11 Feb 201618 Feb 2017 / Dav / Leave a comment

Three Letters To My U.S. Passports

Dear First Passport,

I wish I had a picture of you to include in this letter. You’re in a drawer or a box somewhere, but when I come across you, I will be sure to scan you and update this entry. I want to take this opportunity to thank you for having been a wonderful part of my life. You first came to me back in 2007, when one of my best friends, Marcus, and I auditioned, and were ultimately selected to spend an autumn and winter in Taiwan, singing and entertaining tourists at an American-themed amusement park.

I remember the park directors coming to Eastern Arizona College to hold the auditions and asking us if we knew how to rollerblade (for you see, roller-blading Santa Clauses were all the rage in Taiwan back then, and that was part of the gig). I answered, ‘Yes’, but at the time I had never even put on a pair of rollerblades. It’s true I lied, but it got me the job (well, that and all my other awesome talents). How hard can roller-blading be? I remember being sad when I learned that the amusement park had gone bankrupt and this particular adventure was canceled. I now had you, my first passport. At that time, however, I had no place to go.

The first time I actually got to use you was after I’d moved up to Logan, Utah and was attending classes at Utah State University. This was the trip when my roommates James (a family member and another bestie), Paul, and Matt got together with our neighbors, Christy (Paul’s sister) and Marie and drove up to go camping at Banff National Park in Canada. I was disappointed that the Canadian border patrol didn’t stamp you. This trip, however, gave me a taste for the beautiful north and left me hungry, wanting more.

James had told me how awesome his trip Germany had been and then I got to meet Stefan, a boy from Germany who had once lived with James’ family as part of a foreign exchange student program. Stefan was so kind and told us we should plan a visit to visit his home. One night I was surfing the net, and what started out as simply checking how much it would cost to fly to western Europe, suddenly turned into purchasing two non-refundable, roundtrip tickets from Los Angeles to Paris.

That was an amazing adventure (and another excuse to use you, my first passport). As you no doubt remember, our roommate Jason joined us for that incredible trip! By this point, the love of travel was fast becoming part of my D.N.A. That seed had been planted and I desperately hoped to nourish it.

I used you when another James (a.k.a Zuka), Dave, Dave’s friend Jessica and another roommate, Jeremy, went on a road trip to see Dave’s parents’ who were serving as LDS mission presidents in Monterrey, Mexico. This was yet another trip where you weren’t stamped. If border patrol agents would only stamp you, this world would be a happier place!

I used you, yet again when I went with some dear friends to the United Kingdom in 2002. This was the trip with my dear friends’ James (Zuka), Julie, Colee, Dave, Dominoe and Makaylee. We spend just over a week visiting this land of some of my [and some of their] forefathers. Finally, another stamp! A few years later, you would be well used when I’d become a flight attendant. Even though at the time, the airline was only domestic flights, you came in quite handy for all of those T.S.A. lines and security checks.

I miss you and hope you show up one of these days! I am blessed that you helped me to discover this love I now possess.

Love, Dav

Dear Second Passport,

I apologize that you got so worn out! A few of your security features had even started to fade, resulting in additional questioning- but wow! We’ve had a blast! You have taken me back to the United Kingdom on a few different vacation trips, in and out of Iceland, you’ve allowed me to spend two amazing weeks in Ireland, in and out of Mexico and Canada a few times, all over the United States and even let me spend five weeks exploring some of western and southern Australia, in part to visit my dear friends, Arron and Brendan! I already had this growing love of travel, but with you, I really learned how to travel. I’m grateful to have known you!

Love, Dav

Dear Third Passport,

Since you just arrived in my mailbox this past week, I really haven’t gotten to know you yet, but am looking forward to the opportunity. Now, If you’ll go over and take a look at my bucket list, you’ll agree that this is going to be a blast! I look forward to using you at the end of this month on our first adventure together! I even had them add extra pages to you!

