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Two Full Days
Monday, 26 March 2007
Thursday April 22nd began with an 8 am start. I left the flat at Edinburgh at 9am. After wandering around a bit I found the bus depot at 9:40. I was on a bus bound for Ardrossan at 9:45. When I got to Glasgow I was expecting an 11:10 connection. However, the next bus was not until 12:10. So I walked around in search of a cup of coffee. The only place I could find was Starbucks. Low and behold I met a gal from the States. We got to talking and the next thing I knew it was 12:00. I quickly walked to the bus depot. I got there at 12:06. My bus had come and gone. I was frustrated, buses aren’t supposed to leave early! The next bus left at 1:10. I checked my email and walked around. Next thing I knew it was 1:02 and I was by the Starbucks again! I walked quickly to the bus depot this time taking a short cut through the music hall. I got to the depot at 1:06 and I was on the bus as it pulled out of the station at 1:10. Whew! I took a ferry from Ardrossan to the Isle of Arran. The water was absolutely mesmerizing. It was a deep blue filled with pools of a lighter shade of blue. The circular patterns dissolved and reformed along the water’s surface.
Once the boat reached the island I went to the supermarket to get some supplies for the next few days. Having done that, I missed the bus and there was not another one for 3 hours. I was 15 miles away from my hostel. It was getting dark and I knew I had to get a move on. The lady at the info desk told me that it’s safe to hitch here. I stuck out my thumb and had no problem getting a ride. My first ride was from a mother and daughter, the next from an older man with a thick Scottish accent, and the third from a tree doctor.
The hostel was right on the Kilbrannan Sound. After I settled in I went out for a sunset stroll. I investigated the Lochranza castle and the water shore. I sat on a tranquil bench to meditate. After a half hour I opened my eyes to see the last bit of pink glisten and fade with the setting sun. And that, my friends, is a full day of traveling.
I woke the next morning and set out for a long hike. I decided to go up Glen Catacol to Loch Tanna. The trail was very obvious for a while and then faded out. I followed the river up the valley. There were some gorgeous waterfalls along the way. The main river was shallow and floated along a smooth rock surface all the way down to the valley floor below. If I had a wetsuit with me I would have been tempted to ride the natural waterslide all the way down to the Kilbrannan Sound. It was stunning to see Loch Tanna shimmering in the sunlight. Instead of me retracing my steps I decided to find my own way to another trail. I walked up a mountain and circled around two peaks. It wouldn’t have been too terrible except for the fact that the mountainside was covered with boulders and heather. It was tricky to walk with out my feet slipping into holes. I could just hear my mother’s voice “You’re going to fall and break your neck!” I made it down OK and eventually made it over to the trail. I went up another valley and wound my way back to Loch na Davie. It was MUDDY!! I mean really muddy! This made the decent back rather tricky. I felt like a drunken sailor walking my weary sea legs back to town. I had to laugh at myself when I would take a step and fully slide on one foot for five feet before catching my balance. Remember how Gumby could whiz around on one foot? ¬¬¬ I felt like Gumby. Other times my whole foot would get suctioned down into the mud. (a big thanks to Tracey and Roman for sending me my gore-tex hiking boots and wool socks!! I needed them!)
After a few hours of this I was feeling a bit drained. At one point I was in front of a rather large, wet, grassy area. “Screw it”, I thought, “I am already muddy.” I took a long stride into the muddy mass in front of me. My right leg sunk all the way up to my knee! I managed to get the foot free. Then as I stepped forward my left foot sunk and as I pulled it up my toe caught on a rock below the mud. I was going down!! I put out my hands just in time to stop myself. Luckily I was wearing my gloves (thanks again Roman and Tracey!) and my knees only sunk into the dirt a little bit. Whew! I got back to Lochranza about 8 hours later. The village was such a cute sight to see with its whiskey distillery, green pastures, grazing sheep, smoky chimneys, and calm loch nestled within steep mountains covered in heather and grouse.
The next morning I left the hostel at 7 am. Being the nutty mountain gal that I am, I decided to tackle the steepest assent to Goatfell Peak, the Corrie Burn trail. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I crossed over a river and continued up the mountain. Soon I was in the clouds. For a few brief moments the air would clear and I could see around me. Just when I was about to give up and descend down a rock gully, I looked up and saw the ridge about 50 feet above me. I traversed up and over. It was still cloudy but the rock formations were incredible. I scrambled around and traversed along four small peaks. The clouds moved back in and I descended back down to the town of Brodick. The trail ended at a local brewery. Nice! I went in for a tasting and bought some beers for my friend’s, Korbie & Paul, in Edinburgh. On the train back I met Napoleon Dynamite’s painfully shy brunette twin. I love traveling. No matter how hard you try to plan, you never know who you are going to meet, or where you may end up. I enjoyed a tasty meal of mussels and hugs from my friends once I got back to Edinburgh, they enjoyed their beers. (I am typing on a German computer, so please pardon the odd symbols!)
Posted: 03.26.2007
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