Knoydart part II, Skye and Loch Carron.

Hi all.

I am in Strathcarron, at the north tip of Loch Carron.

Here are a few more pictures form the fairy tale forest.

Snow white and the dwarfs...

A happy family...


The owl that spoke to me...!

As I was saying yesterday before I was kicked out of Kyle library, Dyeison and myself went "hunting" stags. it was really hard and did not get any shot of them. The scenery though was beautiful, and managed to have lunch in one the of the rain breaks.

Dyeison at the top!

We walked chasing the herds of deers (not that we thought we would catch them) and descended back to the valley through a steep gorge with stream.

Amazing views from the top of the ridge.

We recover the rucksacks and walked the track that would take us to Inveire. We were very hungry and tired, and the only thing in our minds was :"Venison pie, venison pie, venison pie..."

Full belly, having a "few" drinks.

We arrived to the bunk house at about six pm. Karen, Lyndon, Jez and Dan were there. It was a pleasure to see them again, and have a shower.... and knowing that we had a table at the Old Forge for 7:15.

We ate and drink and had a wonderful night. Dyeison and i had a Venison burger, each, and then we shared a lamb leg with mash potato and a salad, plus desert, Irish coffee, and a nice mixture of shiraz, whiskeys and red cuillin ( a nice ale form Skye). One of the best meals of my life.

Back in the Bunk house, I slept like a baby.

On the ferry to Mallaig. Quick pic, and back in again! It was very wet!

On Monday we got up early to get the ferry (small boat) to Mallaig. No breakfast, just get our things and go. It was a rainy miserable day. Half way to the pier, I realize that something was missing: i had left the flag in the bunk house. It was "so good" to run back with a 20 kgr rucksack, wearing the poncho, in the rain.... Morning exercise. I made it on time.

Mallaig's Harbour

The ferry was a small boat, and took us to Mallaig in 30 minutes. In Mallaig we had breakfast. Dyeison, Jeremi and Dan left on the 10 am train, I made some shopping and stayed with Karen and Lyndon for lunch. They were taking 2 pm steam train to Fort William to continue their holiday, but I left a bit earlier looking for place to update the blog.

There was a computer in the library, but it would log off every 30 minutes, so not long enough for the update. I had a look at my e-mail and put the music that Phil had sent to me in my MP3.

I rediscovered U2. Songs like "So cruel" from Achgtun baby, and "If you wear that velvet dress" from Pop. Genius!!! http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6snI72LGfP4

Thank you so much Phil!!

The huge ferry from Mallaig to Skye

I took 4 pm ferry to Skye. Unlike early morning, the sun was shining. The wind was blowing strongly and made quite a few pictures of the west side of Knoydart and the south of SkyeKnoydart from the ferry

The first thing that called my attention from Skye was the clarity of its coast water. The landscape reminded me somewhere in England, maybe somewhere in Devon or Cornwall... at least this part of the Isle: Armadale. There was supposed to be a hostel just in Armadale, but it had closed. A local told me that there was another one not far, a couple of miles away following the coast. It was sunny, and I really enjoyed the walk.

Mainland form Armadale in Skye

The hostel was in Kilmore, up the hill from the main road. McDonald hostel. It was a small place, family run.

After eating, i borrowed a bike, without breaks to go to the pub back in Armadale. On my way, I was hit on my head by a disorientated bat. In the pub I could see Man U.-Portsmouth (footy is back, woohoo!) and updated my diary. They had Red Cuillin, which was good.

I cycled back to the hostel under an amazing stars sky.

On Tuesday, for my walk in Skye weather had turned ugly again, and it drizzled constantly, all day long. The landscape changed and from the road I was walking on, all I could see were low moor land covered on heather. It was not a fun walk, to be honest, and all i wanted was getting to Kyleakin, and rest in the hostel I had booked.

Skye Bridge from Kyleakin

Dun Cann hostel, a really cosy one, and family run, was a real pleasure. It is in Kyleakin harbour and overlooked the Skye bridge. The atmosphere was excellent and there was people from New Zealand, Canada, and England, all of them travelling in Scotland. I went to the nearby pub where I try to update the blog, but the computer did not work very well, so i just had a couple of Red Cuillins and went back to the hostel, where i carefully planned the route to Tongue, on the north coast.

The cuillins from Skye bridge

It resulted to be a complicated way, with no villages, apart from the Ullapool area, just very few roads,...

...and a gap between paths where I will have to walk in what for the moment is an unknown terrain and follow a river up hill to find a good crossing point.

I finished the planning a bit nervous, and I went to bed a bit nervous about the walking days coming.

On Wednesday, yesterday, the weather had changed for better again and i could take a few good pictures of the Cuillins (the mountains, nothing to do beer ... for once) from the bridge that took me to mainland again.

In Kyle of Lochalsh I made yesterday slow and frustrating update, in its library. I should say though that they were very patient and kind and let me log in again and again every half an hour so I could do my thing. They shut for lunch and i went for an orange juice (and I mean an orange juice, I swear) and i put dates to my walking plan to Tongue.

I felt better, compared to yesterday unsettling nervousness, when i realize that I had more than enough time to get to Melvick on time, where I will meet Karen on the 8th of sept. to do the two last days together. I think I will have one, two or three spare days, which is always good.

Back to the library, and then I continued to walk following the road that runs by the coast towards Loch Carron. The walk was a pleasure, lifted by the music that Phil had sent to me. The scenery reminded me the west coast of Ireland.... wait a minute, I have never been there, but it is true that when I saw this place, "west coast of Ireland" came to my mind automatically; I guess, that I must have seen a program in telly or something.

Anyway, the place is gorgeous, but mainly, you can breath calmness and tranquility there. Small houses spread in small villages in the heather moorland.

Special mention to Diurinis. If you want tranquility, go there.

Diurinis

After this coastal bit, the road went a bit inland, through a conifer forest and by Loch Lundie. This place was not Knoydart, but there undoubtedly was a feeling of loneliness and isolation in it.

Ria de Vigo?? No, Loch Carron.

The road went back down to the coast and I began walking by Loch Carron. The water reminded me "La Ria de Vigo" (Maria, Ruth? Are you there????!). It is quite a wide one and in the distance I could see one of those floating things they use to grow mussels and other seafood.

Me at Loch Carron

It did not rain in the whole day, but it was being pretty gloomy. There was no camp sites or hostels on the way, so I had to look for a place to pitch my tent. Just a few miles before the end of the Loch, there was a gate that led into a path. I put my tent in the beginning of the path. The place was quite wet, and the midges attacked again, not in the King's House numbers, but were a pain in the arse.

Once I was in the tent, it rained again. I write my diary, read the newspaper (if you are wondering, I updated the diary in the office, and read the newspaper, comfortably, seating in a sofa in the lounge; this tent of mine, is amazing!). Had just a bit of bread for dinner. Mum: don't worry, I am not wasting away, before dinner, I had just had an addict attack and ate a whole pack of choc. biscuits and a whole choc. bar...

