On the Road Again... (Day Six!)

Day six was yesterday, and it mostly consisted of travelling. Early morning in Castlebay, we awoke again to a view of Kisimul Castle just a mile or so down the road which was covered with a slight fog, although the morning was not too cool. I got dressed, got ready and began to make a quick breakfast- yogurt and fruit. Tea was the obvious choice of beverage. As a side note  I am so happy with the amount of tea I'm drinking here! The camping boys from Kent were also making brekkie and packing like we were. Like I said, it was cool, but not too cold. I was able to begin packing and taking my suitcase out to the car without a coat. I finished up my tea outside, overlooking the bay, and then it was off to line up for the ferry.

The boat was again huge, and it left from Castlebay and would take us to Oban on mainland Scotland. It was about a five hour ferry ride, so I popped some gravol and hoped for the best. I have not stopped moving in the last week, and it takes its toll on a girl! At first, we boarded the ferry and my mom and I went up on the outer deck so we could see the castle go by as we left the bay. We sat outside for a bit and took some pictures leaving the coast, but it got too cold and we went inside. I got tea, my mom got coffee, and we tried to warm up. I remember dozing off for a bit when I laid on one of the couches in the lounge, but I was soon up again for more tea (I was freezing) and a little snack. I packed three granola bars in my small purse because I knew I'd be hungry.

The joke of this trip has become how much I can eat, and how often. About every hour or so I ask when the next food stop will be, and apparently I am very concerned about the wait times between meals. Packrat could appropriately describe some of the habits. I buy extra food and take it with me because "I don't know when I'll be eating again." Being on the road makes me hungry, plus with no groceries to travel with food stops are a major concern. I think travelling is just making me exhausted and constantly peckish!

The rest of the ferry ride was mostly sitting inside and looking out the window. Camping boys were just sitting across the lounge from us, and it was so cute to listen to their adorable English accents. Mom said one sounded like Jamie Oliver, the chef, if you know what he sounds like. I went up to the deck again one more time to get some snaps of a lighthouse, and by this time it had warmed up and the sun was out. Inside, a little later, I saw a castle pass by in the distance. It was a beautiful day!

We arrived in Oban, an adorable coastal town with lots of shopping, and we stopped for some directions to get to Manchester where we would stay the night at another hostel. It was really just a stopover on our way to Croydon, where we are staying with family for the remainder of our trip. More on this later! Driving away from Oban, we started the 5 or 6 hour drive to Manchester. The drive was tiring and I wanted to sleep, but once again the scenery was too good to pass up. Driving down out of Scotland, it was a sunny day and there was more mountains and yellow flowers to stare out at and enjoy.

Oban, Scotland

A little while later, we stopped for food at "The Green Welly" for a bit of a refresher. We grabbed a bite; I had carrot/orange/coriander soup which was absolutely delicious. I also shared a bit of pizza with Madison (typical me). We looked around at their shops a bit and my mom got some more directions, then we continued to drive around a national park. No wonder it was such a mountainous and beautiful drive! Loch Lomond was on the way, and just as we saw Loch Ness, we saw this gorgeous lake. This time though, it was sunny and radiant. The water was bluer than blue, and the trees were vibrantly green. Some puffy white clouds passed by. It was better than a postcard!

Loch Lomond

The drive continued on like this for a while, and before we knew it the landscape become flatter and the sheep became more plentiful, and we saw the sign for England. Leaving Scotland was bitter sweet. It was so diverse. Cities like Edinburgh were busy, big, and filled with gorgeous old buildings and remains of societies that used to inhabit it for hundreds of years. There was also the countryside and northerly highlands, which were so remote and mostly untouched by human settlement. It was more amazing than I could have dreamed it to be, and I am beyond happy and privileged I could see it. The people were so nice and friendly, and a 'good morning' was always in order. Plus, the accents were charming and I wish I was still hearing them! I am proud to say much of my heritage comes from Scotland. It was humbling to be there.

While Scotland humbled me, the entry way into England excited me! England is home to so many greats and so much history! We were headed to Manchester, and after another couple of hours we made it to our hostel. It was more like a hotel, compared to the hostels of the highlands we had stayed at in Scotland. It was big, modern, so clean and so fresh. Our room was the biggest one yet, and I have to admit it was so much warmer than the rest! We got to our room and settled in. It's funny, because every time we get to a place we all need a plug and a charger to refresh the batteries in our computers, cameras and phones. I was trying to load the wifi we had paid for, but it was a horrible signal in our room and I gave up trying to get onto Skype. I was trying to video call my brother, whose 18th birthday was yesterday the 21st of May! Happy Birthday Connor, I really wish you were here with us!

I went downstairs in the hostel to try and get a better signal. It was a success and I uploaded some pictures to my Facebook of the trip, plus worked on my blog for the day before yesterday. I'm running behind! Then I went up, showered and called it a night. Today was more travelling so I had to be rested!

Overall, my first impressions of Manchester were awesome. We stayed on a canal which our hostel overlooked, and it was lovely to look at. The water was so glassy and the lights sparkled over it when it got darker. More on Manchester in my next blog post!

Outside our Hostel (on the left) by day!