Awesome Adventure #8 - Croatia Sailing Adventure

After hearing lots of stories about how beautiful the coast of Croatia is I just had to experiance it for myself.  So here I am spending a week sailing around the islands of the coast of Croatia.

Petra

Up Early to ensure we get a full day in at the world wonder, Petra. Petra is without a doubt Jordan’s most valuable treasure and greatest tourist attraction. It is a vast, unique city, carved into the sheer rock face by the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled here more than 2000 years ago.

Fun Fact: The Nabataean city of Petra made its Hollywood debut in 1989 in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” starring Harrison Ford.

Entrance to the city is through the Siq, a narrow gorge, over 1km in length, which is flanked on either side by soaring, 80m high cliffs. Just walking through the Siq is an experience in itself. The colours and formations of the rocks are dazzling. As you reach the end of the Siq you will catch your first glimpse of Al-Khazneh (Treasury).

This is an awe-inspiring experience. A massive facade, 30m wide and 43m high, carved out of the sheer, dusky pink rock-face and dwarfing everything around it. It was carved in the early 1st century as the tomb of an important Nabataean king and represents the engineering genius of these ancient people.

Giving the Treasury a run for its money as the most impressive monument at Petra is the Monastery (a.k.a. al-Deir), which to me about an hour climb the 800 rock cut steps. 


The Monastery is beautifully carved, though much less decorated than the Treasury, and so huge that even the doorway is several stories tall.

After a heavy day of exploring this ancient town I booked in and enjoyed a Turkish Bath at the hotel - ah what a great way to end the day.

Wadi Rum

Up for an early morning swim before breakfast, then a quick tour of Aqaba town before we make the drive to Wadi Rum Visitors Centre.

Upon arrival at the Visitors Centre our first view of the Wadi Rum desert is the famous landmark, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, named after the book by T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). We are all keen to explore the desert further so we jump into the back of some jeeps/4x4's and head off. As we hold on tight and try to avoid hitting our heads we arrive at our first stop to view some Anfashieh inscriptions, this mountain is famous for its formations and inscription. Anfashieh has numerous Thamudic and Nabataen inscriptions, next to it drawings of animals, humans, and camel caravans. We jump into the back of the jeep and before we know it we stop again this time at a large sand hill, we all start making the climb towards the top, before you know it some of us are already stopping due to the sand burning our feet (dam knew sandals were a bad idea). Finally I make it to the top, and take a seat on the nearest rock and catch my breath. Good news here is that getting down was a lot faster and easier. As we continue to explore the desert we stop for a some tea and a chance to relax after our bumpy ride, before you know it we are back in the jeeps and back at the visitors centre.

After fun in the desert we get back in our air-conditioned mini bus and make our way to our final stop for the day/night.

Heading South to Aqaba

Today is a day of being on the move. We are put on a local/regular bus service that will head south to Aqaba, a long, hot, crowded, slow 5 hour drive.

With most of the day gone we don't waste much time and make our way around town checking out the beach, the markets and everything in between all this before deciding on somewhere to eat.

Amman

We arrive in Amman on a late flight and get our transfer from the Airport to our hotel, right in the centre of town.  Tomorrow we explore Amman by foot. 

Amman is an overcrowded town. If you don't know the town you can lose yourself because there are so many cars and un-named streets that it's almost impossible to understand where you are. Lucky for us we were able to find the Roman theatre with out to much trouble. All this (of course) is before we climb a lot of steep stairs to reach the Citadel. The Citadel is what I would call the heart of the town. From the top these Roman and Ammonites ruins make for the perfect spot to see the wonderful landscape over the hills of the city.

After all this walking its time to find some where to have some lunch and get out of the heat.  We find a no-frills place, Hashem Restaurant it turns out its very popular eatery by the locals  for its excellent felafel's. The basic local restaurant is tucked in an alley of a main street in downtown Amman, with most of its tables scattered around the alley.  All delicious and extremely cheap.

Now that we have cooled down and got our energy from lunch we head off walking again this time we head up the hill to King Abdullah I Mosque. This mosque located in El-Abdali district was completed in 1990 as a memorial to the late King Hussein's Grandfather. The beautiful and instantly recognizable Blue Dome Mosque and is defiantly worth a quick look inside. As a women I was asked to wear an Abaya (gown) and cover by hair.  Looking good hey!.

Its back to the hotel via the busy Rainbow Street for a refreshing drink.

Awesome Adventrue #7 - Jordan

It only seems right to go to Jordan after Scotland. Remember Sean Connery was in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. OK so its a stretch but hey I am going anyway.

All Roads Lead to Edinburgh

Our last day takes us past the banks of Loch Ness for a second chance to spot Nessie before an emotional stop at tragic Culloden battlefield. 