Love, Dav

Scotland 4: Day 31

27 Apr 20116 Apr 2020 / Dav / 1 Comment

4.27.11 | Edinburgh Hostel | 15:56

My breakfast this morning was provided by the hostel, so I didn’t have to eat out. It was some brand of multi-grain cereal. My keen observation: Over here, Cheerios is part of that Nestle company, not the General Mills company like in the states- and now you’re as smart as I am.

Chin and I grabbed lunch at Deacon Brodie’s Tavern. I had some fried brie cheese as an appetizer and then a pork steak and eggs. Chin had his first haggis. He said it was good, but he was expecting it to be a lot better- so many people had told him how they loved it. My haggis experience was different, I thought it would be much more disgusting than it was. Both of us managed to keep down our first haggis, though. I feel like this is a huge milestone or right-of-passage!

After lunch, I was dog tired, so I curled up and took a long nap. Now it’s time to do some laundry. Sadly, this may be the last load of laundry I’ll do while I’m in this country.

23:43

After my laundry was cleaned and put away, I went to Greyfriars Cemetery and explored some. I tried to find the headstone for George Watson and John Watson. George Watson’s stone is so worn out that I couldn’t read what is inscribed. The John Watson headstone is overturned so that I couldn’t read it either. I wonder if either of them is my ancestor.

Dinner was at a Japanese restaurant. I got some delicious chicken curry. Afterward, I walked to New Town and saw the movie, Thor. It was pretty cool, although predictable. Still, it’s always fun to watch a superhero kill everybody.

Scotland 4: Day 26

22 Apr 20119 Apr 2020 / Dav / 1 Comment

Inverness > Thurso | 10:53

I just had to say goodbye to Inverness. I love this place, but it’s time to see some more of Scotland. I’m excited to go north. My destination is Thurso, which is almost as far north as you can go while staying on the mainland. Not sure what there is to see or do there, but I guess I’ll find out.

I slept okay last night. At about 01:00, my roommates came in. They were very loud and somewhat rude. They kept turning on the light, then leaving the room, so I’d have to get up to turn out the light, then they’d do it all over again. I finally (nicely) told them to knock it off, and they did. While I was getting ready this morning, I might have been a little louder than was necessary.

Thurso, Scotland | 16:54

I can now say I’ve been to Thurso, Scotland. Thurso has about 9000 people and seems like a lovely town. I checked in at my hostel and met my roommate. He’s a 60+-year-old Scot who doesn’t have much to say to me. Here’s how it went down:

Me: Hello. How are you?

Him: –

Me: I’m Dave from the states (I usually don’t introduce myself as ‘Dav’ when I’m abroad because that just opens up an entire conversation. I don’t mind the extra chat, but ‘Dave’ is a time-saver.).

Him: –

Me: Okay, well, I’m going to get some dinner.

I wonder what this guy’s deal is. I mentioned him to some others staying here, and they told me he’s like that with everyone. Maybe he’ll open up to me tomorrow.

I walked to the local beach, which was quite lovely. There were people (mostly kids and teens) out playing in the surf, and they have a nice little setup here. What a beautiful ocean! I’m not sure if this is considered part of the North Sea or if it’s considered the Northern Atlantic. Afterward, I explored that town for a while.

I also met Minesh, who is from India and Paul from somewhere here in the U.K. They’re on a bike ride that started at John O’Groats, and they will ride to the bottom of England. That sounds fun and exhausting! I’d love to do something similar one day.

23:06

I had a great time hanging out with the guys tonight. They’re fun guys and I found out that they’re doing this ride to raise money for a charity- something to do with muscular dystrophy or something like that. That is very commendable! I hope they raise a ton of money!

I have two new roommates now- two brothers from England. I’m not sure why they’re up here. Hopefully, we can chat tomorrow.

19 Apr 201128 May 2018 / Dav / 1 Comment

Scotland 4: Day 23

4.19.11 | Aberdeen > Inverness | 11:03

I don’t think that I need to point out that last night’s sleep was horrible. I didn’t splurge for a cabin this time- they gave me a seat, much like a seat on an airplane, but it was a litter wider- that is unless you fly first or business class. I spent the entire night tossing and turning and all that.

