Scotland continues...

Day 4

• Fergie announces we're going to go on a "Healthy Walk"... uh oh... if the "wee walks" nearly killed us, what is a healthy walk going to do!?!?!?!?! so slightly stressful bus ride...
• Bone Caves - the walk to the bone caves was really actually quite easy. Easier than our wee walks anyway!! Although prbably longer. we came to a natural spring and had a drink. Cool seeing the water bubbling out of the ground, then continued on up the mountain. Made it to the caves!!! i was the only one that climbed inside the cave, and would've gone further but there was a big puddle. Got pretty muddy...
• rock skimming - there was a loch with all these really flat rocks on the beach. HAD to skim rocks. and true to Fergie's girl sterotype, i couldn't go more than two. Found a starfish eating a snail though which was kinda cool. Fergie reckons he's the world record holder for rock skimming and we should look up the Guiness Book of World Records for this year. about page 147ish.
• Ullapool - world's best fish and chips
• Glen Ord Distillery - unfortunately it was sleeping. They "sleep" for a couple of months a year for maintenance. We were able to go into the store room with some 12 yo whiskey. 2% is lost to evaporation every year so by the time the whiskey is ready at 12yrs, they have lost almost a quarter of the total volume!!! the smell was very strong. the casks were previously used for either bourban or sherry, and this gives the whiskey colour. Had a taste test too. All the trees around are blackened from the alcohol in the air!
• Measach - "ugly falls". Not really ugly! just corkscrew shaped, kinda.
• Clansmen centre - a guy was dressed in traditional kilt - ie a 6m blanket wrapped strategically and told us about history, weaponry and how to put on a real kilt.
• Stayed the night in a great hostel.

Day 5

• Glenfinnan - small walk up for a great view. Also saw the bridge used in Harry Potter!
• Went to the site used for training the first commandos. apparently 1/5 of them died during training, because real bombs were dropped on them to make training more realistic...
• Weather wasn't too great, drove around a bit contemplating a walk on the beach but decided it was too miserable.
• Mallaig - fantastic prawn salad roll for lunch!!!
• then the bus broke down.... well there was a bang and a hiss, and then the bus lost its suspension... we spent about half an hour in a pub while fergie tried to figure out what to do. Luckily the weather was so bad anyway, we decided just to head back to the hostel and start our evening.
• Saw a few "Steamer creamers" on the way - people who follow the steam engines around to watch them/take photos
• Last night all together! went out to a local pub and fun was had by all. Lots of photos taken, but here are just a few

Tara, Glen, Nick, Fergie, Priscilla

Yvonne, me

me, dave, matt, nicky

Day 6

• After changing buses (and annoyingly, the bigger bus had LESS luggage space, so about 5 bags had to be put on the back seat!) we continued the last day of the tour
• Loch morlich - circular lake. absolutely FREEZING and matt and andrew who always wore shorts, and dave who always wore a tshirt, finally conceded defeat to the scottish weather.
• Dunkell for lunch
• Visited a Cathedral that has a grave stone in it that killed two mourners by falling on them
• Forth Rail Bridge - inspired by the loch ness monster, and it inspired the eiffel tower! looks like the eiffel tower when turned on its side.
• got back to edinburgh and went out for one last drink with everyone.