After this emotional stop we look to cheer ourselves up with a beautiful forest walk at the Hermitage. Some of the tall trees in this forest have been here for many a century and looking to be around for a lot longer.

Its time to head back to bus and make our way to Edinburgh and a good nights sleep.

After having a nice sleep in I awake ready to tour this AWESOME town.  Here are some snap shots of what I got to see while in town.

  

Coastal Views

Time to catch the early morning ferry back to mainland Scotland where we wind our way along the far North Western coastline. 

Keeping the theme of tombs and castles alive our first stop to stretch our legs is for a walk to Castle Varrich. Castle Varrich is located near to the village of Tongue, on a local high point of rock, overlooking both the Kyle of Tongue and the village of Tongue.  Just an AWESOME view.

We continue to drive and check out the towering mountains and sparkling lochs all of this before we arrive at Sleeperzzz, a retired first class train in the scenic village of Rogart, beside a working railway station, our home for the evening.

Orkney Islands

With the fishing village of St Margaret's Hope as our base we have a 2 full days to explore the islands.   We make our first scheduled stop at the Italian Chapel. This chapel is the only building that remains of Camp 60, a Prisoner of War (P.O.W.) camp constructed in the latter half of 1941.   We continue to move on this time we stop at Cuween Hill (Neolithic Chambered Cairn), which is a burial place that was constructed over 4,500 years ago. 

Next we briefly visit the standing Stones of Stenness before making the trip up the road to the Ring of Brodgar. With a diameter of 103.6 metres (340 ft), the Brodgar ring is the third largest stone circle in the British Isles.  Here we spend some time looking around taking in the atmosphere and a picnic lunch, just as we finish our lunch a large bus load of old (oh!!! I mean mature) people turn up. This was a clear sign to make our move to out next site Skara Brae.

Skara Brae is one of the best preserved Stone Age village. After walking around this site it got our group talking, it seems strange, cause they appeared to be quite advanced in the way they were living so many years ago. I mean they had indoor plumbing - well in there own special way. Appears as if things got lost in translation as time/life went through its cycles.

Time to stretch our legs and go for a coastal walk and see if we can spot some Puffins.  We were lucky enough to spot few in the distance amongst the rocks. Unfortunately not close enough for a good view or even a photo.

After a busy day checkout the sites of Orkney and bird watching it was time for a spot of dinner and then over the the local for a drink and a game of darts.  I think I am getting better. Yet to win a game but at least I am now hitting the board now.

Today we got a sleep in yep!!! I was up at 8am. First stop today we enjoy a wee drop in Scotland's most northerly distillery - Highland Park.  Once the others sobered up we headed into town and checked out the local stores and crafts.  Word on the street says the best dairy products comes from Orkney, so there is only one way to find out, that's right I will have to try some local Ice Cream to find out for myself.  :) Its lucky that Ice Cream is in the right Category. :)

Warm and full of Ice Cream we all happily move to our next site "Maeshowe".  Its here that graffiti carved on the walls shows evidence of the Vikings having a strong presence in this area.
Our afternoon is spent walking along the coast and watching the world go past.

Tonight we need to get our rest as tomorrow we have a early ferry to catch back to the mainland.
OK not to early as I am really getting so much better at darts tonight I feel like I might win a game.

Loch Ness

This morning I try and spot myself the elusive monster in Loch Ness. Sorry to tell you but I did not have any luck, Nessie is still hiding.



We made our way to Inverness looked around town and had a bite to eat for lunch. As we continued on our way we stopped at Clootie Well, where people tie their clothes or cloth/rags to trees as part of a healing ritual. It is thought that if you use a rag that's been dipped in the water from the well and then used to wash an affected part of the body and then hung up, as the rag disintegrates over time the ailment is supposed to fade away as well. It was a pretty funny sight seeing all these rags and people's clothing hanging up in the trees.

As we continue we take in teh surroundings of Dunrobin Castle, home of the Duke of Sutherland before we move stop at 'Whaligoe Steps' is a man-made stairway with 365 steps that descends to what was once a landing place for fishing boats. These steps date from the 19th century and were once used by fisherwomen to haul up the creels of herring landed at the harbour beneath. Crews of women, some in their early seventies, would gut the fish Herring, Cod, Haddock or Ling and carry them up the steps in baskets to be taken on foot to be sold in Wick, some 10 to 12 kms away.

Before we make our final stop this evening to catch the ferry to St Margarets Hope we visit Sinclair Girnigoe Castle.

With a late arrive at St Margarets Hope no cooking tonight, a pub dinner, a game of darts before heading off to bed.

Say Good Bye to Lewis

Before we get on the ferry to make our way make to the mainland we make a couple of stops. First we stop at Dun Carloway Broch. Whats a Broch you ask? Brochs are among Scotland's most impressive prehistoric buildings. These stone round date from about 2,300 to 1,900 years ago, and are found mainly in north and west Scotland. 

