factory in but I was stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on the top of a double decker bus. I decided to hop out and check out the Temple Bar area. I stayed with a very sweet gal, Juliette. We sung some songs together, ate Japanese food and did some yoga. I left at 6:30am the next day. It was freezing outside. I had to hop around for 45 minutes waiting for my connecting airport bus. I just barely made my flight to Newark. I mean just.. they let me cut into the security line and I had to run down to the gate and everything. I landed in Newark at 11am. It was pouring rain. It was the first rain I had seen in about 2 months! Princeton is actually a lot like England. The campus is beautiful and the town is cute…the accents aren’t nearly as cool though.
I was so fortunate to have good weather in Great Britain. I did not want to leave.  When I originally planned this trip I did not have a return flight home. I wanted to work in the UK for about three months, go to the Glastonbury festival in England and be around for the release of the 7th Harry Potter book. (I know I am a geek, I know!) But, when I was feeling exhausted in South Africa I bought a ticket to Newark to see my sister and changed two of my flight dates so that I would be home in Truckee in April.
I have always been a traveler...I usually like to go somewhere for about 2 to 3 months. When I got to the four month point, I got tired. However, when I got to the 6 month point I felt rejuvenated and ready to travel again. I came so close to changing my dates.... again. But, I already had my return flight home to Cali, my sister picking me up at the airport, Katie flying up to visit in Boston, Liz taking time off of work, yoga with Mike in Boston, Kiersten picking me up in Oakland, Meredith meeting me in the city, house sitting in Truckee..... it was TOO much to change… so I came back. It’s fine, I’m ready for Truckee, I am SO ready for Truckee actually. I can’t wait to see Donner Lake and get on the summit to climb. I have missed you dear friends, climbing partners, massage clients, musicians and yoga students!
 When you travel you just never know what might happen… maybe you find a place you want to live in, or a job you want to do, or someone you want to stay with. You never really know what to expect, when to make plans, or what to do next. Sometimes there are so many opportunities is is difficult to choose which one to do. Other times life feels empty and bland and it seems like nothing is going right. So then you make plans… and then later you wish you that never made those plans in the first place because now you missed this incredible opportunity. So what’s the lesson there? Make no plans so you’ll be open to every opportunity that comes your way? Or make plans because there are hidden opportunities in everything? ..... I like what John Lennon said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” I think it’s ok to plan if you can accept that life may not go according to plan.
Posted: 04.06.2007
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