Showing posts with label Iona. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iona. Show all posts
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
A Wee Rest
Well we are having a wee rest today after a very long and hard day yesterday. Yesterday was the pilgrimage around the island. It was a six to seven mile hike that lasted from about 10:15 until 4:00. It was over rocky crags and through many a sloshy bog. (David, your shoes are now well worn in. Particularly the right one, as it went ankle deep into one of the bogs. Don't fear I'll clean them off before I return them to you.) But the pilgrimage was really wonderful. The weather was beautiful. We had lunch at Columba's bay. This is the bay that St. Columba first landed on in the 500-something. He was travling by leather bound boat called the Coracle from Ireland. We had tea and flapjack on this beautiful open green that is now a golf course but an awfully difficult one. At one point on the course one has to use steps to get over a fence to get to the next hole. Plus you are constantly having to avoid the sheep that are grazing on the course. As to flapjacks, they are hard to describe. They seem close to a homemade granola bar but they are sweeter. They were quite tasty.
The schedule is quite full here, which to me is a bit of a problem. They don't really invite you into rest very much. They say that everything is option but they never just schedule empty time. Even the rest day today has something in each bit of time. So I skipped something this morning to take a nap and to do this writing. And to be sure there is plenty of time for me to do some knitting.
We went to a ceilidh, pronounced Ka-Lee, the other night. (In gaelic I'm finding that they sometimes just throw in letters for sport. Why does it need a "d"?) It is a Scottish dance party. You have a caller and dance Scottish reels and country dances. It was fun despite the fact that most people didn't really know the dances and ended up stepping all over each other.
Tonight is the concert or talent show. Chris and I are singing with a pair of English old women, Old Age Pensioners, OAPs. I don't know what we are singing. I'm fairly certain it is a funny song one of the women has written.
There is a group of American students who have been living in Belfast for the past year here with us this week. They are nice but also kind of loud, typical noisy Americans. The is one guy and I like him but the women in the group can be a little annoying.
Alright, I should stop now. I've already spent 50p-roughly $1. I still have to look up where the smurfs originated and if there was another girl smurf besides smurfette. Chris and two of the Netherlander men were having a discussion about this just a bit ago. Chris insisted that I was wrong about there being more than one girl and I need to prove that I do actually know something.
Cheers!
The schedule is quite full here, which to me is a bit of a problem. They don't really invite you into rest very much. They say that everything is option but they never just schedule empty time. Even the rest day today has something in each bit of time. So I skipped something this morning to take a nap and to do this writing. And to be sure there is plenty of time for me to do some knitting.
We went to a ceilidh, pronounced Ka-Lee, the other night. (In gaelic I'm finding that they sometimes just throw in letters for sport. Why does it need a "d"?) It is a Scottish dance party. You have a caller and dance Scottish reels and country dances. It was fun despite the fact that most people didn't really know the dances and ended up stepping all over each other.
Tonight is the concert or talent show. Chris and I are singing with a pair of English old women, Old Age Pensioners, OAPs. I don't know what we are singing. I'm fairly certain it is a funny song one of the women has written.
There is a group of American students who have been living in Belfast for the past year here with us this week. They are nice but also kind of loud, typical noisy Americans. The is one guy and I like him but the women in the group can be a little annoying.
Alright, I should stop now. I've already spent 50p-roughly $1. I still have to look up where the smurfs originated and if there was another girl smurf besides smurfette. Chris and two of the Netherlander men were having a discussion about this just a bit ago. Chris insisted that I was wrong about there being more than one girl and I need to prove that I do actually know something.
Cheers!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Iona
Well we landed in Iona on Saturday.
But first our trip getting here. We went to a local gay bar on our last night in Edinburgh. They had my favorite cider in all of the land, Scrumpy Jack. It is dry and delicious and the great thing about cider in teh UK is that it is completely respected unlike in the US where it is considered pansy beer. (But I am a pansy so I'm alright with it anywhere.)