Loch Carron

This morning rained a little bit as well. But stopped as i got out of the tent. I kept on walking by Loch Carron. I big clear opened just on top of the Loch, illuminating the North side of it (I was in the north one), and photographed a nice rainbow.

The Loch finishes in Strathcarron where I am now. There is a train station, a restaurant and hotel, an art gallery (there are galleries almost in every house in this place; not surprised, the scenery is inspiring) and a post office with food store where I am now. It is not being cheap or extremely quick, but I am managing to update the blog properly.

From here I will walk 2 or 3 hours more to the hostel in Craig. Tomorrow, off road again towards Kinlochewe.

That was all. I feel better now that I got it updated. Next one?, I don't know.

All the best

Carlos

Knoydart part I

Hi all

I am in Kyle of Lochlash. I am finding increasingly difficult to get my blog updated as I go further north. Computers just don't exist or if they do, "just for half an hour" and that is not enough to update this space.

Here are a few pictures to that proofs that the fairy tale forest was not part of my imagination or an effect of having had some magic mushrooms:

The nymph...

Gnomes...!

The ghost...!

On friday the 22nd I met Jeremi, Dan, Dyeison, Karen and Lyndon to walk the Knoydart peninsula. I walked for hour and a half to Invergarry on the main road, the A82. We were supposed to meet at 2 pm. They were slightly late so i waited reading the Times and having a few Red Cuillins; nice ale!

When they arrived, I was quite merry, and had a whiskey before leaving.

Getting the camp ready. Headnets for midges on!!

We took a taxi to Kinloch Hourn (this is not cheating as the road goes westbound, so did not take me closer to John O'Groats). The road runs by a Loch surrounded by low hills a conifer small woods. It has something special, and the feeling of isolation, as we were supossed to find in this place, is present since the very beginning. The single track road left the loch to continue windingly and up and down. The "campsite" is in a valley where there are a couple of farms, in the west end of Loch Hourn. We found a place to pitch our tents and did quickly while the midges were beginning to be a pain. Dyeison was in charge of lighting the fire.

Chilling out around the fire

On that night we had a nice stars sky, and drank and ate around the fire. Just before bed we could see the moon coming out behind the hills surrounding us. It took one minute, a real magic moment. Then Dan, Jez, Dyeison and me looked at the moon for minutes, like hypnotised.

On saturday, after a nice full English breakfast we walked on the south edge of Loch Hourn. The path run very close to the salty water, and went up and down the low hills surrounding the loch. The weather was good, no sunny though, but rain and wind was forecast. We stopped several times for some water, or biscuits and chocolate, and had lunch on a nice beach from where we could see the isle of Rum.

Jeremi walking very close to Loch Hourn water

From there we changed direction into Knoydart, Southwestbound, into a steep valley. The weather changed, and became wet and very windy. The steep and uncomfortable climb led us to a summit form where we could see Gleann an Dubh-Lochain valley. The place runs from east to wast towards Loch Nevis and has a nice lake on its west end before the sea. The valley is surrounded by almost 1000 metres high mountains and in the middle has a mini hill range 200-300 metres high approx. We went down the valley on a path on the north slopes of it heading west. From the path I saw what what looked like Highlands cows, but Lyndon's binoculars made clear that they were stags!! I got very excited, and thought on maybe getting a good picture of one of them if i got lucky enough!!

In good company

We all were thinking on finding a good spot to pitch our tents before the weather got really nasty. Almost at the bottom of the valley, before reaching the lake but not too far and by the last hill of the small central ridge of the valley, we spotted a small green that could make as our wild camp site. Dyeison went down through the rough and steep heather, crossed the stream and checked how wet the grass was. Thumbs up. We all went down and pitched the tents as quick as possible.

I went for a quick look from the small hill (around 60 m. high) we were camping by. I grabbed my camera, and borrowed Lyndon's binoculars just in case. From the top of the hill I looked east towards the small central ridge using the binoculars: nice water fall in the distance and and heather moorland. Noting else. I was going to go back, when I saw a dark red stain moving. The binoculars showed me a big stag, at about 400 meters, moving down the hill from the central range towards me. I got really really excited....

Through the binoculars I could see that there were several big knolls around the area where the deer was going that i could use to hide in order to get closer. But in order to use them I needed to be at the other side of the small hill where i was. So, I run back around this hill, away from the stag sight, and surrounded it losing height so that on approach to the animal, the small knolls would hide me. I used the principle, "if i can see him, he can't see me". I ran on the boggy heather trying to keep the knolls between me and where I thought the deer was. I got increasingly excited because I was getting very close. At the same time I was preparing my camera, running and watching out for any sight of the deer coming out behind the knolls. It was really good fun... Hunter!!!!!!

I crawled up one of the knolls and had a look. I saw it!, very close, but not close enough. there was another knoll, that would let me get real close. I ducked and moved towards it. And there it was!!! 20 metres perhaps??.

The light was very poor, and used ISO3200, and -2.0 eV correction, and even with that i only could have 1/15 shutter speed at 300 mm, and a not completely steady shot, even with the VR system of the lens.. the heart beating like crazy did not help neither.

And here it is.

Got him!!

The picture is crap (very noisy although the noise reduction system was on, and not sharp, and with no natural colours; I apply in-camera D-lighting feature to get a bit more light), but I got really close to him!!

I got back to where the tents were, 3 or 400 metres away, very happy and excited.

We had something to eat. Dyeison tried hard with the fire, but it was impossible; it was really wet, and raining. We had our drinks in Lyndon's and Karen's tent. Nice night.

Wind speed increases though, and it was really difficult sleep that night... excepting dyeison that slept like a baby the whole night.

On sunday, Dyeison and myself wrapped our tents in a plastic sheet borrowed form Lyndon and went "hunting" deers. The rest, the sensible ones, headed to the pub in Inverie. We had been seeing big herds of male and female deers during the morning in at the top of the ridges. So exciting!!

A picture for Dyeison's and my adventure.

We carried just the camera and a bit of food. We climbed straight up the slopes of the south of the valley. Hard work, very hard work, and it was wet and cold and raining. We saw herds of deers in the distance, and a female and a calf very close to us, but did not get a good picture opportunity....

... and that is all for the moment. Let me underline my frustration for this shortage of time and resources for updating my blog. I'll be looking for a place for continuing with it as soon as possible.

All the best and see you soon,... very soon.

Carlos

Did not try them

Caledonian Canal and Loch Lochi. And a fairy tale...

Hi all.

I am in a youth hostel two miles south of Invergarry, just in the north tip of Loch Lochi.

I don't know how to extract the pics from my camera in this computer, so no images this time. I could wait til tomorrow and see if I can find an Internet place in the village, but i might find that there is none, and I don't know when I will have the chance to update the blog next- from now on, lots of mountains, and paths, and nature, but civilization diminish north of here.

On wednesday started walking at 5:30 pm, after 5 tiring hours of blog updating. I left Fort William not without certain sadness as i had such a fantastic time there. I walked by the Caledonian canal. The day was grey, and I was not sure if i would make it to the camping, just before the beggining of Loch Lochi. No a big problem, i had my torch, i could do wild camping, and the path was actually a track that a car could use.

