July 4-Xuan Nguyen

Day Two in the Highlands

Leaving Inverness in the early morning, we came upon a harbor leading out the North Sea. Pete, our tour guide, said that it is not unusual to spot dolphins swimming in triangular positions in this harbor. They surround their prey in this manner and then make a dash for the center for the feeding. Unfortunately, we did not spot them today. Riding along the countryside in the Highlands, I couldn’t help but notice all the sheep spread out in the mountains and down in the valleys. Sheep farming has been and still is a significant part of the highland way of life. There are over twice the number of sheep than people in Scotland, imagine that! The sheep are mainly kept for their wool and some restaurants they can be found on the menu, but they are mostly valued for their wool here in Scotland.

One of the first stops this day was at a dam, the journey to the dam and the landscapes in the highlands astonished me more than the actual dam itself. On the winding roads on both sides, as far as I could see, were rolling hills of fields and monstrous trees. The mountains in the far distance looked ominous from the fog, allowing me to only see the outline of thin, overbearing shapes filled in with dark shadows of lush greenery. The fields were my favorite part. I love that when the breeze sweeps by, atop the tips of the wheat, they get pushed down lightly and swing back up in gentle ways. It looks like the landscape is draped in a velvety green blanket, spreading from the bottom of the valleys into the mountains.

Now we stopped at a gorge called Corrieshalloch Gorge. Corrieshalloch is “ugly hollow” in Gaelic. About two million years ago, the flow of a river etched itself into the glacier forming what is now Corrieshalloch. We walked across a bridge atop the gorge. The bridge is not for the faint of heart. Not only is it suspended over a gorge with a waterfall forty-five meters high, it also sways when you’re on it. I’m afraid of both heights AND bugs, so the Corrieshalloch was ten times more terrifying for me than for my fellow travelers. There were hefty flies, we call them “superflies” and they pierce your flesh and drink your blood.

Castle Ardvreck was our next stop. Not so much a castle anymore, it is now only the ruins that are still standing. Set between the mountains and on the edge of a lake, the remnants of the stone walls looked majestic against its landscape. By far the best part of the day, we headed on to the Falls of Shin. As we approached the falls, we could hear water rushing and crashing against the rocks. Standing amongst the beauty of nature, atop the waterfall, we were pleasantly surprised to find Atlantic salmon darting out of the bottom of the waterfall, trying to swim their way upstream. It was like watching the Discovery Channel but ten times more exciting. Everyone had their camera out and ready hoping to catch a salmon mid-journey. Fortunately, I was able to get a picture of this on my first try.

Wrapping up a full day of adventure, we were exhausted, but we were not ready to call it a day upon arrival to our hostel. Today is the Fourth of July and it must be celebrated, not only is it a tradition in many families, but, more importantly, it is the day of our own independence. People from all over the globe have struggled to free themselves from oppression, some are successful and some are still putting up a fight. Take the Scottish, for example, they have had conquerors, kings, lords, etc… from all over trying to take over their land for as long as they can remember. Nowadays Scotland is still part of England. Pete, our tour guide, made a funny joke. He wished us all a “Happy Independence Day” and said “You all did a much better job of getting rid of the English than we did.”

At the end of our day we grilled hamburgers upon the small hill out back of our hostel and reminisced about family traditions on the Fourth.