This will be the last of the series. One of the absolute highlight of this whole Easter Trip is meeting my high school class mate whom I've not been in contact for a while. It is really mind blowing to meet someone halfway across the globe of all places by chance. After our meeting in Aberdeen during the Malaysian Cultural Night on which the play of Puteri Gunung Ledang (a local legend) was performed, we decided to visit Loch Ness together.
To get to Loch Ness, we traveled from Aberdeen to Inverness, a city at the mouth of River Ness. Then from there, we joined the Jacobite Reflection tour, a 3 hour cruise aboard the Jacobite Queen, along the Caledonian Canal into Loch Less all the way until Castle Urquhart before turning back.
Aboard the Jacobite Queen, there are a few families and young people but most of the tourists seems to be older people. Perhaps most of the young and adventurous had opted for different packages, something less 'reflective' unlike this leisure cruise.
The Caledonian Canal is not very wide and at certain points it runs parallel to another river that is lower than it. As the boat started to move, these ripples in the dark waters intrigue me. I wonder if the narrowness of the canal is a prerequisite for this kind of designs.
After navigating through a lock that brought the ship to the same water level as the Loch, we entered the famed Loch Ness. While I have certainly heard of lengendary Nessie since young, my first 'exposure' to the lake is through Tomb Raider 3: the Lost Artifact while the opening level took place in Loch Ness.
It certainly feels awesome to immerse in the view of water, mountain and sky but the wind on the lake can be freezing cold and sent us scurrying back in door every now and then.
On the mountains that flank the shores, it is interesting to note how the brown cuts across the green in this tapestry of trees.
Between the vast stretches of greenery, once in a while we will pass by some towns and settlements including Drumnadorchit that is very close to Castle Urquhart.
The castle itself is in ruins like the one we visited in Stonehaven, though it seemed to me that this is throng by more tourists than that. Being one of the largest stronghold during Medieval Scotland, I can only imagine what it will look like in full splendor.
On our way back, I finally see a puffin! Hurray!
There is one more thing that I discovered on the cruise which I find quite astonishing - how fast can sheep run. Do not be fooled by how carefree these Caprinae seem when they graze lazily under the sun.
After seeing how the whole herd chase after the truck single mindedly with such aggressive speed, I'm fully convinced that stampeding sheep can kill. Yes, don't look down on the bah bah, maybe they may be secretly conspiring to take over the world under their harmless guise!
The white line to the right of the truck are all sheep, running sheep. Seriously, in this number, I wonder why do they even need sheep dogs or shepherd. If a lion or a bear attack, can't they just rampage over it and kill or drive off the beast easily? Think the 2007 movie 'Black Sheep' even though I've not seen it besides its poster.
After the cruise, we spent a few hours in Inverness. Inverness castle stood on a low cliff overlooking the river and cathedral on the opposite bank.
It houses the Sherriff's court nowadays and offered an unobstructed view of charming Inverness
In the distance beyond the cityscapes, snow capped peaks can be seen. I would love to get a closer look of those locales one day.
This is the end of the 08 Easter Break Chornicles. These weeks of traveling had been a really fruitful time, a holiday well and fully used.
Once again, thank you Doulos for being a great travel mate and arranging the travels and lodging in the first place. ~End
