Day 40...och, how foine yeh are to me robert mcgregor! 5th August

Got up early and tried to find a shower in the hostel that wasn't push button or cold. Success on the top floor. Nate ended up flooding his shower, and had the hostel guy running in on him naked and throwing towels on the floor. haha

Nate was already slightly put out as his room was full of snoring and farting old men. And oh yes, he told me - they farted. I was ok though, as I loved the bag sheet (which didn't fit anyone taller than me) coupled with a nights sleep without Nathan talking and laughing and trying to launch The Resistance or something in his sleep.

It was really cool to walk out of the hostel and see the Loch right there, and the misty mountains on the other side. The morning was all grey and cool and I could have run around in tartan there forever. We drove to Drymen and beat the price system for breakfast by ordering the continental. What you do is you put the ham on the bread, and then slice up the cold boiled eggs on top. So you get ham and eggs on toast anyway - hah! Then we drove up to the Trossachs National Park. It is generally used to describe the wider scenic area around th southern border of Scotland to the Highlands, but the Trossachs is actually the narrow glen between Loch Katrine and Loch Achray - so we went there. The Trossachs is also known as Rob Roy territory.

We went to a small town first which was but a blip on the map. The tourist lady gave us info about a good walk. She had a thick Scottish accent (as you do in scotland - the thing is with scotland you see, is that its full of scots). She cracked some joke about a ben and laughed but we said we'd take it. What we found out is that the individual mountains are called bens. So we were taking one of those on. It was a small one mind you, only 474m high, about 300m smaller than the one next door. But high nevertheless! We bought some really tasy rolls at the best butcher we had ever seen. He must have killed those pigs we saw yesterday, and he also had the biggest chooks I had ever seen! Really tasty fresh meat, but also did sandwiches and haggis too. And at cheap prices. Tops.

We parked our car at Loch Katrine (on the end bit, then Loch Achray started on the other side of the car park - so we really were right in the middle of Rob Roy territory! The main vein, the main vein my friend!) and started the walk. It was a steep upwards ascent with mossy rocks and even mossiy ground. Tall trees bordered us and small streams chuckled nearby. I could picture William Wallace hunting deer for his men in this forest, rather than Rob Roy playing skirmish. Then the ascent kept going up and up. And up and up and up. I thought it would be cold up there so wore jeans, but they ended up getting plastered to my legs from sweat. It got rocker and rocker and it was hard to find the path. We went cliff climbing once and missed it. At one point as well, you had to step over a stream and kinda climb up the rock using your hands as well - that WAS the path too! (On the way down at the end, I saw some old codgers past that point and have no idea how they managed it. Respect)

The trees disappeared and it became rocks and heather, like when they are at the tops of the mountains in the Rob Roy movie. We got to the very very top of the ben (which was called Ben A'an by the way) and were very pleased with ourselves. The views were spectacular!!! Massive Scottish mountains, their peaks tipped with mist, deep wide valley with lochs glistening at the bottom. We stood on the windswept rocks amongst the heather, and felt the cool breeze and surveyed Scottish majesty rolling away before us. I sat on the highest rock over a cliff and lay there for quite a while, with my feet sticking out. It was cool as I could see my toes, then just views and views and views.

We ate our scrumptious rolls there, then got attacked by flies and flying ant things. There were so many of those ant things!!! Nate wandered around taking photos of heather, while I reduced myself to my usual tantrums (remember Africa guys?) hiding under his jumper and trying to flap and slap them away. By the time I managed to swallow one - that was it! We were leaving. (I can't wait to see how I do in Kenya eh guys?)

The walk down was way less painful, but a bit more tricky and still very hot! So we entertained the idea of swimming in Loch Katrine once we hit the bottom. I decided that the only chane I'd get in, was if I was still hot and bothered. So when we got to the bottom I turned into a hard task-master and made us run to the car to grab our swimmers. We got changed on a little rock patch behind some reeds, which was the only clear entrance to the loch. Then we ran down the tiny pebbled beach and rushed in, Nate first. It ended up being pretty darn cold - Nate felt his breath quicken! It was so cold! After he leapt in though, Nathan managed a good quip. He stuck his head out of the water and managed to gasp "och, its like bathwater!" He is funny! I found it really cold but really refreshing, so even when we ran out of the water to take picture proof, we ran back in! It was so nice to swim, we haven't done it since Vegas.

We got changed back at the car and got shocked looks from the other hikers - crazy fools! But it was better than spending the rest of the day driving around in sweat. I heard one girl exclaiming over us, then suggesting to her group that they try it. They laughed at her.

Feeling fantastic after a good walk, meal and a swim (its such a nice change to be buggered from healthy exercise, rather than 9 hours driving) we drove up to Balquhidder. There we went to a small church housed next to a babbling stream. Rob Roy, his wife and two sons are buried there. It was kinda odd to hear all these mixed legends about the man, then "here he is" in the dirt.

Since we had extra time up our sleeve, and I loved the Argyll region so so much, we did it again! We took a more southern route which lacked the big boys which had made our drive so shockingly impressive yesterday, but it was still beautiful. We drove up north after that (as it was a coast road and there was no other way to get east) and stayed in a Scottish bay that was almost a loch. Looking for accomodation earlier, we had driven into a thin inlet on a tiny road to a town at the end. It ended up being a completely empty village like village of the damned, and we whistled quietly back out again! The town we stayed in was a tiny town called Oich, which was but a blip on the map. Realising we were just about paying the same price for 2 bunk beds (it was 40 pounds last night) and having to hunt down breakky, compared to having our own room with ensuite and breakfast in a locals house - we hunted down a B&B. We found the cutest B&B nestled under a hill next to a church, and overlooking the rocky bay. It was owned by a middle aged Scot lady called Mary (Mar-eh in scottish to you). It only had two rooms, and it was a cute as a bug! We plonked our bags down, then wandered along the pebbled shore with a small boat rocking in the water. We watched the sky get darker and the wind on our faces. I just felt so happy. On the waters edge, across the road from our B&B was a pub where we had some dinner. We ended up putting back quite a few drinks, as we didn't have to drive. We played pool and talked with a busload of old yankees for a while. Then we tottered over the road to go to bed, but I went back to the inlet I loved it so much. I grabbed the big camera and played with it. It was pretty much dark and the evening air was cool and fresh. I enjoyed some time to myself watching the lights on the inlet and the little boat rocking in the dark. I nearly stepped on a decapitated bird.
Then I went back in and drank hot coco in my room. Lake Placid was on TV and I was so glad I hadn't watched it before my swim today!! It was eerie too, as I had mentioned that movie as I swam today! hee hee

Then sleep.