Day #136 - Highland Games

The Opening Ceremony - bagpipes galore

The Heavies in the middle of the field

The scenery on the other side of the street from the Highland Games

The 100yd dash - the guy in the shorts (white) wins

Traditional dancing

Wednesday, July 28th

I made it through the night unscaved. I didn't sleep soundly however - too many weird scenarios going through my mind. I was up at 6:30am - I had a bus to catch at 7:30am. No shower - hat on - I'm ready to go. I could hear this earth-shattering snore coming from the obese gentlemen's room. We came back late last night and I have not paid for the room - what do I do? I took 40 pounds out of my pocket - purposefully walked out of my room holding the money in front of me (for all the cameras in the world to visualize) and then went back into my room and placed the $40 on the bed where I slept. I had told the Canadian couple last night that this was the strangest place I've stayed in 135 days. Their response: "Great, we've nailed it after just 3 days". I will never, ever forget the small cottage in the woods in Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland.

I took a 1 hour bus ride to a boat ferry off the southern coast of Skye. Then, I took a 30 minute ferry ride to the city of Mallaig. I waited here for 45 minutes, then took a 15 minute train to my destination today - the town of Aisaig, Scotland. I came here today to watch the Highland Games.

The Highland Games, rooted in the Middle Ages, are unique summer sporting events that are held all over the Scottish Highlands (40+ such destinations). They were begun as county fairs for the exchange of goods and news, they provided clan chiefs the chance to witness the physical prowess of the area's most promising young lads.

Events include: dancing, piping (bagpipe competitions), heavy events (shot put, hammer throw, log throwing), track events (100 yd , 200 yd, 400 yd, mile), and field events (long jump, high jump, triple jump). Other Highland Games offer more variety (tug of war, etc), but this was one of the smallest games. Great for me however - I got to see the event at its core - how it originated.

This was outstanding. What an unbelievably cool thing to see. Very traditional. Nearly everyone had on a Scottish kilt. Bagpipes were playing continuously throughout the day. I bet the whole town was in attendance. This place was about the size of my hometown of Bloomsdale, MO (450 people).

It was all held in this big field. The competition sites were roped off. There was endless food and beverage stands. It was kind of like our county fairs, but strictly dedicated to unique sporting events. I spent the afternoon watching in amazement. I thoroughly enjoyed it. From the 100 yard dash where people ran in jeans to the hammer throw - where contestants competed right by the dance stage with no net or anything. If these "monster dudes" would have let go of the hammer on the wrong turn - somebody could have got killed. (The hammer throw requires a person to spin a couple times and then let loose of the block attached to a chain). It was totally old school.

One of the neatest things was seeing these girls in the dance. They did several traditional Scottish dances. You would see some of the girls run over to the start of the 100 yd dash in their dance costumes, do the run, and then be back on stage for the next song. You would see these huge dudes throw the shotput, run over for the 100yd dash, and be back for their second throw. They had open competitions for the runs as well. I almost jumped out there and ran the 100yd. I couldn't do it. Mainly because at the end of the run, 15 yards from the finish line, they had the roped off exterior border about chest high. I saw the first heat. Only 1 guy had any speed at all. This guy was so athletic that he hurdled the rope at the end. The other guys were so slow that they were able to slow down before hitting the rope. I did not think I could hurdle that thing and didn't want to kill myself in the process. I'm wondering if anyone ever thought about taking the rope down at the finish line. It's all good though - traditional - deal with the elements.

I stayed for most of the events and walked the 3 miles back to the trian station. I took a long train to Glascow - arriving at 9pm. I met a really cool couple from London on this trip. We talked for hours. I mentioned how I was so impressed with Europeans and their patriotism. The guy had lived in the states for some time. He said that he felt the US had patriotism as well (National Anthem before all sporitng events, pledge of allegiance at schools, etc) but just that the patriotism in Europe is more rooted in their cultural past. It's not that people aren't patriotic in the US - there's just more history in Europe, and more events celebrated because of it. Interesting way he put it.

The countryside we came through on the return train was spectacular. As far as pure outdoor scenery, the Scottish Highlands are my 2nd favorite location in Europe to date (second to the Alps). Here's to a very unique day and learning about new cultures.