A Peedie Adventure: Part 3

Ello mates, this has been a long few blog posts and so I’m sure you can imagine why I decided to split this one up into three parts. This the third instalment will cover the less eventful last two days of my Orcadian excursion. I do need to say that it’s not Saturday’s fault that Friday was so awesome. It’s a shame I didn’t realize this until later in the day. Saturday would turn out to be a wonderful day, although it simply couldn’t live up to the day before. In a way it’s a shame that these next two days fall under the shadow of the 15^th, because in their own respects they really were wonderful days. I will try my hardest not to slant these days as much as they were in my own experience. Happy reading.

Saturday 16 March 2013

7:32 AM

Brown’s Hostel Room # 7

Despite having done so much the day before, I woke up rather easily to my alarm, and even though Brown’s hostel wasn’t nearly as modern as Orcades was, I had no problems with the showers here. The water pressure was better than I had expected and most importantly it was warm. Needless to say, I took a long shower.

When I got out, it was time for breakfast. So I headed down to the kitchen making the allotted day’s pop tarts and uncovering an unsettling detail. Not only was Brown’s hostel destitute for spices, they only had three bags of tea left. This would be fine for breakfast, but would prove a problem for later.

There was no sugar, but there was some milk in the fridge, and so I counted it off as only half bad. Breakfast soon came and went. Today’s agenda involved visiting Maes Howe, Highland Park Whisky distillery, St. Magnus’s Cathedral in Kirkwall, and the Italian chaplet on Holm (pronounced “Ham”). We had a bit before our bus would arrive at the Stromness bus stop, and so I decided to use this time to look up visiting hours for Highland Park.

To our disappointment, March is during the off season, and Highland Park is closed on Saturdays during the off season. It really is a shame, because although I’m anything but a Whisky snob, I’ve really heard some wonderful things about Highland Park.

As we were walking to the bus stop Amber and I made the corporate decision that we would by an unlimited day-rider pass so that we would be able to ride the buses all day. It was £7.75 and in the end I’m not sure if we saved money, but we probably were close.

We had the bus drop us off at Maes Howe, and walked into the visitor centre  To our poor timing, the previous tour had just left, and so we had to wait another half an hour before the next was about to begin. This meant poking around the shop and chatting with our tour guide to be. Here this tour guide learned of my studies, and she became rather eager to show me some of the things within the site. Before long, a couple joined us and we all walked down the stairs, outside, across the road, and into Maes Howe.

I think I contributed to an 1/8 of the tour, of which I knew ½ the information on the onset. I suppose it’s a shame I didn’t come here before Skara Brae, just because this little burial chamber couldn’t quite compare.

The winter solstice alignment was a rather special topic of discussion which our tour guide did a brilliant job of explaining. I do have to say it is now on my bucket list to witness this in person some day.

As per Rachel’s suggestion, I made a note to look for the Neolithic carvings as well as the Norse message where the author had run out of space. I suppose it was a funny little place because of the multiple layers of history that overlap. I can’t think of a single other Neolithic structure which became used again in the middle ages.

Either way when we left Maes Howe, the wind had picked up and it had begun to drizzle. This was by no matter of means the beautiful day that Friday had been. According to our bus time tables, we had another 45 minutes before the next bus to Kirkwall would arrive. So we had our pick nick lunch of peanut butter and jam sandwiches and grapes in the waiting area of the visitor’s centre.

When the bus finally arrived, I think we were both a little annoyed by the wait with little to do. The ride to Kirkwall was short enough, but the gloomy skies did little to improve our moods. Upon arrival, we found that the Cathedral wouldn’t be open for another 35 minutes. So we ended up wandering through a cemetery and a few random shops.

When the St. Magnus’s Cathedral did open, I suppose it was well worth the wait. Now, I’ve been in a few different churches in my day, but thus far this was the most beautiful one I’ve ever been in. Despite it’s dark interior, this magnificent red stoned building was everything I’d expected in European churches. Vaulted ceilings, archways, moulding  stain glass windows, ancient tombstones, this Cathedral had it all. I would have loved to have the chance to explore some of the upper levels. Apparently they give tours, but I didn’t see any information on when they’d be offered or how to sign up.

We continued on to a café called The Reel, where we had some tea and a biscuit. It was a cool music themed café where the walls were lined with guitars and fiddles. Apparently this was where the Wrigley Sisters got their start. I’d never heard of the Wrigley sisters, but from what I gathered they were at least a big deal in Orkney. Either way, the tea and biscuit was good. It warmed us up, which was very much needed on a day like today.

After the café we continued on to a shop filled with photos and posters. I knew I didn’t need anything, but I ended up spending at least £10 on a proper picture of the Ring of Brodgar.

We continued on down the main street of Kirkwall, passing music shop after music shop. Although we never did go in one, it amazed me that there really were so many for such a small city. I’d love to see a music festival here. If they take their music that seriously then I’d bet it was good.

Anyway the next shop we stopped in was a liquor store to see what their prices were on a bottle of Highland Park. For the 18 year old, it was a little over £65. For a whisky I’d never even tasted before, there was no way I was buying it, especially since there was no guarantee that I would be able to bring it back with me. I ended up instead buying a bottle of Orcadian berry wine. It was much more affordable, and I knew I’d like it.

