Since we had spent our last two days out and about, we hadn't had any real time (besides dinners) to enjoy the cute harbor town of Portree where we've been staying. Knowing that we were in no real rush today, we strolled around town and visited a few shops, but were disappointed as several were closed on Sunday, a thought which hadn't crossed our minds. Oh well, that probably just meant we weren't spending the money we don't really have anyway!
We ventured south again and before leaving the island we thankfully discovered one of the things that had been eluding us: Highland cows. These hairy creatures are a Scottish emblem on every postcard stand and every calendar of Scotland. Hair hangs over their faces, hiding their eyes, but not their long Texas-style horns. We both love these lumbering creatures and had planned to see lots of them on the island (they're on all the postcards), but despite the fact that locals said how common they were, we had yet to spot any. The lady in the shop this morning told us where to look out for them on our drive off the island. Sure enough, we found them, surrounded by a crowd of American tourists with big lenses. Thankfully, they cooperated quite nicely for the photo shoot, but unfortunately the rain did not.
We went a different way off the island than the way we arrived. This time by bridge rather than ferry. A smooth transition into the mainland and then we came across this:
Truly one of the most gorgeous settings for a castle I've seen yet. And we happened to catch it with blue sky behind it! We ran about from viewpoint to viewpoint before the fast moving clouds dared to take away our blue skies. We've learned that you can't count on them sticking around for long so to take advantage of them while you can. This castle, although it appears medieval is actually only about 100 years old. There had been some sort of castle here for several hundred years, but it was destroyed in the 1700s and rebuilt by an heir in the early 1900s. I must say though, they did an excellent job. The castle, in great shape and obviously well taken care of, resembles ones much older in style, character and even the nooks, crannies and narrow spiral staircases throughout the castle. Inside each bedroom there was a small window seat or reading nook, giving each room character and a homey feel. The kitchen, complete with mannequins and realistic looking food helped us picture how busy the kitchen may have once been, like the downstairs of Downton Abbey.
A great stopping point on the route, we drove on through the Highlands on the quiet, curvy road with many a pullouts to observe the scenery. At one such pull off, at the top of a hill, overlooking lakes below and surrounding hills and mountainsides, a young man, dressed in a kilt played the bagpipes. Had we been at home in the states, we would have called him crazy. Here, seeing someone at a pull off no where near civilization instead seemed like an ingenious plan by the tourism board. In fact, I think it was just his idea as his open case in front of him was filling up quickly with appreciation.
We came into Fort Williams and found the visitor's center where we went to enquire about our hopeful adventure for tomorrow: attempting to climb a mountain. Although the weather forecast is not great, we don't really have another choice, so after purchasing some extra waterproof essentials we checked into our precious B&B with a friendly host before heading back to a pub for dinner.
I thought I had never been to Fort William before, but while walking the High Street, I had quite the feeling of déjà vu. I realized that when I was over here teaching and my cousins, Mack and Stephanie came to visit for Easter break, we stopped at a pub in town for lunch on our way from Loch Ness to Oban. So, for sentimental reasons, we returned to the same pub for some steak and ale pie nourishment.
I'm not sure I could have had a more Scottish day: drizzle, Highland cows, a castle, sheep, bagpipes, kilts, and steak and ale pie. What a glorious country!
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