I
have a really hard time making Blogger post these images in an orderly fashion,
so bear with me! I made it to the bus pickup location this morning at 7:30,
about 30 minutes before departure time... and I was alone. The bus showed up
about 7:55, we loaded and departed. It was pretty easy. The interesting part is
that Rabbie's isn't the only bus company that departs
from that location. There are at least about 3 other companies that leave from
there too. The first stop was about an hour into the bus tour at Loch Lomand (at a cafe a little further down than the lookout at
which I stopped with Dr. Rattray). To the right (I
hope) is me standing with my morning Joe.
Underexposure!
Over
the next several hours, we crossed over into the Highlands. Immediate the
landscape was more hilly and had some really amazing
views. Unfortunately, the fog was a bit thick, so I had trouble getting my
camera to have the same output as my eye was able to do. I got a few laughs
from my awkward unfamiliarity with my camera. It's been too long since I went
out to take some artsy photos, so the image to the right should be my
underexposed image of a small Ben (hill) with added mystery from the strange
exposure. I actually am a big fan of underexposing images with the sun in
frame. Lens flare is something I actively try to capture. Call me crazy.
My welcome to Glencoe.
As
we kept driving, we happened upon a fantastic Monroe (tall peak) guarding
Glencoe (valley of the Coe?). I had a little heads up for this shot, since Rakesh had informed me of its presence yesterday at
cricket. We kept travelling on and the tour guide/driver told us stories of
great battles and massacres that had occured in this
very valley. One of which was the massacre of the McDonalds (not the clown). Apparently
they did not swear fealty to the King of Scotland who ordered their execution.
I can't remember the clan that came down, was offered food and shelter due to
terrible weather, and three weeks later killed 27 people in their sleep and
left the 300some left to starve or die of exposure. Apparently 3 of those were
sisters and it is said that these sisters are represented by three peaks just
north of the site of the massacre. Sad story, but AMAZING
scenery.
Left: The Three Sisters
Wee beach.
After
continuing to drive, we came across many more interesting sights. I don't
remember now where this beach was, but it was a nice little snapshot (yay aperture priority mode). We stopped for lunch in Fort Augusta, which
had a multistep lock to assist boats in making it all the way through the Great
Glen. No boats were going through today,
but it was interesting nonetheless I stopped in a pub and ordered a
takeaway fish and chips. I’m going to
miss fish and chips when I get back to Boston…
It was delicious, as fried food tends to be, but the chips still tasted
like potatoes instead of the normal mushy fried material that you get at fast
food places.
Ahh, lunch.
Actual lunch.
I need to run and eat dinner before
all the kitchens close, but here are the last three images that I’ll talk about
at a later time. Enjoy!
Looks like you had yet another amazing day!
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