Week #5 Edinburgh

It's very hard to believe this is our last week in Scotland clearly five weeks has come and gone all too quickly. Nevertheless, we did very well in saving the City of Edinburgh for last as it proved to be an amazing place to visit. This week was even further highlighted by all activities surrounding the "Fringe Festival". As you might imagine, we soon immersed ourselves in as many activities as time would allow. 

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival has been going since 1947 and is the largest arts festival in the world and takes place each year during the last three weeks of August. Thousands of performers (big names and the unknown) take to hundreds of stages situated all over the city to present shows for every taste (comedy, dance, circus, cabaret musicals, etc). Listed below is a short sampling of a number of our highlights. 

#1 "Close Up" Sitting in the front row and watching these four acrobatic artists perform with such beauty and physical intensity  was a performance no one should miss. 

#2 "Gobsmacked" Featuring world class voices, and amazing harmonies using sounds that embrace all forms of a cappella. 

#3 "Comedy" Starring Fred MacAulay, a regular at the Fringe for 27 years, with humourous dialogue of his life since leaving BBC Radio Scotland, why he left after all those years and the various punches thrown.

As we can all agree a city needs greenspace and here you'll find dozens of small parks all within a short waking distance from the center of the old city. ( note: too funny, the new city was built in 1885). Naturally a must visit was the Edinburgh Botanical Gardens covering 70 acres. These gardens play a very important role in a worldwide network of institutions seeking to ensure all good things in the form of biodiversity and sustainability.  They claim 273,000 individual plants 13,300 different species that are grown here or in combination with three other smaller satellite gardens located in other parts of Scotland. Please find a few photo's below ... Center shows cloning of little garden helpers (I managed to get some seeds for friends back home)

A pub or formally a public house is in many places a focal point of the community. Since the history of these pubs can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon-alehouse where windows were made of frosted glass to obscure the clientele from the street, we thought it was of significant importance to check a few of them out and have a pint or two.

Sandy Bell's pub is truly a real Scottish pub with a sign out front that says it all: Purveyors of fine ales and spirits "Home of world renowned folk music". We stopped in for a wee pint and immersed ourselves in the fun and relaxing environment. 

Conan Doyle pub is across the road from Picardy Place, the birthplace of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is a veritable shrine to the author and his famous fictional creation with loads of information about Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes. Being the perfect slueths ourselves we took time to suss out the veggie burgers.

Here is my eager travelling companion and I'm glad she wore that orange jacket every day so I wouldn't lose her in the crowds!

All in all a wonderful adventure and we would encourage anyone who visits the UK to take advantage of the beauty of Scotland and the Scottish people.

Cheers,

Week #4 Oban, Isle of Arran, and Edinburgh Scotland

This week saw a welcomed change in transportation, as we were off the buses and rails and into a car.  We met up with brother-in-law Ken, best wrong side of the road driver ever! 

This arrangement enabled us to see parts of Scotland we would have otherwise missed. 

We selected a location just outside of town of Oban in the very small village of Kilmelford as our central base of operation for the week. Staying at the the Cuilfail a traditional, small scale hotel with 12 rooms built in the 19th-century. Please find photo below. It has a bar and small lounge area were traditional pub grub is served. I don't want to be negative here because it was a lovely retreat it was simply unfortunate that their policy of $20.00 minimum visa transaction puts them in a league with the small time operators. Yes they took away my fun in having a quick beer with my brother-in-law and relaxing after a hectic days activity. 

A visit to Kilmartin Glen provided us with an amazing introduction into Scotland's past. We're told 800 significant archaeological sites lie within a six mile radius of this village so we simply took them at their word. Though we can certainly attest to attending several of the more than 150 prehistoric monuments as identified in the picture below. 

We made our way to the Mull of Kintyre in southwest Scotland. Luckily it was a beautiful clear day and we were able to see the coast of Northern Ireland. Though the song "Mull of Kintyre" was never a hit in North America this area seems to has been immortalized by the song. Twenty years ago Sue and I had front row seats when attended a "Wings Concert" at the Toronto Sky Dome so now we know what Paul McCartney was actually singing about. 