I arrived in Aberdeen on time and had a few hours to kill before my train left the station. I found a coffee shop and got some hot chocolate and read my book. Oh, by the way, the book I got yesterday is called “Scotland” and it’s part of the “Horrible Histories” collection. This guy has written these different history books (more than 50 in the set so far) and in the books, he shares some historical facts but he tells them in such a way that it’s a light-hearted, funny approach. I can tell they’re geared to school-age children but since that’s about my maturity level, it worked. An illustrator adds in comics about what’s going on. I may have to check out his other books. The website is www.horrible-histories.co.uk. It’s totally worth checking out.

Now it’s time for me to talk about fashion. If you know me or have seen me dress, you’ll note that I’m not really into fashion- in fact, I often don’t care what I’m wearing. The last time I was in the UK, a lot of the guys were all about the mullet hairstyle- as ugly as that is. This statement left most of the U.S. by 1980, but if you’re traveling around the southern states you may see one or two.

Right now, it seems like a lot of people over here (mostly guys) are into wearing white shoes. While not as bad as a mullet, they like to wear these white shoes with dark, dark jeans. This makes the white shoes stand out quite a bit. Around Glasgow and Edinburgh, I’d often see someone in all-black, except for their bright white shoes. This may not be a fashion movement per se, but it has stood out to me a bit while I’ve been over here.

Inverness Hostel | 12:41

Walking over here was just great. There’s a slight chill in the air, but it’s probably at least 10° warmer than it was on Orkney… maybe not, but it feels like it.

18:12

For dinner, I had fish and chips again. It was some wonderful salt/vinegar/grease. I’ve heard it’s good for you too! It’s so great to be back in Inverness. I can tell it missed me. Bad.

22:37

It’s been a nice easy evening. I watched Gulliver’s Travels– it was meh. I do love Jack Black, but I don’t think there was much special about this picture. I’m off to cough in bed. Yay!

Back to Scotland 4: Day 3 | Forward to Scotland 4: Day 24

18 Apr 201128 Jan 2018 / Dav / 2 Comments

Scotland 4: Day 22

4.18.11 | Stromness > Thurso | 19:25

Today has had many high points, and also a few not-so-high points. I knew that this would be my last day on Orkney so my goal was to get out and see some more of it. I was bound and determined to do this. Last night I sent a Facebook message to Soeren that basically said I would plan on being at the bus station at 09:30 and if he wanted to come
explore with me, he could.

I woke up really early and packed up all my clothes and things. I had asked one of the front desk workers if I could leave my big bag at the hostel throughout the day, that way I wouldn’t have to carry it all over. She told me that it was fine and that the only thing I needed to make sure of was to be out of my room before the 10:30 checkout time. I had no problems with that.

A few minutes before 09:00 I left my big bag of clothes near the front desk and took my smaller backpack with my iPad and other things with me. I stopped at Tesco on the way and bought 2 butter crescents and made my way to the bus station. Soeren got there right at 09:30 and we decided that we wanted to go to Stromness, on the other side of the island. He had been there the previous day, but was short on time- so he didn’t have the chance to really explore it.

About half an hour later, we were on the bus. Orkney isn’t that big of an island, but I didn’t realize how small it actually was. It was only 16 miles to Stromness, so we were there in no time at all.

On a Bus to Stromness

Stromness is the coolest looking port village, it is a lot smaller than Kirkwall. There is a main street that goes through the center of town and with all of the stone and rock buildings towering over, it’s almost like you’re walking back in time. Part of the street was even paved with some kind of cobblestone.

The Main Street Through Stromness

After exploring, we stopped for lunch at a bistro/cafe. I got some soup, a sandwich, and some white hot chocolate to drink. That hit the spot and soon we were off walking down the street again.

I had the funniest experience while walking down the street. I was approached by an orange cat. I thought for sure the thing was tame, so I kneeled down in the street to try to pet the thing. When I knelt down, however, I found out that it didn’t want to be pet. It wanted a ride. It quickly walked around me and jumped up on my backpack. The was the oddest thing! So, Soeren and I continued to walk down the street until this cat had decided it was his stop, and it jumped to the street and mad it’s way down an alley. It was the wildest thing! I still laugh when I think about it.