On Friday we began our trek to Iona. We boarded a train for Glasgow from Oban. Once in Glasgow we boarded another train for Oban but that train didn't go all the way to Oban because of work on the tracks. So we had to get off the train in Crianlarich and get on a coach (aka a bus) for the last part of our scheduled train ride. Once in Oban we boarded a ferry for the isle of Mull. Then in the pouring rain we got on yet another coach to go to our guest house for the night. There is only one road on Mull and it is one lane. We told the bus driver where we were headed but he didn't know the name of the guest house. So I rummaged through my file of correspondence and went back and told him we were to say MacNeil to which he responded "aaayyyyyyeeee" Well come to find out MacNeil isn't the name of a place so much as it is a name of a clan, the MacNeils. They sort of own the land. I thought the guest house was in the village of Bunnessan (pronounced buh-nay-sun) but we drove through Bunnessan, the only village we drove throuh in tne entire house trip, and past it about a mile before we stopped--pretty much in the middle of nowhere. We were showed to our room, a tiny little room with only one double bed. So my 6 foot 4 friend and I had to sleep in the same small bed with barely anyroom to walk around the bed. But the biggest thing was that we hadn't eaten dinner yet. And when I asked the old man who greeted us about getting supper he said "oh you haven't got a car?" So he said you can walk about mile and an eighth back to Bunnessan. Fortunately he came back a few minutes later and told us some other guests were going into town and had agreed to take us. My friends Tracy and Dave had recommended the place but they had a car when they visited. We were really isolated. So we went in for dinner and then walked back. It wasn't such a bad walk really because the rain had stopped. We saw the Shetland or Highland cows on our walk. I describe them as cows that have all their hair hanging down over their eyes. They look like the skateboarders of the cow world. But as with most cows they still frighten me just a little.
So anyway we had to be on Iona about 2 the next day, but we decided we would get here a little early because we didnt' have anything else to do around the guest house. So at breakfast the next morning the actual runner of the guesthouse who I had been communicating with said the bus runs by at 15 past 9. (Approximately 20 minutes away.) So Chris said "we were going to take the later coach." (We hadn't showered or anything yet because breakfast was at 8:15.) Gillian said "when does that come by?" Chris said "about 11." Gillian said very curtly "you have to be out of here by 10." So it was looking like we might have to make the 3 mile walk to the Fionffort ferry to Iona. But fortunatly the same couple who took pity on us the nigth before offered to drive us to the ferr at half past 9. So we had a little bit of time but not much for both of us to shower and get ready.
But we arrived on Iona about 15 past 10. And we spent the 4 hours before we could check in wandering around the Island. As the day progressed it got more and more beautiful. We have had fairly sunny weather since we arrived. Although it looks like some clouds are showing up today. We are going on a trip to the isle of Staffa today. It is supposed to be beautiful and there is a possibility we might see the Puffins, birds that lay their eggs on Staffa.
The people we are meeting are lovely people. There is a group of University students from the Netherlands. One of which is named Boi, a male, and he is hot!!!! However, he is here with his girlfriend Anna Marie who is also beautiful. Isn't that always the way it is? There is also a group of American students who have been living in Belfast this year as a part of a volunteer year with the Presbyterian Church USA. And there is a group of OAP, Old Age Pensioners, from England--basically four old women. And a couple of other individuals sprinkled in there.
Well that is probably enough it is costing me 50 p every 15 minutes which with the exchange comes to a $1 for every 15 minutes.
I'm sure I'll write again. We have decided to go back to Edniburgh on Friday instead of going up to Loch Ness. There is still so much to see in Edinburgh, including Dolly the sheep--you know the one that was cloned. She is stuffed now and in the Scotland Museum. I'm very excited.
Cheers!
