Well..... I have proved myself a not-very-faithful blogger this semester. So much happening all the time, it's hard to decide now how to summarize! But anyways, I will (hopefully haha...) put up a few posts that give a short look at the traveling I did after term ended, starting with Scotland.
Leaving Oxford on April 15th was dreadfully hard, but going to Scotland helped make it more bearable! I think Scotland is one of my favorite places I've been; the colors were astounding. A friend from Covenant, Katie, and myself walked part of the West Highland Way. We started in Milngavie and walked to Drymen. The first day of walking was quite rainy and cold, and I wondered if this was going to be as fun as it had originally seemed...but as we kept walking after a lunch rest, the rain stopped and enjoyment of our surroundings took over! Sheep, sunshine, and a time with wind strong enough to lean into made the afternoon glorious.
The second day, we walked to Inversnaid, which was about fifteen miles. We started walking around around Loch Lomond, and I touched it for the first time! Much excitement! The woods and walking path around the lake were gorgeous. Scotland has a wild and untamed sort of beauty that catches you by surprise every time you stop to take a good look. We stopped for lunch at an Inn, and had conversations with a British lady on holiday with her husband, and a mother and son from Colorado who were hiking together. I really like the way that traveling breaks past normal conversation boundaries. It rained again all day, but after reaching a certain point of being wet, I realized the freedom of knowing that you were wet and couldn't fix it...so you might as well enjoy it! But really. Being dirty and being okay with it is one of the greatest feelings. I stopped trying to avoid the puddles and instead splashed through them, and began to notice how much the rain highlighted the differences in the colors around me. There were so many different types of forest that we walked through in each day! It was a good feeling to get out of the rain though! We stayed in the coolest hostel, up a mountainside in an old church. One thing is certain: getting thoroughly wet makes you appreciate being warm and dry.
Touching Loch Lomond for the first time!
My feet were overjoyed to get out of my boots :)
Our third day was shorter, only seven miles, but was my favorite. The path was more challenging, requiring scrambling over rocks and careful crossing of swollen mountain streams. Thankfully, it didn't rain, which made the going quite pleasant. The scenery surrounding was spectacular; we passed through fog-coated woods, saw wild goats, and numerous waterfalls. While walking close to the water, I decided that Loch Lomond would be a great place to explore in a canoe. So...new ambition. :)
The path...
And....the path.
The flat part! So we took a picture :)
We celebrated our last day on The West Highland way by....not walking. The weather was perfect, and we sat beside a stream in a sheep pasture and soaked up the healthy feeling of being outside. You could tell spring had come to Scotland by the number of lambs gamboling around. In real life, they are even cuter than I had thought!
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