On the south side of Stromness, there is a golf course and just past that is the ocean. We found a place where there were a bunch of seals resting on the rocks. We tried to get closer to them for a better picture, but they saw us coming and quickly went back into the water. We could see the beautiful hills of Hoy but didn’t have time to go across and get close. After going all the way around the golf course, we found an old farm road that took us back into the town.

A few hours of wandering around and we were back on the bus that took us back to Kirkwall. They dropped us off near the Tesco and I thought it would be good to grab something that I could fix for dinner so I wouldn’t have to come back to town for a restaurant later. I found some pasta and bought it. Since Soeren’s hostel was further away than mine, I suggested he come with me to mine and that way we could relax
for a few minutes before he’d leave and go fix his own dinner.

So- we’re sitting there talking in the living room and in comes one of the front desk clerks. He asked me what we were doing. I said we were just chatting. He asked me if we were staying in the hostel. I told him that I was and that even though I’d checked out this morning, my ferry didn’t leave until about 2345 so I was just going to chill here for a bit. I told him my name and everything. So he tells me in a very rude tone, “Well, it would have been nice if you’d of let us know you were coming back.” I told him that of course, I was going to come back because my bag was here. Plus, the other lady who works with him told me that as long as I was out of the room by 10:30, then it was fine.

So now he’s obviously upset with me just because there was no communication between him and the person I’d talked to before. After he leaves, I tell Soeren “Screw this. We’re obviously not wanted here!” We grabbed our stuff and left the hostel. I didn’t want to head into town with my big old bag, so I told Soeren goodbye and left to walk about 2 miles or so to the ferry terminal.

What sucked was the fact that I could see a rainstorm coming in over the hills and I was still over a mile away. So I decided I had to up my pace a bit so I wouldn’t get caught in the rain. I finally get to the terminal, just in time. Instead of only having to deal with rain, it brought this thick fog with it also. I get here and it’s a little bit after 17:00 and there’s a sign informing me that the place won’t even open up until about 21:00. So I had to wait outside in the wind and the rain and everything.

I was finally able to make it to a shelter at least. Even though I’d have to still wait in the wind and the rain, at least I had a cover over my head. I would sit there and read my book but I couldn’t sit still for very long because it was starting to get really cold. So I’m
pacing, reading and shivering. It wasn’t fun.

Finally, at about 18:30 or so, a worker shows up and the first thing she says to me is “You know we don’t open until 2100, don’t you?” I smiled, chose a polite tone, and I ask her if I can just wait inside out of the wind. I told her I understood that I wouldn’t get to check in for the ferry for a few hours, but all I wanted was to get out of the elements.

Her name was Louise. She was the nicest person in the world and said that it would be just fine if I waited inside. She sent me upstairs into this waiting lounge. I’m able to sit on a nice patted chair and wait here now. There’s even a vending machine with drinks and candy in it! She gave me the remote to the television so I could watch if I wanted too. My favorite person of the day is Louise! I’m in here now thawing out, munching on a candy bar. Too bad my ferry doesn’t leave for another three and a half hours.

Kirkwall > Aberdeen | 23:22

I just boarded the ferry and at this very moment we’re pushing out to
sea. I’m crossing my fingers that the waters will be still! I’m going to
try to sleep now.

Back to Scotland 4: Day 3 | Forward to Scotland 4: Day 23

Scotland 4: Day 21

17 Apr 201115 Oct 2020 / Dav / 1 Comment

4.17.11 | Kirkwall, Scotland | 17:17

Today was a good Sunday. I started the day walking around Kirkwall while listening to podcasts. Breakfast was a sugar donuts filled with custard. Back to the hostel- downloaded/listened to more podcasts. It’s a bit more difficult getting that “Sunday” feeling when I’m out and about, especially when I don’t attend church.

Lunch today was pasta in a pub (speaking of honoring the Sabbath day), and this afternoon I hung out with a gal named Erin. She is a university student in Edinburgh who hopes to get the funds to start doing her Ph.D. next year. She’ll be studying some of the folk tales of Scottish and Norwegian heritage. I’m not sure what her goal is there, but she plans on spending a lot of time on Orkney and Shetland in libraries and talking to locals.

