Wow...Where to start!
Yesterday was quite possibly one of my best day's traveling I have ever had. The night before, I stayed up all night talking with some new kids I met from Italy and France. We started talking in the early afternoon, and then found out we were rooming with each other later that night. They were great guys and we had a great time talking about our travels and where we had been. Really great time.
The next morning, we all woke up around 7 said our goodbyes. Stefan and Matheo were headed to Inverness on the mainland and Samy and Agathe were headed out to find a better camp site on Skye. We all had breakfast and they headed out. After saying goodbye, I had to figure out how to get up to the north of Skye. Since it was Saturday, the normal 3 buses that run during the day were reduced to one bus that ran every 4 hours....awkward. So, I talked to Euan, the owner of the hostel and he suggested that I try to hitchhike up to Portree and then get to Staffin from there.
So, I ripped up a microwave box and wrote Broadford on one side, Staffin on the other and headed out to the main road. Ok mom, I know you are reading this and freaking out, but I was perfectly fine!!
After standing on the side of the road with my day pack and my sign, a blue Mitsubishi pulled up and waved me in. He said that he was headed to Portree and that he would drop me at the main square, so I hopped in. This guy's name was John and he was a farmer on the Island. He explained to me how the island worked and that there were only 10,000 people that live on the entire Island year round. He also said that the winters get down to -27*C....no thanks. John told me about some great beaches up around Staffin and that I needed to get up close and personal with a Highland cow. Hmmm...face time with a 1800 pound shaggy headed cow....done. John also introduced me to his daughter Rebecca who I'm pretty sure he was trying to hook me up with, but whatever...I wasn't fighting it.
After John dropped me at the square, I found out that there was a bus leaving for Staffin in 20 minutes and thought that this would be much better than hitching it because it would be faster. I hopped the bus and we drove past the Old Man of Storr, which is a huge natural rock column that sticks out of the side of a mountain. Incredible. Finally, I arrived at Staffin and hopped out of the bus into this town of about 25 people and 7 trillion SHEEP. I have never seen so many sheep in my life. Everywhere....Sheep. We had to stop the bus 5 times because of the sheep that were just laying in the road. Stupid animals, but kind of neat at the same time.
I noticed after I got off of the bus that two girls had gotten off with me, so we started talking and were headed in the same direction so we decided to stick together. Ironically, they were both named Charlotte and were from France. We made our way through the small town and then down to the rock beach. The beach was amazing. It was a boulder beach with grassy hills between the rocks. We hiked along the cliffs for about a mile and saw the mountain range called the Quarrang over the beaches and the bay in front of us. We sat down, had a picnic, and napped for about 3 hours and it was incredible.
After getting back on the bus, we drove up to the north of the Island and I saw TONS (just 1 really fat) highland cow. After the cow, we stopped at Duntulm to see the castle ruins and then on the Uig to see the port. I can't describe the incredible beauty that rests on the north side of Skye. It is mandatory that everyone go there and see it.
After getting back to Portree, I decided that it was time to hitch back home to the hostel so I started out on the road. I stood around for about an hour and was finally picked up by a nice lady who informed me that she could take me only 3 of the 25 miles I would need to go. I figured that this was better than nothing, so I went for it. She dropped me at her small town (10 people) and I started waiting again. About 25 minutes later, a construction worker who had passed me on his bike in Portree was on his way back to Kyle of Lochalsh with his car and he carried me back to Broadford. He told me that the locals are so used to having kids hitch-hike up on the Island, that they always them up and give them as much help as they need. I was incredibly grateful and we had a great conversation about the health system in England and motorcycles. I know.....weird combination.
Once I got back to the Hostel, I grabbed a 2L pizza from the co-op and had dinner. I sat around and watched "There Will Be Blood" with some german kids and then headed down to the bonfire with Camy, Euan and Eva, the owners of the hostel. These guys were amazing. We sat around for 6 hours talking, playing guitar, drinking beers, joking, laughing, loving everything about being on Skye. The stars were incredibly brilliant due to there being no light pollution and I couldn't take my eyes off of them. It was definitely one of the best Hostels and nights I have ever had travelling.
This morning I said a sad goodbye to Skye and made my way to Glasgow on a 7 hour bus ride. Glasgow is lame, boring, and industrial. However, I did go to a kilt shop and find out about my last name and what Tartan I get to wear. I have 3 so....I'll have to make up my mind. Later, I walked around Glasgow an realized that it is just malls and shops and 1 museum so I went and watched the A-Team at the 9 story cinema. There's a big part of me that wants to go back to Skye, but oh well. I needed to come see Glasgow, I guess.
Tomorrow, I am headed to Edinburgh in the morning, dropping off my stuff and taking a day trip up to St. Andrews. I think it will be a good day, and who knows, maybe I'll get a picture of some famous golfer sucking it up on the course! Here's to trying! Tuesday is Prague!!
- Pondhopper
PS: Everyone that reads this needs to add Eva Broadford Kosta as a fan on Facebook. They are the best hostel on the Isle of Skye and they are wonderful people!! DO IT!!