But first our trip getting here. We went to a local gay bar on our last night in Edinburgh. They had my favorite cider in all of the land, Scrumpy Jack. It is dry and delicious and the great thing about cider in teh UK is that it is completely respected unlike in the US where it is considered pansy beer. (But I am a pansy so I'm alright with it anywhere.)
On Friday we began our trek to Iona. We boarded a train for Glasgow from Oban. Once in Glasgow we boarded another train for Oban but that train didn't go all the way to Oban because of work on the tracks. So we had to get off the train in Crianlarich and get on a coach (aka a bus) for the last part of our scheduled train ride. Once in Oban we boarded a ferry for the isle of Mull. Then in the pouring rain we got on yet another coach to go to our guest house for the night. There is only one road on Mull and it is one lane. We told the bus driver where we were headed but he didn't know the name of the guest house. So I rummaged through my file of correspondence and went back and told him we were to say MacNeil to which he responded "aaayyyyyyeeee" Well come to find out MacNeil isn't the name of a place so much as it is a name of a clan, the MacNeils. They sort of own the land. I thought the guest house was in the village of Bunnessan (pronounced buh-nay-sun) but we drove through Bunnessan, the only village we drove throuh in tne entire house trip, and past it about a mile before we stopped--pretty much in the middle of nowhere. We were showed to our room, a tiny little room with only one double bed. So my 6 foot 4 friend and I had to sleep in the same small bed with barely anyroom to walk around the bed. But the biggest thing was that we hadn't eaten dinner yet. And when I asked the old man who greeted us about getting supper he said "oh you haven't got a car?" So he said you can walk about mile and an eighth back to Bunnessan. Fortunately he came back a few minutes later and told us some other guests were going into town and had agreed to take us. My friends Tracy and Dave had recommended the place but they had a car when they visited. We were really isolated. So we went in for dinner and then walked back. It wasn't such a bad walk really because the rain had stopped. We saw the Shetland or Highland cows on our walk. I describe them as cows that have all their hair hanging down over their eyes. They look like the skateboarders of the cow world. But as with most cows they still frighten me just a little.
So anyway we had to be on Iona about 2 the next day, but we decided we would get here a little early because we didnt' have anything else to do around the guest house. So at breakfast the next morning the actual runner of the guesthouse who I had been communicating with said the bus runs by at 15 past 9. (Approximately 20 minutes away.) So Chris said "we were going to take the later coach." (We hadn't showered or anything yet because breakfast was at 8:15.) Gillian said "when does that come by?" Chris said "about 11." Gillian said very curtly "you have to be out of here by 10." So it was looking like we might have to make the 3 mile walk to the Fionffort ferry to Iona. But fortunatly the same couple who took pity on us the nigth before offered to drive us to the ferr at half past 9. So we had a little bit of time but not much for both of us to shower and get ready.
But we arrived on Iona about 15 past 10. And we spent the 4 hours before we could check in wandering around the Island. As the day progressed it got more and more beautiful. We have had fairly sunny weather since we arrived. Although it looks like some clouds are showing up today. We are going on a trip to the isle of Staffa today. It is supposed to be beautiful and there is a possibility we might see the Puffins, birds that lay their eggs on Staffa.
The people we are meeting are lovely people. There is a group of University students from the Netherlands. One of which is named Boi, a male, and he is hot!!!! However, he is here with his girlfriend Anna Marie who is also beautiful. Isn't that always the way it is? There is also a group of American students who have been living in Belfast this year as a part of a volunteer year with the Presbyterian Church USA. And there is a group of OAP, Old Age Pensioners, from England--basically four old women. And a couple of other individuals sprinkled in there.
Well that is probably enough it is costing me 50 p every 15 minutes which with the exchange comes to a $1 for every 15 minutes.
I'm sure I'll write again. We have decided to go back to Edniburgh on Friday instead of going up to Loch Ness. There is still so much to see in Edinburgh, including Dolly the sheep--you know the one that was cloned. She is stuffed now and in the Scotland Museum. I'm very excited.
Cheers!
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