Aug. 30 - Inverness Scotland

Another beautiful day in SUNNY Scotland!!  Honestly, so many Scots asked us if we realized how lucky we were with the weather.  Today dawned cool, but the sun warmed the air. I was the tour organizer for a group from cruise critic. We totaled 14. The tour did not get off to the best start - Ocean Links Golf was late to the cruise terminal. Of course they claimed we were early.  The owner said we Yanks had to slow down to the pace of Scotland - if I didn't laugh I would have been ready to choke him.  But I did keep in mind we were in their country and I did not want to be the proverbial ugly American.

We waited on the curb for our driver to come in. He was well worth the wait. James was dressed in a kilt and he was well prepared and talked a lot of the history of the area. We were in the highlands of Scotland - a really beautiful hilly area. The main goal of our day was to get to Loch Invernes in search of Nessie. But first we went to a local highland brewery for a taste of some beer. Our friends in HS, Kathy and Mike would have loved this stop.   Very interesting since the whole process was manual.   Check out the bottling room.

Putting labels on the bottles

Filling and capping the bottles









Then we were back on the road to Clootie Well. A "cloot" is a piece of clothing. You are to walk around the well 3 times and then make your wish. Make sure the cloot is made from natural material since it is said Celtic spirits do not recognize nylon, etc. All the supplications are tied to trees. Interesting area - and well off the beaten track.

We went on to Fortlose Cathedral dating back to the 13th century. There are so many castles and old churches in Scotland. Loved the history of the area. I was also very impressed as to the upkeep constantly being done.

We finally arrived in Loch Inverness to have a quick lunch before our scheduled boat ride on the mountain lake in search of Nessie. It was fun - but do think I could have skipped it. Carlos of course loved being on a boat on the water. And no sighting of Nessie. Rumor has it the weather has to be bad - fog and rain before she comes out. The ride was about an hour and we passed an old fort. After the boat ride while traveling aound the lake we ended up in a field of heather. How truly beautiful. The countryside was filled with heather in bloom. I felt like I should break into song "the heather on the hill".......but will spare you.

On our drive back to Invergordon, where the ship was docked, we made 2 photo stops. One was at the ruuins of Urguhart castle. It overlooked the Loch Inverness. The castle is very old - dating back to 13 century. Then a treasure on the road back was a beautiful old bridge. There were rapids under it and a gazebo in the distance. Just a nice tranquil setting.

My absolute favorite pose of Carlos

Look at the gazebo in the distance - so peaceful

All in all a very nice day and James was a great host to our day in the Scottish Highlands.