Erin and I went to dinner tonight. We went back to ‘Buster’s,’ the place I’d eaten the other day. We had the curry, it was pretty good. Tonight I spent time coughing up a lung while playing games on my iPad. To be honest, my cough is a lot better than it was yesterday. Hopefully, it will be gone soon. I’m going to explore tomorrow. Rain or shine… coughing or breathing fine. Whatever.

16 Apr 201128 Jan 2018 / Dav / 1 Comment

Scotland 4: Day 20

4.16.11 | Kirkwall Hostel | 16:00

I woke up this morning with a blister on my left heal. This is what happens when I lug my heavy backpack all around unknown parts at night. So far, I’ve met one of my roommates. I didn’t get his name, but he has a lumberjack beard and is living at the hostel full-time because he’s come to Orkney for work. He wants to learn how to make Whiskey and take that back to his home in Australia. Everyone needs to chase goals and dreams, I guess. He seems nice enough. The other four beds in the room had sleepers in them last night, but they were all gone by the morning. Next part of their holiday, no doubt.

I just met a guy named Xu. He is from China but currently studying in Glasgow. He has brought his roommates (one is from Germany and the other from India) up for the weekend.

Here’s some advice. If you come visit Orkney, pick better days than I did. Not only am I here during the off-season, but I’m here on a weekend. It’s amazing to me how many businesses here are closed on weekends. Sunday, I get but why would you have to close on Saturday or even Friday? Didn’t they know I was coming?

I ventured down to the local tourist information spot (nearly soaked in the morning rain on my way there) to find out what day tours they had here. Nobody was there, but they left the place unlocked. They didn’t really have a whole lot of information out there- I did get a bus schedule, but I’m not really sure it will help me until Monday. I may just stay in tonight- my nasty cough has come back and I know it’s keeping my roommates up at night. So far, Tesco’s generic brand cough syrup isn’t kicking it. Maybe it will be good to stay out of the elements for the evening? Perhaps I should start drinking hard liquor. hmmm decisions, decisions.

I grabbed a quick lunch at a place called “Buster’s” but ordered too much- so yay for having taken care of dinner already! On the menu? The second half of my Kabob meat (lamb?), garlic butter and extra cheese pizza. It’s so good.

19:02

I got a facebook message from Soeren and he said he’s not going to be online but I can call his mobile phone to get ahold of him. He doesn’t want to pay for Internet access at his hostile and I don’t want to pay international roaming and fees on my own mobile phone. I’d love to see him and travel with him here in Orkney, but need to get ahold of him online first.

Back to Scotland 4: Day 3 | Forward to Scotland 4: Day 21

15 Apr 201128 Jan 2018 / Dav / 1 Comment

Scotland 4: Day 19

4.15.11 | Lerwick Hostel | 09:00

I had a pretty good sleep, and although my cough still exists, it was a little less last night, I could tell. Sadly, I woke up with a slightly sore throat, but it feels better now. I better not be getting sick!

This morning has consisted of a shower, a shave (yes… I’ve shaved more in the last 15 days than I have in the past 4 years), and packing up my things. Even though the ferry doesn’t leave until about 1730 or so, they still want us out of our rooms by 1030. They’re going to let us use the luggage room for our stuff so we won’t have to haul stuff around for most of the day. In fact, I’m still going to be a the hostel for a time. They can’t have my key quite yet.

Lerwick > Kirkwall |18:42

Today has been great so far. I’ve been hanging out with Soeren for most of the day. Back at the hostel, we decided to stay in. We played 5 games of pool and he beat me every time. But I helped- he’s not that good at pool either so the fact that I suck so bad that he won tells me that he couldn’t have won all those games without me. I think I need to buy a pool table. It’s a blast but I’m pretty rusty.

Neil was kind enough to come home from work early just so he could see us off to the ferry. This is because he’s a good person- it shows! He was even nice enough to give Soeren a ride to the ferry.