I got to the campsite at 10 pm, in complete darkness and in the middle of an unpleasant drizzle. No dinner, not even a shower. Straight into the tent, and sleep. I was very tired.

Today, more rain in the morning. My tent soaked in the outside, and some small paddles in the inside. I dried what I could. This bloody weather is beggining to....! well, i don't think the weather will care if i like it or not, if i get frustrated or not, if i want sun and a dry field to pitch my tent, so, I just take as it comes, and expect for the best. Sigh!

I had more drizzle on and off, but it was not too bad (if hadn't bloody had it for the last two or three weeks!!!!.... easy, easy, take it easy...). The path that runs in the north side of Loch Lochi was very easy to walk.

It goes into a small wood, not far from the beggining of the loch. Just there, guess who i saw!:

Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs. No, I had not been smoking any kind of "plant" or drinking any kind of "juice". Sorry I can't show the pictures, now; I'll do it when i can. Then I noticed that they were welcoming to the Fairy Tale Wood. Between the first few trees i could see more wonders: a gorgeous tiny nymph smiled at me. I went into the forest, and i saw more dwarfs, and even gnomes, and there was a swamp with crocs and lizards and horrible spiders and worms, and a family of cats, a huge bear, and wild animals like monkeys elephants and tigers... I also bumped into a teddy bears meeting, saw clowns and even a ghost!!

An old owl said goodbye to me with deep voice. I continued my way.

The path turned into a good track, following still the the loch. My boots were hurting me a bit more than the last few days before getting to Fort William, and just after 4 hours walking I felt knackered. have I lost my fitness with the week rest?? I don't think so, maybe just a bad day.

I arrived to the hostel at 5:30. Tomorrow i will meet Jez, Karen, Lyndon, Dan and Dyeison to walk the Knoydart peninsula. After that, a bit of Skye and then more mainland northbound with Craig.

That is all for the moment.

Take care  and write to you soon.

Carlos

Fort William

"...Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it, like my heart's going to cave in..." (From "American Beauty" screenplay)

To Claire, Ben, Sally, Anna, Craig, Graemme, Sam, Alexia; Lorraine, Graemme, Brad, Garreth; Sonja, Ira; Michael and Malte.

All of them part of my week in Fort William.

Once in a life time.

Carlos

Blue, sliding doors and the rest of my life...

*Apologies to Paul* :(

Hi all.

I am in Fort William. Today, after updating my blog, I will walk following the Great Glen W northeast towards Invergarry.

A&E

How could I begin? This is not one more blog update. I have just had one of the best weeks of my life. I have met some amazing people.

Last Wednesday, after the last blog update, I was just knackered. Did some shopping and took the bus to the hostel, that is 2 miles away form Fort William in the Nevis Valley, just at the base of Ben Nevis. I ate, had a shower, and headed to the pub for diary updating and beer.

It was then that I met Graemme and Lorraine. I had seen them before meeting. Graemme stood up for ordering something and stopped by my table and offered me a drink. Spoke for a while standing up. I was not feeling like talking, to be honest, and I really wanted to finish with the diary, but he invited me to joining them. I did, which was a great thing to do.


Lovely Graemme and Lorraine

They are form South Africa, and live in Nottingham. Came to England 10 years ago. They were on Holiday with their two boys and Lorraine's mum and dad, just in one of the bungalows next to the hostel. We had a good night on Wednesday, and we would probably meet the next day in the West Highland games.



Music in the games

On Thursday morning I met Michael in town. Before that I made a phone interview for La Nueva Espana, an Asturias regional newspaper. We did some shopping, had the first of the day, and headed for the games. There we met Malte (sorry if I misspell your name), a German guy that had walked the WHW at the same time as we did. We stayed together and saw the games.
I met Graemme, Lorraine and their two boys, and her mum too.

Scottish power in action!

The games finished quite late, around 9, and Michael, Malte and I were quite tired. "...yeah, time to go home,... I am knackered, ... yeah me too,.... well, actually, shall we have one?" It was, you know, one of those times when you go for one.... and another, and another... Beer, nice whiskeys.
Live music. Michale loved the singer! What a good night!

Having "one". Malte is actually less pissed than he looks like in the pic...

Time to go. Said goodbye to Michael and Malte, and got ready for the 50 minutes walk to the hostel. (no buses at that time of the night). But I got a taxi eventually. £8. Too much! From now on I walk, I thought.

Before leaving the taxi I saw a couple of girls chilling out outside the hostel. I recognised them. I had seen them the night before in the pub. My week began to change...

Said hello, we spoke for a minute, and sat down with them. Sonja and Ira. German.
They were wearing mountain gear (they've been at the top of Ben Nevis), barefoot, with their feet resting on their rucksacks. They were traveling in Scotland, planned to go to Edinburgh festival and Ireland.
They were really nice, and took out of one of their rucksacks one of those things you always carry when you climb Ben Nevis: a bottle of Greek sweet wine, and three glasses. I took out some bread, cheese and chorizo.

Sonja and Ira

We shared, the wine, the food and watched telly.

This encounter, really stroke me hard. Maybe it was nothing, maybe it was just the way I take things, but really hit me hard.
Since I moved to 17 April Close, in February, everything had been equilibrium, and peace, and knowing what I was doing, and sensibly happy. When I said goodbye to Ira and Sonja, everything changed, they left me feeling the blues, that kind of sweet sadness,... melancholy??. Once again, just maybe the way I take things...
They were kind of an inspiration, the way they were traveling, the way they were taking life on those very moments.

On Friday I woke up with the same down feeling. However, the guy in the mirror had a silly subtle smile on his face...
Many things went through this head.... strange ideas like keep on walking, when I get to Dunnet's Head, my way down to Horsham. I thought about what I want in life, where am I going from here?. At the same time I realised how much I was loving my time alone, my walk, my adventure, and I wonder if I really wanted to go back to "normal" life. How to go back, when you can live a never ending adventure? Even, if that means being alone, forever. Even if it means "dying alone"...

How do I want to live my life?

Adventure? Commitment?

I saw Ira and Sonja in the morning. "Bye".

I left the hostel and looked for Graemme and Lorraine bungalow, I knew they were leaving on Saturday, and I wanted to see them again. I found her mum and dad in it. They had gone for a walk. I left my number, maybe we could meet later for food and drinks.

I went to Fort William and sent some pictures to the newspaper, some e-mails, and back to the hostel for shower. Graemme had called. We met at 7 and went to the Ben Nevis Inn, a 200 years old refurbished barn. They invited me to a lovely dinner.

Lorraine, Graemme, Brad and Garreth.

It was a real pleasure to meet and talk to Brad (16) and Garreth (13). I will see what I can do with isopropanol Garreth, and Brad, you will have your chorizo iberico sometime in October.
Had a great time. I was not in the best mood, but they really cheered me up.

Brad, Garreth... I think he is falling asleep... :) and me.

The boys went to bed and I stayed with Lorraine and Garreth for the last one. Interesting conversation, and inspiring too. More than once I have been asked about the possibility of writing a book with all the stories, experiences and pictures from this walk. "Book" sounds like a too big word for me. I can write something, but that does not mean you can call it a book. Lorraine and Graemme were really inspiring in that respect, and made me think about it seriously.