Amber and I spent the better part of a half an hour in that shop talking with the clerk about all sorts of things, ranging from drinking laws in the states, things to see in Orkney, and the quality of various liquors. While we were chatting away, we witnessed “a Blackening.” If and When I get married, it won’t be in Orkney and the Blackening is the reason why. It’s an old tradition, where on the day before the wedding, the grooms-men will kidnap the groom. They will then slather him with something sticky (traditionally tar, but really anything sticky will do) and cover him with feathers or flour. They will then borrow a pickup truck and parade around town in the back making a great ruckus. After they’ve looped the town for a few times, they’ll tie or saran wrap the groom some place public (usually in front of St. Magnus Cathedral) and leave him there for a few hours. Eventually they’ll untie the poor bloke, hose him down and they’ll all go to the pub and get pissed. I’m not judging customs, but that is one that I have little desire to partake in.

Anyway, when we finally left the liquor shop, we continued on taking a few pictures of a replica of the Oden Stone on our way to the bus stop. The drizzle had increased to full blown rain, and so we were rather eager to get into the raining shelter and out of the rain. We had about a half an hour to wait, and during this time we chatted with a nice old woman.

When the bus arrived we had a choice, continue on to Holm, or to head back to Stromness. By this point we were both very tired, and with the rain it didn’t seem like it was worth our effort to spend another chunk of time waiting for a bus later. So we decided to return to Stromness where we both went to take a nap.

Amber woke me up at about 7:00. She had been prepping the food for dinner and chatting with two new guests in the hostel. Enjoying the prospect of meeting new people, I gleefully went down stairs to help her prepare dinner.

Petior and Natalia were from Poland. They had been working in Shetland for the previous few months, and now they were taking the scenic route back to Poland, via island hopping and hitch hiking. They were a lovely couple, who we chatted with from 7:00 at night until 1:00 in the morning.

We talked about places we’ve visited and the many cultural differences between Poland and the United States. It was amazing to listen to some real travellers  I only hope to one day be as experienced as they are. In a year and a half, I should have some wandering time about mainland Europe with my brother. I do think I’d like to make a stop in Poland to visit them. It’s good to have a few friends everywhere.

Sunday 17 March 2013

7:35 AM

Brown’s Hostel Room #7

Our ferry was to depart Stromness at 9:00. We had to be on board for half eight, so after we had showered and packed, there wasn’t any time for breakfast. We left our remaining peanut butter and jam for Petior and Natalia. It wasn’t much, but they had shared some food with us the night before so it felt right to return the favor in our own small way.

Once on the Ferry, we pulled out the pop tarts and ordered some tea at the bar. Still a good start to the day. When the ferry began to pull out to sea we went to the outer deck to better watch the departure. With my telescope I was able to see the waves crashing around the base of the Old Man of Hoy as we passed him. The sun had broken the clouds for this moment, which really made for some excellent pictures.

The narrow firth that separated the Orkney islands with the island of Great Brittan was a lot more turbulent than the calm waters of the north sea that we had experienced heading up from Aberdeen. Either way this only reinforced my belief that I must have sea faring ancestors. I have wonderful sea legs; to be honest I love the literal motion of the ocean beneath my feet. One day I’m going to have to get my own boat. I know I just keep piling things onto the bucket list, but they way I see it at 20 I should be adding more to my bucket list than I am crossing off.

We arrived in the wee village of Scrabster, with a fair amount of time to wait before the bus would take us to Thurso. From here there was another hour to wait before our train arrived. This rail station at the north of Great Brittan was literally where the train tracks end. It was kind of a feeling of being at the end of the world.

When the train finally backed into its stop we got on and enjoyed the generally scenic but unfortunately rainy journey to Inverness. The train ride was the better part of 4 hours, which allowed me to finish the first part of this blog post. Unfortunately, there are no plugs on the train. This has taught me that for next time, I need to remember to bring both electronic and non electronic entertainment. When my laptop and music player had died, I was left with very little to do.

The nice thing about this trip was it gave us a fair amount of time to wander about Inverness. Amber wasn’t riding the train back to Edinburgh, but rather the bus and so our first order of business was to find her bus stop. From here we continued to wander the city. The heart of the highlands certainly earned a place in my heart. This charming little city was really great fun to walk around, despite having to carry all my luggage through the rain. I can only imagine enjoying it all the more on a sunny day without being laden like a pack mule.

Eventually Amber left for her bus, and I returned to the train station to wait. And to wait, and for a little change of pace…   wait some more. Finally at 6:51 my train departed for Edinburgh Waverly, where I found myself sitting next to two very pretty girls who went to Uni. Lacking a book, charged laptop, or Mp3 player it was nice to have someone to talk to on the journey back.

Even still the ride to Waverly station felt like an eternity. When we finally arrived at 10:24 (a whole 4 minutes early), I couldn’t have gotten off sooner. I think there comes a time on the return part of every trip where you just miss your own bed. Somewhere as we descended from the highlands, my ears popping the whole way, I reached that point. Apparently it was supposed to be a beautiful journey, but it was too dark to see anything and so when I hopped on the #33 bound for Dalkeith I was relieved.

To my surprise, two stops later, who should get on but Amber. She was supposed to arrive about 20 minutes before I did. Apparently she was delayed and I was early. She was rather sick of busses and I suppose I would be too if I was in her shoes, but even still I thought it was rather nice that we took the last leg of the trip home together. Some sort of vaguely symbolic full circle rounding off of this peedie adventure.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this three part tale. It really was one of the trips of a lifetime for me. However, I do imagine it will be nothing compared to this next trip. You may not hear from me again until sometime after the 27^th. I have quite the adventure ahead of me and I have no idea how I’m going to squeeze it into a manageable blog post. I’m sure I’ll figure something out. So now here’s the big question. Where am I going? Some know most have to wait and find out. It’s a big world. This spring break is going to cross some boarders. I’ve got a new continent to go visit. Excited? Well I sure am.

I’ll see ya when I see ya.

Cheers!

--Anth