It just so happens that there are three others onboard tonight, who stayed at the hostel. Terry is here (he possibly had too much scotch on his trek to get here, and he’s sleeping it off in his cabin- that is, if he made it here at all. I haven’t seen him) and Matt and Hannah are here as well. Soeren and I will get off in Orkney and the rest will continue onto Aberdeen.

Soeren and I

Matt, Hannah, myself, and Soeren

For dinner, I had and Orkney beef roast with potatoes, carrots, and peas. To drink: Irn-Bru! Irn-Bru is a soft drink that has been made in Scotland for over 100 years. It’s pretty good.

22:21

I went to the bar to get a Pepsi and the guy working looked about 17 years old. I could tell he was new because he didn’t know where the drinks were when someone would order one. I said hi and gave him my name. He said hi back and told me his name was Chris. He’s from somewhere near Glasgow and he was actually 19 years old and this was his 2nd day of the new job.

He’s been hired for 6 months and they work him 2 weeks on, then 2 weeks off, the entire time. Also, he never really leaves the ferry for those 2 weeks that he’s on. He works his shift, and then when his shift is over, he goes upstairs to the 3rd level and has his own cabin to stay in.

I asked him if he was planning on attending a college or university, and he said he hadn’t decided yet. We talked for a bit, and because this is only his 2nd day on the water, he hadn’t gotten used to the movement of the ship yet. He actually got sick and asked me to watch the bar for him while he had to run to the restroom to throw up- Poor kid! I’m sure he’ll be used to the job and the motion soon enough.

I remember when I was first hired to be a flight attendant. Even though the movement and turbulence of the plane in flight has never bothered me, there are many from my hiring class that it did. One, in particular, would even get sick to her stomach at least once a week. Her body took a few months to accept it and now she’s fine. She’d better be since we’ve been working on the plane for over six-and-a-half years.

Kirkwall Hostel | 23:39

I just survived a crazy ordeal. When we were getting ready to leave the ferry, Soeren and I was talking about getting a taxi to the hostel. It was way-late and we both knew that there would be no bus or other public transportation to get us there. I was going to pull out my iPad and check the name of the hostel, but Soeren told me that there was only one hostel in town and he had the information so I didn’t worry.

We got outside of the ferry terminal and sure enough, there was a cab driver waiting there. We asked him if he was available and he told us he was. We sat in the back seat and asked him to take us to the hostel and he said he would. He told us he was very familiar because he dropped people off there all the time.

We walked into the lobby and there were two desk clerks there to check us in. I thought that was rather odd because I’d been in correspondence with the hostel yesterday and someone named Erik told me that nobody would be there to check me in and that he’d just leave a key in an envelope at the front door and that my name would be on the envelope.

Come to find out, I was at the WRONG HOSTEL! Soeren and I had booked entirely different places. The cab driver had already left, and I had already paid for my room at the other hostel so I didn’t want to pay for another room at this one. The clerks were very nice and even laughed at the situation. Then they pulled out a map and showed me where the right hostel was located. It seemed to be only a mile or 2 away on the map, so I asked them if it was a safe area. They told me that the Orcades only had a murder about every 25 years or so and that they’d actually had one last year. So if the murderers kept with the same average, I’d be safe for the next 24 years or so.

So- I’m hiking around late at night in a place I’ve never been, hoping that I’m not mugged or worse. A lady and her daughter, whose names I didn’t get, pulled over when they saw me with my big old backpack and asked if I needed help. I explained the situation and showed them the map. They thought the situation was funny and assured me that I was on the right path. I found a footpath that took me part of the way. This path took me behind houses in the neighborhood so there were dogs barking at me for most of the walk.

I followed the directions that they had given me and happily, I arrived at the hostel. When I went into the lobby, sure enough- there was an envelope with my name on it. Needless to say- that walk took a bunch of whatever energy I had left tonight and I’m happy that I will get to fall asleep soon!