On Saturday, more of the same feeling. For the first time in a long time, I was regretting a bit to be alone, I really needed someone to talk... just someone. I looked for a place in Fort William to write my diary; there were lots of things to write....
Volunteer's Arms?, a bit dodgy, sitting by the Loch?, after five minutes I needed a toilet, the next pub? too noisy, or the telly was on.
I ended up in a good atmosphere Bar/Restaurant in the High Street, and my week was about to change again. I was comfortable, and just in the right mood (moody) to write. After a while I went to the bar for the second (in that pub, not overall). While I was waiting for my pale ale, some began elbowing me. Some idiot in a hurry, I thought. When i turned, and looked slightly down, I could see this crazy girl, looking for a party really. She funnily apologised, and went somewhere else down the bar with her friend, to "annoy" someone else. I went back to my seat, and started to THINK how good it would be to chat and drink with these very attractive persons.

A pin size dancer from the Highland Games. Un espurin, diria yo!

From Glasgow, I decided that there would be no more THINKING when it is about approaching people. I immediately stopped THINKING and went to them. Introduced my self and offered my table. They were from New Zealand We sat together for a few minutes, but they were really in a hurry, "forced me to finish my beer" quickly.... wait a minute, "forced me...", that was a funny line!! Anyway, I finish it, and almost chased them to the pub down the road.

Just after getting there, they went to the toilet. I took care of my drink while reading the newspaper. After a few minutes on my own, I realized had not gone to the toilet, they had run away..... to be honest, I felt a bit upset. I really was not nasty with them or anything like that.... Had I had a shower that morning...????

Anyway, I walked back to the nice quite pub to keep on writing. Just on the doorstep, I saw the two run away girls inside. I turned 180 degrees and looked for another place.
I went in to the Ben Nevis bar. It was quite busy, but it looked like nice form the outside.
Left my stuff on the table at the bottom, went for a pint and as I walked back to the table noticed a group of people on my right. There was a blue eyed blonde, and two guys fighting by the fire exit... they were playing.

Ben Sally and Anna... far in the center of the pic. We met a few seconds later

Just when my bottom touched the chair, two of them stood up, and said, loudly: "oh my God, it is him, the guy that is Walking Britain....!!!!!" They came closer, shouting, everybody looking, "Am I in deep shit?", I thought.

If I had not gone to meet the "attractive" New Zealand girls, this would never had happened.

Sliding doors.

Ben, Sally and Anna... closer.

In the landscape above you can see Ben, Anna and Sally far away in the center of the image. That was the beginning of the Pennine Way, on the ridge on top of Edale Valley, the Sunday after my sheep shit feet picture. They saw my banner, we spoke for a minute. Gone, like so many other people.

Graemme and Claire.

They saw me in the pub, and remember my face. In the beginning I could not remember them, later on I did; first Ben and then the girls. And then I found the picture. Unbelievable. Some ask the other day. Do you believe in fate? I don't, but...

So, who is the lucky bastard????!

Ben Sally and Anna were with other five friends from the Manchester area (also Wigan and Newcastle): Craig, Claire, Graemme, Alexia and Sam. And Paul; I met him a few days later. They immediately asked me to join them for dinner.

Craig: doesn't he have an amazing pair of blue eyes??!

The blues was finished. My week changed for better. What can I say about them? First of all: I felt welcome, very much. They are an extraordinary group of friends. Among them, a bike rider that looks like Richard Ashcroft, and a model that looks like Cate Blanchett....

"Richard" (Ben) and "Cate" (Alexia)

...and talking about "Cate". She is the first model I have ever met. You know when they say in models contests, that is not only about having a pretty face, that you also have to be nice and have character.... bla bla bla bullshit. Well, it was true. Alexia is a cheerful, very expressive and caring person. Cheers for Alexia.... by the way, this is Paco...


So, after dinner, we went to the night club.... yes, there is a night club in Fort William. We danced, we drank, they played U2, but a fight stopped the song. Damm it!.
It was time to go back to the hostel, and the camping where they were staying very close to the hostel. Taxis.
They came, but there was no space for the Gladiator... I mean the Spaniard. So, they took my camera, and jumper, and diary, "and carried it for me". I had a run to the camping, but I could not find them.
Craig had just the time to put my camera on e-Bay, he was offered £300. Not enough!

Luckily, on the next morning, I was quick enough finding them in an area of the camping I had not looked, and recovered my stuff, including the camera. I was invited for bbq later in the evening.

Sam and Claire

Things had changed completely. I was so happy I had met this amazing people. I still felt a bit touched by "the blues" of the last few days, but it was very different now.
I went for a swim, and did some shopping. Back in the hostel got ready for the bbq.
We had a good night. Ate, and drink, and sang.

Camping and hostel are down there. From the path that took us to the summit.

The plan for the next day, Monday, was climbing Ben Nevis. Craig would join us for the walk. Craig will also walk with me after doing the Knoydart.
We were supposed to meet at 10 am, and for once, it wasn't the Spaniard the one that was late. Craig and I met at the hostel and walked to the camping; 10 minutes.

Climbing it!

We started walking at 12.... no rush. Craig, Sam and Graemme, did not come and went to the Nevis range for some bike descend.

Claire, having a rest, and relaxing.

The day was overcast. An hour before reaching the summit we went into the cloud. It became windy, and increasingly cold. The fog was very dense. In the summit, we got into the shed for lunch, otherwise it would have been bad to eat in that weather.

Having lunch in the shed at the top of The Ben.

We descended quickly and it was nice to be able to remove jumper and waterproofs.
And suddenly, going from seeing no more than 20 meters to kilometers with Glen Nevis down below.

A nice group picture, with Craig standing in the middle.

After the climbing (it felt easier to me than when I did it a few years ago for the Three Peaks Challenge), Craig and I stayed in the hostel for dinner, the rest went back to the campsite. We met for a drink later on. Just a quick one, we were tired.

I am quite happy with this one...

On Tuesday, yesterday, I was supposed to go with Sam, Graig, Graemme and Ben to the Nevis Range for some action photography. Before that, Graig (the other Craig) and I walked back to Fort William to plan where we were going to meet on the evening of the 26th. We bought some maps, did some shopping and Craig left to do some hiking on his own.

The camera likes Ben

Karen called me the other day. She will join me for the last bit of my walk, the last two couple of days, which is great. She needed to know when and where to book transport, so I had to do some planning.

I almost got hit in this one

It was not nice, I did not enjoy it, it was stressful. I was with all those maps in the Mountain Center, and it was really difficult to found a way through the Highlands. The tracks going in the right direction would normally end up in an unpassable cliff.

Graemme jumping. High ISO setting got him sharp.

Eventually, I think I found my way to Dunnet Head, and I will be meeting Karen in the north coast of Scotland in the 8th of September, which means We'll finish the walk together in the 10th.
I left the shop with all the maps I need from Fort William to Dunnet Head, really stressed, and facing something that I really did not like, the end of the walk. Went back to the Blues for a few hours: life, adventure...???