Off to Arran or the Isle of Arran - it's culturally and physically similar to the Hebrides, but is separated from them by the Kintyre peninsula. It's divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault and it to is described as a "geologist's paradise" inhabited since the 6th century. Photo below shows Sue keeping visual over horizon looking for Vikings and other distant family members.

A beautiful sunset as we close the week down saying goodbye to Ken and Mer as we make our final preparations for Edinburgh and our last week in Scotland.

Cheers,

Bill and Sue

Week #3 Kyle of Lochalsh, Isle of Skye, Fort William,

We started our third week off in Kyle of Lochalsh noted for its castles, hills and lakes as well as the main entrances into the Isle of Skye and to the north west coast.

There's a large collection of white-washed buildings in the main commercial centre of Kyle with a wide range of accommodations to suit most budgets. Though in the peak of tourist season it's very tough to find a room of any description.This point is of particular interest when discovering our Guest House host double booked our reservation.  So the scramble began and as luck would have it we stumbled upon quite an exceptional lodging at Rock View Guest House - yes completed as a seasoned travellers all in good stride without missing a step. Whew!

The Isle of Skye claims to be the best of Scotland and what with likes of Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora MacDonald who can argue the point. We certainly enjoyed all the climbing and walking, listening to the piping and the fiddle, visiting the castles and of course getting to know the friendly people. The Isle of Skye is certainly at the very least a quite a magical place.

If you use your imagination the cliffs in the above photo will appear to have a Kilt like appearace - okay concentrate and try squinting harder then:) Oh! There are some amazing Cliff top views across the sea to mainland Scotland.

 We discovered a small crofting village where it was possible to see the individual crofts (small farms) marked out by the fence lines. The fenced areas contain the better ground for planting crops or temporarily holding animals. The rough hill ground outside the fence areas is shared or given to common grazing.

It was then was off to Armadale to catch the Mallaig ferry (Mallaig being a small fishing village) and then the train to our final destination to end the remaining part of the week in Fort William. FYI The hamlet of Armadale is on the Sleat Peninsula, at the south end of the Isle of Skye. 

Mallaig to Fort William is described as one of the great railway journeys of the world this 42 mile trip takes you past a list of impressive extremes. Starting near the highest mountain in Britain, Ben Nevis, (which we will soon plan on to take a bit of)

Fort William is the outdoor capital of the UK and also the largest town in the Highlands. This area is a mecca for hill walkers and mountaineers and our selected base for the next 3 days to discover these West Highlands. Sue and I both felt years younger when hanging with this group of enthusiastic hikers pictured below.

Our walks steamed from easy family strolls, through longer, wilder hikes to ascents of the rugged mountain range.

Okay guys hope you've enjoyed this segment of our trip we've certainly had a blast. Next week promises to be even better -as if that's possible as we prepare for travels into the town of Oban, village of Kilmarti and trips to the outer Hebrides.

Week #2 Sterling, Pitlochry, Aviemore, Nethy Bridge, Inverness, Scotland

VA visit to Stirling Castle is an essential part of any visit to central Scotland. 

Argyles 17th Century Townhouse built by first Earl of Sterling

Pitlochry Power Station and Dam has a very unusual attraction of a salmon ladder, which helps the fish bypass the dam and get into Loch Faskally. Downstream is the nationally renowned Pitlochry Festival Theatre please avoid comedy " Lady In The Van" as it's not a funny performance at all. Most importantly was our visit to  the Edradour Distillery, for $20.00 Dollars Canadian you receive 4 ounce's or rather 4 wee drams of some very fine Whiskey.

Meeting sheepdogs is truly an experience not to be missed, giving all in attendance a chance to enjoy in the traditional working day of a Highland Shepherd.

Located on the doorstep of the Cairngorms National Park, Aviemore is a major holiday resort surrounded by stunning scenery including the elusive lady in red:)

Our last 3 nights were spent at the Family Honeymoon, Grey House in Nethy Bridge. We were responsible for a dinner and chose haggis, neeps and tatties (turnip and potatoes) with whiskey sauce. Thankfully, it was a success! Left the MacLeod clan this morning and are now in Kyle of Lochalsh, right beside Isle of Skye.

