After a few hours of sleep on the plane plus a delicious cup of coffee (creamy and caffeinated!) at the Glasgow airport, I decided I was awake enough to make the drive myself … so much for my research about the bus, but 81 stops really did sound onerous. And I was through customs soon after 8… bought my SIM card in the airport (it really is easy to insert — and I also think I overpaid for a lesser plan by buying in the airport, but for the peace of mind to have google maps for the drive, it was worth the 10 pounds additional … amazingly, so far the internet gods and goddesses are spot on for what to expect here).

I hit the road about 9 am in my little manual rental car — and promptly missed several turns (didn’t turn on google maps yet) … but eventually got on the right road. It’s definitely easier to drive on the left side if you’re actually following someone .. it’s like drafting off bikers in front of you! You just kind of follow in their tracks.

It’s a beautiful drive — lots of lochs (like the Bonny Bonny banks of Loch Lomond) and actually at times scary narrow curvy harrowing roads that were flooded at some points I presume because of the recent excessive rain. A contact had told me that it might be tough to drive some of the “windy” roads but I was unsure whether he meant windy like Chicago or windy like curvy. At this point I think it’s the latter though it can also get pretty windy (like Chicago) up here. Anyway I survived although there were a few times I was gritting my teeth and my palms were starting to sweat!

It was gorgeous but I couldn’t take a photo while driving — and I was pretty motivated to drive like crazy to get here in the typical 5 hours so I didn’t stop much. I did stop at the halfway point for lunch and a bathroom break in Fort William. It’s very cute and just past what I presume is the original Glencoe. Really puts the north Chicago suburb to shame. If I drive back that way I may make the stop. Below is the town of Fort William and the Loch Linnhe that it’s on.

Then I drove on but had to make a stop to get something out of my backpack in the trunk. By now I was well into the Highlands. … and btw the minute I hit the Highlands the weather became crazily erratic. Blue skies. Puffy clouds. Threatening storms. Rain. Rainbows. Clouds (or fog? What IS the difference when you’re in a mountain?) enveloping the mountains. All within minutes of each other … talk about tempestuous, beautiful, unpredictable, and really amazing.

But back to my stop. I was driving on another windy road next to a loch (this one actually reminded me of the drives near the Italian northern lakes — like Como and Garda — a bit wider and flatter than where I’d started driving)… and saw a car park ahead so pulled over to get to my trunk. And below is what I saw. A freaking CASTLE. Like, um, it has a moat.I didn’t go in (Scotland has a lot of castles and I’ll do a different one when I’m less exhausted) although for the record it’s the Eilean Donan castle. Apparently it’s been in a lot of movies. I don’t blame it. It’s pretty cool. Here’s a slightly different shot. Less moat and more surrounding water. It’s actually on an island overlooking the Isle of Skye.

I made it to Portree a bit after 3 and went to the visitor’s center and a food coop since I couldn’t check in until 5. I’m surprisingly less exhausted than I’d have thought but that said, I’ll save my Isle of Skye stuff until tomorrow’s blog?!! It’s 7 pm but I hope to be asleep soon and up bright and early so I can actually hike and see the sights.

Good night Skye!