I took a bus to the Nevis Range, and met the boys for some action photography. Sam and Craig where waiting for their extremely expensive bike to be fixed. I went looking for Graemme and Ben. Most of the pics I took were crap, but for being the first time taking these kind of shots, i got a few half decent ones. See above.

I got a lift to hostel. Ate and fix the banner. I have a new one now. Printed and laminated. Same as the other one, although something is telling that not so well assembled as the one that Sally did. We'll see.

Blue eyes French painter??

I met my lovely Manc accent friends later on in the camping. Sam and Craig left to somewhere in Scotland, for more bike riding.


It was a great night.

We basically drank wine, and talked, and laughed. This is one of the things about them: laughter was always about to happen. I did not talk much, sometimes they went to quickly, so I would have enough with listening. Listen amazed. They are such good group of friends.

SO, WHO THE HELL IS THE LUCKY BASTARD???!!!!!!!!

I feel very lucky that I met them.

It was a night when the stars shined bright. Well, it was overcast, but I am pretty sure they were shining bright. Don't you think, Claire?

The boys. Graemme, me, Paul and Ben.

And when they do, and wine runs free, I can't help it, I get very very very very silly, and cheese, and songs does not stop coming to my head. Yesterday, it was and Amaral one.

Beauties!. I was the photographer. I am such a lucky bastard!

Amaral is a very good Spanish singer. It was "Como hablar" the song that was coming to my head yesterday night, while the stars shined.
"Como hablar": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6I9ezt5_pI

The song, you will not understand much guys, goes dedicated to all of you.
Thank you so much for a such a fantastic time.

I hope we meet sometime in the future.

Me and Claire.

This morning, full gear on, including banner, I bumped into Paul, Sally, Claire, Alexia and Anna. They were in Graemme's car. They stopped. More kisses and hugs, more good wishes, more goodbyes.
They left me trembling, slightly blue, almost crying, feeling the luckiest guy in the world.

It might be nothing, it might be just me, just the way I take things... it felt like heaven, felt like I would die a happy man then.

I have been almost 5 hours in front of the computer now. I am tired, and I still have to do today's walk.
I wonder what will the rest of the walk bring? How will I feel? How will reaching Dunnet Head be like,

... and the rest of my life...?

Bye now.


Carlos

The West Highland Way

Hi all

I am in Fort William. Yesterday I tried to update the blog in Kinlochleven, but something went wrong and I wasted 3 hours of work. Luckily I could save the writing in a word file and do the update today, and all I have to do is adding the pics.

After leaving the Internet cafe in Glasgow I went to a nice pub where they had beers from all around the world. Then had my sandwich and headed for the hostel to have the last one.

On the next day, and after breakfast I began walking towards Melngavie through the North West of Glasgow. I was a bit concerned, as i was expecting to find the same antisocial behaviour as around Motherwell, drunks and so. But everything went well, and actually the west end of Glasgow was not so bad. I bumped into a bagpipe band in the park close to the botanic. They were practising (for the festival in Edinburgh I thought). I think they were Americans... or maybe from Cornwall...

Milngavie is a nice village and the place where the West Highland Way (WHW) begins.

From there the path gets into an easy walking wood, always climbing slightly. Once out of the forest and at the top of a not very high ridge, I descended towards a wide valley, before reaching the south end of Loch Lommond the next day.

A very nice, and very sensible footy nut form Milngavie. Viva Espana!!!

From there I could see the first hills of the Highlands. The weather was being good and got quite a lot of sunshine... for Scotland. I walked in the flat valley below where i met Butt, a young Belgian soldier walking the WHW. We walked together until the camping in Gartness, just outside Drymen. He crashed in his tent, and I walked to the pub in Drymen.

First Highlands hills.

The weather was changing, and became really windy. The pub in Drymen, the Clachan, is the oldest licenced one, from 1734. There I wrote my diary and I was quickly kidnapped by Mac, and met Ian, a 74 years old guy (in the picture) that really looked much younger. The waiter, who had been working in Madrid, and the other guy in the picture, were extremely nice and got a few free "water of life". Pleasure!

On the next day it was pissing down with rain. I waited until it stopped and packed everything. It was good that the camp site had a shed were you could stay dry while eating.

Dry shelter

I passed through Drymen to buy some food and i continued to walk towards Balmaha, in the south east end of Loch Lommond. It was raining a bit, but I did not need to put the poncho on.

First sight of Loch Lommond.

From Balhama, it continued raining, but not too strongly. The WHW runs just on the east edge of the Loch. From there you have access to the Bonnie Bonnie Banks, or little pebble beaches where Rob Roy used to have barbeque's, and swim with his English pals a few centuries ago.

From the path you can see the small islands in the Loch and the distant west shore. The light was very bad, and it was hard to find good shots. I began taking underexposed pics, and i think they have a nice moody atmosphere.

The bonnie banks

I stayed in Rowerdannan youth hostel. There were lots of Spaniards (not as many as Germans, they are everywhere in the WHW) in the hostel, and I met Michael (Barcelona), Yuyu and Ana (also from Barcelona) and Gaizka (San Sebastian). We had a few drinks in the nearby pub. I also met Thomas from Denmark and his girlfriend Lewan.

The Spanish community.

On the next day I walked alone towards Inverarnan and Beinglas camp site. Thomas and Lewan walked the same way and at the same time but at a different pace, as Lewan had a problem with her ankle. The path continued on the edge of the loch, with similar scenery and similar light conditions.

Many waterfalls from the hills around Ben Lommond.

There were countless streams coming from the slopes surrounding Ben Lommond. I stopped for a break and food in a hotel by the water, from where you could take ferries. The west shore of the lake began to come closer and closer. A bit later, and at the same time as a French couple I arrived to a clear where there were five red deers (I thinks they were red deers...?)

Eating and resting.

The smaller and younger ones disappear quickly as the humans came into the clear, but the older one stayed. The French woman, kindly gave me a hand to change to the long lens, I could make some pictures. It was not as exciting as that other time near Bristol because the deer was not shy at all, and i could get within ten metres of her (I thought it was a female) in good light. I thought that she was old enough to be used to humans. Despite the proximity with the animal, I did not get any very good picture.

A very brave deer.

From there it was just a short walk to Beinglas campsite. There I met with Michael and Thomas and Lewan, and went for a drink in the Drover's Inn, a 300 years old pub with all sort of stuffed animals on its wall (even a shark), and claymores, and armors...

Hola Fernando. Dedicada.

Yuyu, Gaizka and Ana were there too, and we had a good time trying the local whiskeys and beers. We met Stuart, a German guy that had travelled all around the world and worked in the pub.

I liked the place so I decided to stay for a couple of days. And so did Michael. Tomas and Lewan stayed for an extra one. The next day, Friday, Michael and myself went to the Fallock Falls, where we where planning to maybe have a swim. the weather was not bad, but not good enough for the bloody cold water of the stream.

Stuart

Back in the campsite, we had a short siesta and met in the pub with Thomas and Lewan for dinner. I had my first haggis ( a big one) and a nice desert. Then we listened to some live Celtic music; nice but we were expecting a bit less boring. Stuart sang, quite successfully I would say. Others in the crowd sang as well, not so nice, as this woman who introduced me to all his family... by showing me his pictures in her compact digital camera.... weird.

Michael checking maps.

Back to the campsite we saw an amazing sky with lots of stars; the milky way was visible too. I tried to do some pictures, but failed.

A few days ago I told you how I organised my tent, and good it is. On top of that, and after having seen lots of them on my walk, I can say that it is the coolest and most advanced one. In terms of the interior, have a look below and you will be able to see part of the bedroom as well as the photography studio, the kitchen and wardrove. Out of sight are the office, the living room,.... and the spare room for guests...

The bathroom?.... don't be ridiculous, this is just a small tent!!

My place is your place...

The next day, Saturday, was a rainy one. I had breakfast in the campsite kitchen, and for a few hours read a couple of articles in the Nat. Geographic mag. that someone had forgotten on the table about Moscow and meteorites. I enjoyed it.

Just around midday Michael and I headed towards Ardlui, just a couple of miles away to see the local Highland games. On the way we saw Thomas and Lewan that joined us. The games took place by the shore of the Loch Lommond in a caravan park. There was a canopy with drinks and another one with bbq.

First it was the kids games, and Welly throw for women. and then it came the Scottish giants games. There was that one where you try to turn a massive trunck tree, then shot putt, and then throwing a weight hunging from a chain as high as possible. And rope pulling.

The athletes warmed up with beer whiskey and meat rolls. Ardlui won in the end, but everybody had fun. Thomas and Lewan left soon. Michael and I were welcome in the canopy for the party. Whiskey and beer flowed. Michael really enjoyed the evening; so much that could not resist to try the cold waters of the lake.... naked.

From there we were invited for an amazing dinner, and then party in the Ardlui hotel. we met lots of people. The number, and the whiskey, makes difficult to remember all of you names (my apologies).

I should say, that everybody was extremely nice and we were treated like one more of the group of friends. Special mention to the owner of the place, his wife and family. Also, Michael and I were invited somewhere to sleep after we left the hotel, at 5 am.

Back in the camping, partly recovered from the last night drinking, and continued the WHW on my own; Michael had problems with his leg and decided to take a train. We might meet later on.

Thomas and Lewan

The path continued to run by the A82. I went into a beautiful forest by West of Crianlarich. I think I liked it because it was not so dense as other connifer forests I have seen before, and the path was winding on an up and down terrain.

The weather was quite bad, very wet. I met a german couple that had ponchos to keep themsleves dry. But this ones were much better than mine: they were like a big rucksack cover with a raincoat attached to it. I will try to get one when I get to Fort William.

It was good to get to the camping. The guy in the reception was very nice and talked about british accents and cricket. The field was really wet, but at least the campsite had a small kitchen where you could eat comfortably.

In the kitchen I met a german guy that had just bought a Nikon D300. I had the chance to take a couple of pictures with it, and it was like a machine form the future...It'll be mine... some day.

Having dinner

From Tyndrum, and continuing the WHW the following days, there would not be many places to buy food and other stuff, so I went to the local shop to buy some food. And stayed in the pub for a few drinks and diary update.

On monday, while having breakfast, I met Ian. A highschool teacher from Manchester. We walked together the first 15 Km of the day. Interesting conversations about education, and other things.

Ian with Beinn Dorain behind him. The first Munro (Scottish mountains higher than 3000 feet, 914 m.) I see in my walk.

Ian is a young fit guy, but was having some problems with his right knee ligament. He was in pain for some part of our walk together, specially when going up hill. He stayed in Inveroran, and i continued to walk towards the Black Mountain area.

I stopped to have a can of rice pudding and some water and fitted the long lense in my camera- the place where I was walking looked like those pictures with Stags on them. I could not see anything apart from small birds, and I was feeling that I was missing some scenic pics that needed the wide angle lense. The weather was still very cloudy, but the few clears in the distance and the changing light made good pictures.

From the slopes that go down the hill to King's House I could see the East entrance of Glen Coe, a very nice valley that I plan to visit in the next few days. King's House was just a hotel, and there was not camping. When i approached the place some midges began to be a pain, which was strange because they normally don't come to you if you are moving. There were thousands of them next to the building. I started pitching the tent on a small field a few metres form the river, and it was a nightmare. Thousands became millions. A woman saw scene from the nearby pub (me waving and pitching the tent at the same time) and came to lend a head net. She run back indoors.

From the bridge by Beinglas campsite

I had my dinner, in the tent, and saw how the bloody midges were finding their way inside. Luckily the bastards were not coming for me, and stayed on the "walls" of the tent. It was easy to kill them, KILL THEM ALL!!!!, just with a wave of my hand. I came out of my tent to see with horror, that the millions had become billions, and my tent was surrounded. I waved my hands and went through a dense cloud of them, so dense that I could feel hundreds of them crashing against my arms. I run towards the pub.

Inside, there were no midges, just people. Had some desert and a few beers and a couple of violinists came in. They had something to drink and played some nice celtic music that really fot woth the scenery outside. When I left the pub the midges where gone, home, or the midges pub, or hopefully to the midges hell!!!

The next day i got up quite early. I began walking towards the entrance of Glen Coe. It was cloudy although there were bigger clears in the sky. Just before me a rainbow formed very quickly. it was like the Glen Coe gate. It also disappeared fast.

Before entering Glen Coe, I turned right up the hill following the WHW. From there, I could see one or two of the "Three Sisters", a group of hills by the A82 that I photographed from the Late Peakers van when we did the 3 Peaks Challenge.

Leven valley

Yesterday i just walked 3 hours. The walk down to the Leven valley was easy, and sunnier than the other side of the valley. I saw some fighters passing very close.

Kinlochleven looked like a new built village, with a modern climbing centre (Paco, you would have loved the place: in and outdoors climbing wall, ice wall, and sauna!), and new school with a sport centre. I stayed in Blackwater hostel by a powerstation that uses the waters coming from the hills. The place was cheap, £13 a night en-suite, but it was even cheaper fro me: free. The banner was making its job! And talking about the banner, I think it is about to die: it is not firm any more, and looks like a wet paper. I'll try to find a printing place in Fort William to print a new one. When leaving the hostel for the daily drinks I met Michael that had managed to sort out his leg problems. We had a few drinks in the climbing centre bar.

Blue sky in Kinlochleven

Today I began walking at 8 am. I really wanted to get early to Fort William and update the blog. I follow the WHW up the hill first and though a wide valley later. Coming outside the valley there was the option of leaving the WHW and continue in a more direct route to Fort William on a country. I chose the quick option and form the road I could see Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain.

Ben Nevis summit crowned by some clouds.

It was a pleasure to get to the town. It was busy, and I think I have mentioned before how much i like seeing lots of people after I few days in "the wild". I had something to eat and came straight forward to the internet cafe.

