Scottish Highlands

Today was a looooong day but nothing went wrong so hooray! We had breakfast with JJ and John and then took the subway to the bus station. I didn't realize that our bus was actually to Aberdeen and then we'd change buses to Inverness so we were almost late- I RACED from one stand to another and nearly died. It was not a good feeling. But we got on no problem in the end and I sat next to a guy who was watching the 5th season of the West Wing. There were some gorgeous views from the bus though, so much green.

We changed at Perth (not Australia) and continued up to Inverness. At Inverness we had a few minutes to walk around but mostly just got lunch and groceries before getting onto the train. We got to see city centre and the little cobblestone streets and a huge unicorn statue. Not sure what that was about but OK! :) The train ride was just gorgeous. So many beautiful views of the Moray Firth and rolling hills and loads of cows, sheep, little villages, etc. We even saw seals on the beach and several large deer with huge racks of antlers. So many different varieties of wildlife and every second the view was different. So gorgeous. There was one little station that had these really cool WWII murals and pictures painted on the side. It almost looked real- someone was quite talented. There was also this gorgeous type of plant in a lavendar, light purple color against the railroad tracks throuhgout the entire trip.

At Thurso, we hopped into a cab driven by a very nice Scotsman who loved San Francisco and really wanted to visit. We discussed the city by the bay on the short ride to Scrabster and then got on the ferry. The ferry was so rocky but I was right against the railing the whole time and didn't really feel the rock of the boat. Again, the views were just stunning and it wasn't too cold- although because of all the sea spray, my face feels covered in salt. Yay for washing my face tonight. We got to see the Old Man of Hoy, which is the southwest island of the Orkney area (it's the big huge slab of stone that comes out of the water). The cloud cover over Hoy was incredible- if you stood at the top of the cliff, you'd be in the clouds. I want to go there so badly!

We found the hostel with no worries and there is Internet! Hallejulah! Tomorrow until Monday we are on Orkney. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather!