Day #135 - Loch Ness & Isle of Skye

Loch Ness - no monsters shown

Inside the lock in the Canal leading to Loch Ness

Scottish flag represented - nearing our departure point

Urquhart Castle - overlooking Loch Ness

Isle of Skye

Tuesday, July 27th

Today was an odd and mysterious day. I awoke early in Inverness and walked down to the busstop for a 9:15am tour departure to Loch Ness. I decided I wanted to actually be on the water, so I chose a 3-hr boat ride/castle tour.

We loaded a bus that took us further up the River Ness where we boarded the boat. I met a really nice couple from South Africa on the ride over. They're from an area near Kruger National Park in Johannesburg. They gave me some tips on cage diving with great white sharks - something I want to do in the future.

Our boat was nice. About 50 people aboard. I took a seat on the upper deck - exposed to the weather, but also witness to the best views. We first cruised down the Caledonian Canal and passed through a lock and dam on our way to Loch Ness. I've studied all about lock and dams - and even did a display of one for the Engineers Club in St. Louis - but I don't ever recall passing through one personally. Very cool. The entrance gates open. The boat enters the lock. The sluice gates are opened from the departure gate. You can't see these because they are underwater. Opening the sluice gates brings water into the lock to achieve the same water depth as the departure water source. Once the levels are equalized, the exit gate opens and the boat moves forward. This was only a 3-4 foot change - but really interesting. There are 29 such locks on the Caledonian Canal. About 15 minutes later, we entered Loch Ness.

Loch Ness stretches 22.6 miles in length from Fort Augustus in the south to Bona Lighthouse at its most northernly point. Here its waters narrow as it enters into Loch Dochfour and joins the Caledonian Canal allowing shipping a passage to Inverness and the North Sea beyond. The Loch covers 21.8 square miles and it's Britain's second largest expanse of freshwater by surface area (Loch Lemond - largest) and it's biggest by volume. With depths of up to 754 feet, the volume of water contained in the loch is estimated at 263 billion cubic foot. The waters are extremely dark due to high peat content. (Exact opposite of Crater Lake in Oregon). The temperatures below the thermocline remain at a constant 6 deg C (40 F) while even in the hottest summers the water nearest the surface will only reach 15 deg C (60 F).

The drawing card to Loch Ness and what most people associate with this water source - the Loch Ness Monster (or Nessie). There are records of monster sightings dating back to St. Columba's visit in the 6th century. In 1933, Hugh Grey took the 'first monster photograph'. The picture was published in the Daily Mail and the story gripped the public imagination; hence, the beginning of the legend. There have been alot of hoaxes over the years, but many 'honest sightings' as well. Even with today's technology - nothing conclusive has been found. But, there have been mysterious movements recorded in the murky waters.

I guess I think of the Loch Ness Monster like bigfoot - if they were real - they would have been exposed by now. Although, I do believe there are things deep in the ocean (and perhaps deep lakes) that have never been recorded simply because access is not available at such depths.

We took an awesome 2 hr cruise of the lake - great scenery. No monster sightings to report however. We departed the boat at Urquhart Castle - very near the town of Drumnadrachit (Loch Ness Museum). We had a chance to walk around the remains of the castle and learned about it's history. Dating back to the 13th century, occupiers of Urquhart Castle traditionally controlled the Great Glen (60 mile glacial fissure that divides the Highland from northeast to southwest).

We jumped back on our bus for a return to Inverness. On my arrival, I walked to my hotel, grabbed my luggage, and then made my way to the train station. I decided to head west - the Hebrides. I took a 3 hr train to Kyle of Lochalsh. (I saw my first lady get escorted off the train by the police for trespassing) From there, I took a bus to the city of Portree on the Island of Skye. I again met some interesting people on this leg of the journey. A German couple from Munich. They have done over 30 holidays where they house-swap with another couple. They just find an area they want to visit, get on the internet, and find someone there who wants to come to Munich - seems to be working out nicely for them.

Now starts the odd part of the day. I was going to Portree on a whim (not planned). I had heard the town was neat and the Isle of Skye had unbelievable scenery (these were confirmed). My bus arrived in Portree around 7:30pm. I had not previously booked a place to stay. I kind of had a feeling that was a bad idea heading into such a small town. After going to about 6 places with no vacancies (and people telling me I have no chance to find a spot) I was beginning to worry. It was 55 deg F, rainy, windy - not ideal conditions. I was far from any major city or town for that matter. I found a bar/restaurant and used their Wi-Fi. A saviour lady told me about an area of town with some bed & breakfast. She said: "That's going to be your only true shot". I began walking, bag in tow.

It was miserable conditions. I needed to find a place - and pronto. I came upon this sign pointing back a small, wooded road. OK - let's give it a shot. I rounded the corner and could see this little cottage. I went to the side of the place and knocked. A guy yells: "Come in through the No Entry door". I'm thinking: "What - I don't see a No Entry door". I walk around the place - still nothing. I go back and knock again saying: "I don't see this door you're referring to". The guy tells me it's just around the corner. I'm positive it's not just around the corner - because I just looked everywhere. I'm thinking: "Why doesn't this guy just come out here and show me the way". Just then, a Canadian couple (found out later) came out the very door I was knocking on. I asked them: "What's the deal, are you staying here, is this place OK, where is this guy?" The couple acted a bit strange but said: "We think it's OK, he's down the hall and through the door on the right". I could tell by their looks that there was something they were not telling me. I had about 5 seconds to prepare myself for what I was about to see. Yep - this would be classified as different. I rounded the corner and looked into this room ----- there was a 500+ pound guy, morbidly obese, bedridden, laying with the covers down to his stomach, no shirt on, with the air conditioning blasting out. Wooo! This was the largest human being I've ever seen in my entire life (and I've been in hundreds of bariatric surgeries). This is the guy you see on TV - the only way he's leaving this room is if somebody cuts down the walls. Ackward. This guy and I begin a conversation about my staying in a room. He told me that there are 2 rooms in his place - 1 had just been taken by the Canadian couple. This guy seemed very legitimate and very friendly - I agreed to take the other room for 40 pounds ($60). I gave him no money or credit card information at first - just a verbal. He said that this was fine. I headed out in search of more information.

I left the house and the Canadian couple was waiting for me outside. We walked back into town and had dinner and drinks together. We had more fun than most people should after just meeting minutes earlier. The morbidly obese situation was only a small part of the house we had just visited. There were signs posted all around the place - high voltage (danger), chemicals (danger), and signs stating he has closed circuit TV throughout the place. We went on and on about the possibilities. We couldn't stop laughing about some of the theories that were tossed out. We had the Canadian girl so paranoid, she was planning to sleep in full clothing.

In all seriousness, we felt very sad for this gentlemen. He was a nice person. We all agreed on this fact right away. This is the reason we felt comfortable with accepting the rooms. Supposedly, he has been bed-ridden for 2 years and has an assistant that helps him. We're assuming the signs posted were to ward off intruders. The high voltage sign was probably for the fuse cabinet. The chemical danger signs were likely for some pesticides or something in the garage. The closed circuit TV - just a way he can have eyes to see the place because he can't leave his room. Anyway, we felt OK with the situation. (At least we had successfully created a picture in our minds of a good situation). We had numbers and could help each other. It's a sad thing for this guy and good for him that he's doing this bed & breakfast business.

After a great traditional dinner (sausage, pork n' beans, chips) with my 2 new Canadian friends, we headed back to the cottage in the woods.

Until tomorrow, here's to limited chemical/electrical exposure and not being the star on some YouTube video in the near future.