Me in Fort William High Street

I will stay in Glen Nevis youth hostel for a week. As you know, I will be meeting Jeremi, Karen, Lyndon, Dan and Dyeison on the 22nd friday to walk the Knoydart peninsula. We'll meet in Invergarry, which one or two days walk form here, so i have 7 spare days (hard life this one of mine...) to basically do nothing: read newspapers, go for a swim and the gym, maybe hire a bike and visit Glen Coe, Highland games tomorrow...Sounds good!!!!

I will update the blog before leaving for Invergarry, and let you know if I have a fantastic or just a very good week at Fort William.

That is all for now. All the best.

Carlos

Glasgow

Hi all

I am in Glasgow city centre.

Nice Faye, Elisa and the duracell batteries dog.

From Corehouse farm, Faye B&B, Glasgow was within walking distance, but I decided that it would be much better to do the distance in a couple of days. On saturday I started walking around 10 after a wonderful breakfast. I walked up the Clyde for half an hour or so, two cross it a walk at the other side of the river. All of this in a wood on a well marked path.
Soon I walked by the Clyde falls

Clyde falls

And not much later I arrived to New Lanark. The place, was built on the XVIII century as a wool mill factory. The owner of the factory built houses, nice ones, for his employees, and educated them, not only on reading and writting but also arts, history, and set up a library too. The place, between Lanark and the river is in the wooded hills that look at the river. Nice place, worth visiting. There is a youth hostel there too.


I went up the hill to Lanark town centre. The place is quite nice and I got quite a lot of donations. While I was shopping in Tesco, muffins and other things too, people would not stop coming to give me donations, small ones, butg everything counts. While i was eating outside the superstore, muffins and other things too, it was raining like hell.

For the day I had planned to follow the Clyde walkway. For the first bit I did not have map, and took the wrong side of the river, what made me walk on a road for a couple of hours.
For a while, at least up to Invergarry, I will be using 1:50000 OS maps instead the more detailed 1:25000. I will save some money by doing this, and I don't need the 1:25 because form here to the Knoydart I will follow very well singed posted long distance trails, the West Highland Way, and the Glen.. something way.
When I managed to cross the river, with some local knoledge aid, the walk run on a nice path by the river, once more in woodland. Soon, the wood disappear, and gave way to fields.

Crops fields south of Motherwell

I had bought some pork meat and beans, so I cooked it by the river. Nice place for something good. I did not have any chocolate for desert. Mistake, BIG mistake.

Cooking in the wild!!

Then, landscape begun chaging in more than one way. First, the noise of nearby big roads and farms like this one:

Farm land with Motherwell "skycrappers" at the horizon.

An then, the people. There were groups of people with childre enjoying the relatevely good weather, a few fishermen, and then, the drunks!

Families enjoying the river and the weather, but further up the river...

It was so weird to meet these guys, semi-naked, very drunk, on the countryside, and simply being annoying with whatever cross their way. One of the groups was formed by an unconcious semi-naked guy, standing; then the brainy one asking for a lighter; and the third one verbally abusing and threatening me (I guessed he was being nasty to me because between all the things he said, I could pick up some "....foocking.......,..... foocking.... foocking...). On the meantime, their nice friends were running with sticks after the calfs in a nearby field.... I guess they were paying their pub failed flirting adventures with the poor cows...


The picture above shows (sorry the lack of detail) one of the "cowboys" (the small white bit) chasing the poor animals. I did not take a picture of the commented three, taking into account the last stabbing and shooting stories in the Glasgow area.

I bumped into more drunks on my way, annoying but not rude, and the rest of the walk up to Strathclyde reservoir was nervous and unsettling.

I should say, however, that nice people is everywhere too, and Jenmy, very patiently gave me a hand to find my way.

The atmosphere was completly different once i got to the mentioned lake in Motherwell: mainly families and couples walking on the path by the shore.

Actually, by the time I took this picture, danger was gone.

At the other side of the water I could see a theme park with many of those devices i would not get into, not even drunk. As I said, the change of atmosphere was a relief, but I was very tired and the feet were aching.
The camping was at the north end of the reservoir.
The tendons that connect the toes with the feet were sore. Better in the sandals.


On the next day I walked in sandals, and the soreness diminished. It was time for another urban walk. it took me three and a half hours to get into central Glasgow, through Uddington, generally speking not too dodgy areas, excepting the last bit before actually getting into the centre. I had a couple of heavy showers, and i passed by the Premier Inn where i stayed with the Late Peakers for the Three Peaks Challenge, a few years ago.

Waitin for the rain to stop

I got to Glasgow before 2 pm. I walked by the Clyde again looking for the hostel. The place does B+B for £15 a night, in dormitories. Good atmosphere, and breakfast, recommended.
After the ususal cleaning duties in the hostel, went for a walk and bought some more maps

Dusk at Strathclyde theme park

In the evning i went to the cinema and saw Wall-E. Very good, also recomended. There is a bar, Osmosis, on the hostel gorund level. I chilled out there before going to bed, while i wrote my diary.

Glasgow from the air.

Today, monday, the sun was shining in the morning, and is still shining. The frst thing I did was looking for a swimming pool. I needed to take a train to it, 5 minutes, and swam for 30 minutes. Back in the centre, had a light lunch, and here I am updatting the blog. The rest of the day, I will continue to do nothing which is great: read the paper, buy some food for the week coming, go for a drink...

Waiting for train back to the centre

Everytime I updated the blog, it was a real pain having to tidy up the text I had written that was a big mess, where pics would be in the wrong place, and there would be big gaps between text blocks anb pics. I found a way to avoid the mess, so i don't have to do any extra work!

Me in George Square, Glasgow.

Tomorrow i start walking the West Highland Way. The "villages" on my way are not more than small groups of houses, so i don't know when I'll be able to update the blog again. I am planning to be in Fort William in7 or 8 days time, and then it's 2 days walk to Invergarry where I am meeting Jeremi and Co. This gives me lots of free time that I don't know very well how I use. Resting is one of the options.

After the walk in Knoydart, I am pretty sure I will walk Skye and Lewis.

The boots are still being a problem, the next 7 days will decide if they adapt to my feet or i need to buy something else.

That is all for now.

All the best.

Carlos

Phil and first Scotland sight

Dear all.

I am in a beautiful B&B near Lanark.

Phil, having a rest.

After the extremely long update in Newcastleton library, we went straight for lunch in the village cafe. Baguette and scampi made it for us. More interesting talking. We solved some of the global crisis going on in the world right now...

.... by the way, my clothes and tent are hanging outside, drying, and it is raining so much, that I don't even think in moving form the sofa I am sitting on...

After that, we took the road that approximately in three hours would take us to Langholm. After a quick climb, we walked through a narrow road with almost no cars. The landscape was a hilly moor, that for some reason was part of a country that was not England. I did not rain, and world saving conversations continued. On our way, a lady stopped her car for a £5 donation

The camping at Langholm was just part of the grounds of the rugby pitch. In my opinion, "Skin so Soft" worked this time. I the trick is putting lots of it on, and making sure you cover every single bit of exposed skin.