Glasgow, Scotland: Week #1

Glasgow, is Scotland's biggest city and we understand to be now one of Europe's "go to" places for fun. The neighbourhoods, with beautiful Victorian architecture, cool cafés and a picturesque riverfront are all memorable and have become very hard for Sue and I to say goodbye to.

The photo below is our very cool and affordable residence for the last 6 nights. Bookings are available though Airbnb /described as Rough Luxe Victorian Villa, Broompark Circus - 

It’s hard to keep track of the number of bars and restaurants in the city centre but we've attached a photo or two in the areas within Ashton Lane that we visited. (Glasgow's equivalent to Dublin's Temple Bar area)

We took in several outstanding art galleries, but with time running out we had to skip a must see being Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum postponing until our return at the end of the month.  Meanwhile, one of Glasgow’s oldest districts, George Square is bustling with boutique hotels, restaurants, shops and galleries as pictured below.

Glasgow has some of Scotland’s most stunning landscapes with parks and the great outdoors not far away with scenic walks and bike routes.

Botanic Gardens are an oasis of calm with a blend of formal gardens and woodlands.

The highlight this week was attending a true Scottish Wedding Reception. The event was held at The Trades Hall one of the most historic buildings in Glasgow and located within Merchant City area.  Naturally this called for full dress attire for most Scottish gents though once the music started and the dancing began there was no telling us apart from those born and breed here. photo of Trades Hall below

Iceland July 2015

Iceland is a small dot in the Atlantic between Scandinavia and America; Sue and I like so many other tourists came to “the land of fire and ice” to see wilderness parks and dramatic landscapes as well as to take advantage of the discount fairs on a stop over to our Scotland adventure.

The fire of course, comes from Iceland’s volcanoes, which burst periodically into life, with forces just below the surface heating the water in taps and swimming pools. Thermal springs in fact surface everywhere, and we happily gave way to early morning outings to soak and revitalize  .. happily staying clear of the iconic Blue Lagoon, a popular tourist destination in open-air swimming.

Ice is Iceland’s other big draw or more specifically, the dramatic glaciers. So we jumped on Bus #3 and kicked off a glacier and a volcano on a single trip and got down to visiting some bars and meeting the locals or rather unearthing the quirky nature of the Icelandic people. Eccentric, creative or not the Icelanders are simply a lot of fun to be around, and certainly in Reykjavik, the island’s miniature capital city - with area population of around 200,000, it is the home to two-thirds of Iceland's population. The city centre, however, is a very small area characterised by eclectic and colourful houses, with good shopping, dining and drinking.

The Icelandic Phallological Museum houses the world's largest display of penises and penile parts and in my mind the number one tourist attraction.  The collection of 280 specimens from 93 species including Huldufólk (Icelandic elves) and trolls. The museum obtained its first human penis just recently from one of four promised by would-be donors. Its detachment from the donor's body did not go according to plan and it was reduced to a greyish-brown shrivelled mass pickled in a jar of formalin. The museum however continues to search for "a younger and a bigger and better one." Allegedly 60 percent of the women in Iceland have volunteered for this vital project.

After the Museum we headed straight to the Hallgrimskirkja Luthearan Church (Church of Iceland) that was designed to resemble the basalt lava flows of Iceland's landscape.The church is also used as an observation tower to view Reykjavík and the surrounding mountains.

In summary we loved all Iceland had to offer - in fact to ensure our happiness all government facilities installed Satisfaction Indicators allowing all who wished to record their satisfaction rating be it happy face, frown or somewhere in between. 

The locals advise us that this week has been the best weather in the past two years hovering between 13c and 17c. Though the Northern Lights are only available in the winter it provides us with very reasonable rational to schedule a return visit. 

Iceland and Scotland

Our journey starts tomorrow. All packed and ready to go!

Panama Week 13

The 

On our Sunday evening walk, we met a lovely family from Panama City fixing up their beach house. She is a civil engineer and the family all speak very good English. The husband introduced himself by saying "I am Panama Fidel, not Cuba Fidel....I'm a good guy". Too funny!

After the walk we saw our friends from Quebec who surprised us with a picnic on the beach.

With a cooler full of cold beer, wine, rum, sprite, limes, potato chips, cheese and crackers, we sat and watched the tide come in, the sun go down and the cooler empty. We had a lot of laughs and hope to visit Quebec City next year to see our new friends, Aline and Michel.

On Friday Bill had his last appointment at the dentist office in Coronado. He was 4 hours in the chair, but his beautiful dentist was with him all along. They both were tired by the end of the session but happy with the results. Coronado Dental Clinic, Dr. Julia De Leon Cano.

Our last week was spent saying good-byes to all the amazing people we met during our 3 months. Plans to reconnect and hopes to cross paths with all sometime, somewhere.

There has been a change in the weather. Lots of clouds, colder ocean temperatures and what appears to be a great migration of birds....maybe cormorants on mass on their way to Lake Ontario. The advent of the rainy season in Panama is a cue for the birds to start moving.

It has been a fabulous visit to Panama and our experiences of the country, cultures and people are all special and memorable. Maybe, someday we will have the pleasure to return.

Panama Week 12

Another week of dentist appointments for Bill, first on Monday with a positive report and then on Saturday when it was confirmed by the specialist that his implants were secure, so impressions for caps were made and after 2 hours in the chair, the dentist advised we would be able to return to Canada as scheduled on March 31, all work successfully completed.  A 3 month procedure, finished in 2-1/2!  A big thank-you goes out to Dr. Enzo Cano, his beautiful wife Dr. Julia DeLeon Cano and their professional staff at Coronado Dental Clinic.

Me trying to get a "leg up" on Bill at the dentist office.

Following the dental news, we decided to splurge on a $5 taxi ride instead of the 2x$.75 bus back to the condo. The cab driver we hailed didn't speak English, but he indicated to us that glass block tiles were on one of the back seats, the trunk was loaded with boxes of glass tiles and so we didn't have a lot of room for our groceries. But, we and all the bags fit in ok with Bill riding in the front seat. The driver chatted away in Spanish with Bill understanding every tenth word and politely answering "si". It turned out that the cabbie was making a delivery in the gated area where we were staying and needed our help. He had a hand drawn map but had no idea where he was going. Only the main streets have signs here, the homes have no numbers. So with map in hand, and the only clue of the destination was "casa verde", we went on the search for a green house. We finally found it, the English speaking owner was delighted to have her delivery. Bill helped unload the taxi and after 45 minutes we arrived at the condo. Bill asked "cuanto cuesta?" and after all our help finding the house, helping him unload the boxes, knowing he had already been compensated for the delivery by the hardware store, and taking far too much time to bring us home, he requested the normal fee of $5.Lol Oh well, it was a fun experience and reminded us to always negotiate the price first.

Bill guarding the glass block tiles

All week we enjoyed joining friends for dinner, Wednesday at Picasso's for pizza, Thursday for "Happy Hour" at the Blue Water just a 5 minute walk down the beach, and Friday at Cholo's for the best Mexican food in the area.

Our local fruit vendor...lovingly known as Senior Fruto, has been teaching us of new fruits coming into season. So far we have tried Cherimoya or custard apple which looks like an artichoke and has a pineapple-banana taste. Mamet Sapote (mahMAY saPOtay) which has an outside appearance of a brown avocado with 2 shiny walnut coloured pits and tastes like sweet potato pie.

Cashew Apple shaped like a pear with the nut on the bottom which is poisonous if eaten raw, but we all know how good cashew nuts are roasted. The apple part can be eaten raw. They grow on the side of the road so we can pick them off the tree on our morning walk.

Pistachios are coming into season, but we haven't experimented with them yet.

A lot of the fruits grown here have thin skins and are not suitable for transport so it's fun to try them in Panama while we can. 

We are going into our last full week and already looking forward coming home to family and friends.