We now head to the capital of Lewis of Stornoway to check out the harbour before catching our ferry to Ulapool. 

Fun Fact: The harbour is the reason for Stornoway's existence and was named by the visiting Vikings "Steering Bay" which, when phonetically translated, became the name Stornoway.

A relaxing ferry ride and a long drive we make our way to the Great Glen Hostel, surrounded by mountains.

Walk, Walk & Walk some more

We awake to a beautiful day on Lewis, to make sure we make the most of this weather we're making a coastal walk. We follow green markers that take us through a variety of landscapes - from croftland and moorland edged with wild Atlantic coastline before we arrive on to another sandy beach with the opportunity to take another swim (again I passed).

After our coastal walk we have some lunch before being introduced to the recently discovered Iron Age village at Bosta, this amazing 4,000 year old Callanish Standing Stones (second only to Stonehenge).

We keep on the move and this time we find ourselves cross over the Bernera  Bridge. The Bernera Bridge "the Bridge over the Atlantic".   Here at the bridge you will also find some more standing stones. These standing stones are everywhere.

We drive a little further have a break toss the ball around before taking another walk around to view and experience some more of the beautiful landscape that Scotland has to offer.

Yawn!!! What a big day time to rest and relax my feet.

Harris v's Lewis

This morning we head for Uig to catch the ferry over to the Isle of Harris once on Harris we make our first stop to shop for some authentic Harris Tweed. After a spot of shopping we make a quick stop for a picnic lunch.  The reason for the quickness for lunch was all due to the weather being cold and windy.  Last I checked I was travelling in Summer, I guess this is what you call a Scottish Summer.

OK, back in the bus as we make our way to Rodel Church, home to the tomb of Alisdair Crotach MacLeod. Now that we have had some insight into the Scottish history its time to check out the scenery lets check out some beaches (yeah!!! they have beaches - how would have thought).  As a few of the group jump into the Scottish waters for a swim, I stand on the shore and keep warm ..... I mean watch.

After everyone dries off we make our way up into Lewis and over to the west coast where an amazing original Blackhouse (renovated for comfort!) is our home for the next 2 nights.

Skye's the Limit

We begin our a morning seafood/fishing experience with local fisherman Neil.   So it was time to get our hands dirty and see if we can collect some scallops for dinner. Umm.... so we did OK but I must admit we are far from colleting enough to sell and make a living. Guess it will be back to desk work for me.  

As we bid farwell to Neil we head to Portree for some fish & chips for lunch. Just watch out as the local seagulls like to swoop down and take your food, and right out of your hand too.  After fight to eat my lunch we head to hills to start exploring the Isle of Skye. 

Before our hike we have a brief stop to see the Old Man of Storr which is an incredible Jurassic Pillar and also hear some tales and legends surrounding the MacDonalds adn MacLeods, the two main Clans of the island.

As we hike through the Isle of Skye we see several sheep and never ending green hills and ..... wait guys I think we are going the wrong way.... ummm weren't we ment to go right back there???? So instead of back tracking we decide to take the hike off road and make our own track. OK so a little messy and unsafe but hey we all live to tell the tale. Bruce Yep!!! Should have taken that "Right Turn at the ???" Where?

After our off the beaten track walk we make it to the hostel ready to cook our scallops for dinner. Yum!! Can't Wait!!!

Hairy Coo, Hairy What?

After spending all night on a bus from London to Edinburgh. Yep! 13hrs later and not really know where I am heading I made quick dash from the bus station to the meeting point of the tour. 

Soon after jumping in the mini bus we leave Edinburgh and enjoy a superb (rainy) day meandering our way up into the Highlands. We make a brief stop to hear all about William Wallace and Robert the Bruce before stopping for lunch and visiting Hamish. Hamish is a Highland Cow a.k.a "Hairy Coo".

Fun Fact: In Scotland, cows are called "coo's" instead of your standard cow. Some of the cows are also hairy or long hair breed. Supposedly the story goes, long ago that a farmer one day wanted to impress his wife with a new variety of cow that would actually last through the long winters. He crossed a standard Herford cow, common here in the states with a longer haired smaller cow over there. Result a hairy coo that could withstand the incredibly cold winters.

After lunch we made our way into magnificent Glencoe (the massacre of Clan MacDonald). We continue through the Great Glen stop to view the Memorial of the Commandos (1939 - 1945 War). We make one last stop at Eilean Donan Castel (where Highlander was filmed) before arriving for our first night.

Awesome Adventure #6 - Scotland

Well back on the mainland UK and no time to waste I am heading to the top to see what Scotland has to offer.  I wonder if everyone sounds like Sean Connery.

If you are wanting to keep track of me this is where I will be going.