We did not have any food. Many of you, Phil as well, know about my food requirements: lots and often. The fact of not having any food and not knowing what would be available in the village, made desperately hungry, and the short walk to Langholm town centre, was an agonising one not knowing if I would have to eat a local, or two. Pubs had just stopped serving food, and the bloody fish&chips we had been told about was not 100 yards away, actually did not exist.

I was about to die, depressed.... everything went back to normal when we found an opened coop supermarket. Cold dinner. One of the best of my life. Back in town we had a couple of Tennent's tops, and talked about music and science.

By the way: do you know the arquimedes principle? Any of the readers would be able to explain why the lifting force goes UP, and not in any other direction? Clue: it is curious, but the lifting force that opposes gravity is caused by one of the effects of gravity on fluids. (No kidding, there is a simple answer for the question).

"Happily", we left the pub and had another short night sleep.

Next day, Tuesday, up before 6 am. Went back to town for buying a generous breakfast, although the bacon baguette could have been more... full of it...

The walk to Eskdalemuir (you Spaniards, try and pronounce it, I still struggle) was made on roads again. The landscape has radically changed: isolated hills, with large conifer forests. No houses, and just a few cars a lorries in the road.

My new boots. They're ok, but hurted me a bit

Apart from that, rights of way don't exist up here, and there are just a few marked footpaths on the ground. My boots were hurting me a little bit, and after the walk, my feet were slightly swollen. It rained a bit, and kept on walking about own-life saving issues. Eskdalemuir is too small to call it a village, and the Budist monastery where we stayed were just a mile away from it.

Colours!

Seeing the monastery, with its colours and flags, in the middle of nowhere in Scotland was just weird. But I should say that I liked the place. The atmosphere was very good, quite, and calm. There was a cafe, with Internet. We got a couple of single rooms, simple but nice, and the best: the food was excellent. I, once more, was concerned about food supplies; you know, monks, trying to keep themselves away from sin, and I think, that the way I eat, it definitely is sinning; so there was my concern. But no, I was wrong. Plenty of food, and good too. And the bread, unforgettable.

Dusk by the river at Eskdalemuir monastery

Just after dinner, we went for one of the day prayers. I am not into Buddhism, and not any other kind of religion, but I found the praying relaxing, apart from not understanding a word of they were saying.

And then it happened. 5 years ago I had the only cup of tea I had in my life. And it was enough. On Tuesday evening, just before bed, Phil prepared for me a cup of tea. I will not say I enjoyed as much as one of my pints, but I drank it without any disgust feeling. unbelievable!

Cooling feet down in the river

Before going to bed completed my diary. On Wednesday up again soon for an amazing, sinning, breakfast.

It was time to go for Phil. We really enjoyed our time together, and for sure, the world is now a better place.

Phil's bus to Newcastleton

For the first time since I began the walk, I ran out of maps. I knew roughly speaking where I wanted to go; hopefully Moffat. The roads that safely would take me there, where a long way round, so I really wanted to use the tracks I could see in my map; tracks that would disappear at the edge of the map. I checked in the OS website to see where those tracks were going. After a while, the one I wanted turned south in the "wrong"direction. From the turn, to the Southern Upland Way (SUW), a long distance trail that would easily take me straight into Moffat, there were a couple of miles of first open fell up the hill, and then conifer forest down. It looked easy, so I went for the direct root.

I used the boots in the beginning of the walk, but I had to swap them for the sandals as my feet turned very sore. The day soon turned awful, and began raining, and it was windy, the charted track went up through forests, and finished soon according to my planned route choice. Boots on again. The next, was a hilly moor, that disappeared in the mist up the hill:

Have you seen Rob Roy???

So, what could go wrong? It was easy: just a couple of miles of no-path terrain. The climbing was not too hard, soft and wet but stable terrain. The rain and the wind though a real pain. I could not see much further away from my nose. Just compass and instinct. Reached the top of the ridge, jumped the fence, and just after beginning down hill, I saw the forest line. I closer look showed an impassable wood. Not too big conifers, but low branches that would have made impossible to walk through. So, no where to go. Remembering what I had seen on the computer screen in the morning, the forest edge would continue North (I needed to go west the reach the SUW) until it turned west at some point. So that was the way then. I walked by the edge of the forest, feeling more lonely than ever: unknown outcome for my little adventure in completely unknown terrain. To my relief, after a while, the mist cleared up a bit, and could see that beyond the trees there was a valley that contained the path I wanted o reach.

A tempting gap

There were gaps in the forest, and I was tempted to use them, but I could not see the bottom of the valley, so I could I found myself blocked on my way down, and climbing back would have been extremely difficult. I continued to walk in the edge of the forest; the hill became more steep and although not unsafe, very unconfortable to walk on.

After a small ridge, the edge of the forest turned 90 degrees left, and finally I could see I direct route, down the fell the marked long distance path.

A valley, descending to the SUW

From there, easy 3 hours walk to Moffat. I could finish the walk in the boots.

In Moffat, after the usual cleaning and feeding activity, went to the pub for diary updating. Too much (for a Wednesday) pale ale (that was almost as dark as Guinness) in the Black Bull.

Yesterday, Thursday, I got up and went straight to the shop for breakfast and food. And looked for maps for the following days. I tried to find a route that used mainly tracks, but all of them finished in a forest that could be a dense impassable one. So I opted for the easy route, and walked all the way in roads, by the A74 motorway. I had a little bit of sun in the beginning, but soon the day turned miserable and rained all that way to Abington

Moffat from the surrounding hills

Landscape continued to be round big hills with forests, but after a while the forest began to disappear and gave way to naked fells. My clothes were wet, and my tent too, so I looked for a B&B in Abington. There were not any, and the hotel was very expensive. Camping then.

Surrounding landscape

This morning, rained heavily, and had to wait to get out of the tent. At this point I would like to mention, that although the force of the rain was not less than torrential, not a single drop got in the tent. I am very happy with it. Condensation problem disappeared, maybe because nights are being windy and allow better ventilation, and although small, I have organise so that I have my bedroom, my kitchen, storing room, and even an office and bathroom. No kidding.

Some nice scenery on my way to Lanark

It was time for another walk mainly on roads. More naked fells, and plenty of sun in the middle of the day. The banner got me a couple of donations, and a finger up from a passing car... and it was not a thumb... wankers, they are everywhere.

Oh!, so nice

I walked quickly, and stopped just once before getting to the B&B. I walked all the way on boots, and they were not too much of a problem. Maybe feet and boot need to adapt to each other.

From Lanark, I expect to be in Glasgow on Sunday.

B&B landlady was reading my blog in other computer. She liked it! And thinks my spelling is terrible!!! :) I think there is some food waiting for me.

So I leave you with a sequence of images of the poncho-on action. It shows both natural and learned skill, and lots of fun. :)

Just had my dinner. Invited by the Faye, the lovely landlady, and cooked by Eliza, her helper from Italy. We had pasta, al dente. Delicious.

The best of the night, Faye's dog. She had a vampire puppet as a toy. She would bring it to you and as she squeezes it in her mouth, the puppet says: "I come to suck your blood" over and over again.... ha ha ha!!

That is all for now.

All the best

Carlos