Back to Scotland 4: Day 3 | Forward to Scotland 4: Day 20

14 Apr 201128 Jan 2018 / Dav / 1 Comment

Scotland 4: Day 18

4.14.11 | Lerwick Hosel | 08:05

Last night I got to hang out with Neil, Andy, Matt (from Australia) and Hannah (from New Zealand). They are all incredible and we had a great time. I hope we can keep in touch when we part ways.

Falling asleep was a bit difficult last night. After a while, once the coughing stopped, I finally was able to sleep. I probably got 5 to 6 good hours of sleep and for me, in a hostel, that’s excellent.

It’s partly cloudy and a little windy today… sprinkling a bit, but I’m sure it will blow over soon.

15:54

Today I hung out with Andy again. His ferry leaves tonight to go back to Aberdeen, then he’ll go to his place in Edinburgh for a few days- then he’s off on his next adventure. We went to the chip shop and got fried pork and chips. It was pretty good, but I think I’ve had my fill of fried food for the time being. Next, we went to a museum on the edge of town. About the first half of it was quite fascinating. We learned about the early settlers and the occupation of the islands. They have also unearthed some remains of these peoples’ homes.

23:56

I was able to get a bit of rest, but nothing major. Andy is now on his twelve-hour ferry back to the mainland. He’s a good guy I’m sure I’ll miss. Tonight I hung out with Soeren who is from Germany. We walked together to Tesco, the local supermarket, to grab dinner. I grabbed some fresh ravioli and pesto. It turned out to be a pretty good meal, too. Soeren and I both will be on the ferry tomorrow evening.

Soeren

I think I’m going to really miss Neil. He’s incredibly nice and great to chat with. We had some fun times these past two days. I hope to keep in touch and to see him the next time I’m able to come to Scotland, whenever that is. What a great day today was. I’m so blessed to have made these new friends.

Back to Scotland 4: Day 3 | Forward to Scotland 4: Day 19

13 Apr 201128 Jan 2018 / Dav / 1 Comment

Scotland 4: Day 17

4.13.11 | Lerwick Hostel | 08:23

I forgot to mention that I had Indian food again for dinner last night. It was good, except I told my server that I wanted something spicy- but it was way too spicy. It was insane! I couldn’t even taste the food because of all the burn. I had them make the dish a second
time with less burning.

I needed to run into town and find something to take care of my cough. I worry that it has been keeping my hostel mates up at night. They say it hasn’t, but I wonder if they’re just trying to be polite. At this moment, I’m on a wonderful drug called Sudafed.

17:09

Today has been a blast, so far. We got a new guy in our room. His name is Andy and he’s from Tasmania. He has been traveling all around Europe for the last 3 years- and has been so many places. At the moment, he is living in Edinburgh working at some college. He asked me this morning if I wanted to go with him to Sumburgh on the bottom end
of the island. I thought a day trip would be a blast. Our goal was simple: Find a puffin and take its picture.

The bus ride cost us under 3 pounds to get down there, so it was a great deal. The bus dropped us off near the Sumburgh airport and we hiked out to the cliffs. Sadly, we found no puffins, but there were some breathtaking views of the area where the North Sea meets the Atlantic ocean. We climbed down the steep incline to see the rocks below as well.

At the top of the southernmost hill, there was a lighthouse. We walked up top to take a look around and there was a local man called Newton who was working there. He was a member of some British Society for Birds… or something like that. He knew so much information about the puffins as well as all the other birds. He was incredibly nice and
told us that on Sunday, he and his son counted about 270 puffins. That would have been a sight to see, but sadly, we mostly just saw seagulls. There were a few wild rabbits, however.

Andy

Newton

When we got back to Lerwick, we grabbed some fish and chips for an early dinner. We ate dinner sitting on the side of a ship dock, dangling our legs over the edge. It was fabulous. Now Andy has gone with Neil (my new friend from Stirling) to go rock climbing. They’ve been instructed to take some picture before falling off the side of the rock.

Back to Scotland 4: Day 3 | Forward to Scotland 4: Day 18

DavTravels

Wanderlust And So Forth

United Kingdom

Scotland 4: Day 31

Scotland 4: Day 26

Scotland 4: Day 21

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