Britannia 2007 - Afterthoughts

This trip’s been a pretty serious thrashing. My first 5 days home I had to spend on just sleeping. My batteries had run out, I was completely depleted of energy. For much of the trip I ran on willpower alone. Twenty days of just running from place to place, walking, climbing up and down, eating on £2 a day, catching up on lost sleep in trains, all the while dragging my bulky backpack behind. I can’t complain; I chose it myself. But I’ve learned a bit of a lesson for next time.

Even so, I’ve had some the most fun I can remember. I’ve loved every day, cherished every moment. (Okay, make that every day but two. If you’ve read the previous posts, you know why.)

Traveling on my own has been an incredible, wonderful experience. I can hardly wait to do it again. It sure does get lonely at times, but I say it’s a small price to pay for the freedom you get. Important decisions take seconds. Plans can be made on passing whims and instant curiosity. No discussions, no quarrels, no need for agreement, no resentment, no getting tired of your company, no feeling tied to anyone.

Just Express Tourism, the way I like it. Hop off the train, walk about, visit the local landmarks, take your pictures, hop on again. Conjugate that with the hostel experience: meeting some new, very interesting people in every new place you get to. Occasionally, add a few beers and shake, don’t stir. I know, that doesn’t make for a very comprehensive experience, but it’s just what I wanted to do on this trip. Getting the complete feeling of a place, really mixing with the locals, requires you to spend much, much more time there. This I don’t feel like doing right now. For now, it suffices that I have Been There, I have Done That.

And now for something completely different.

Britannia 2007 - Route map

Britannia 2007 - Photos

Rejoice! Here comes what you were waiting for: the Britannia 2007 "best-of" photo compilation.

Day 16 - Island Hopping

I arrive better soon than sorry at Prestwick International, and experience a boring wait until the boarding of my flight, the last of the day.

The plane leaves 5min early, and arrives in Dublin 15 minutes earlier than scheduled, to the most hilarious prerecorded sound of a loud happy trumpet and a "Congratulations, your flight has landed on time". Some people start cheering and clapping like mad, which makes it all very funny, and worth the money even for just a comedy show.

At the airpot, I settle comfortably to sleep, and do so, probably loudly, until a kind policeman asks me to go and sleep with everybody else in the Dormitory, also known as Arrivals Lounge. I find a free seat in between the rest of the snoring biomass and join the common activity.

In the morning, I discover that Dublin is much bigger than I thought, and I don't have maps to it on my mobile, so I get the first bus to Heuston Station and thus pay my first expensive bus ride in euros (6€). I also discover on the way how incredibly kind, polite and obliging Irish people are. I thought the same of the English and the Scots (and still do), but I was told "wait till you see Ireland". And they were right, this is just crazy.

I love it.

Day 16 - Back to the Lowlands

I spent the early morning just walking around the city and the small islands up the Ness and enjoying it very much. I also visited the small Inverness museum, which I liked so much that I donated to it my last pennies through an ingenious musical donation box (I found nothing to spend them on at the Tesco, except a 15p Paracetamol box I dont need).

Then I hurried and caught the 12:19 to Aberdeen, where I at last met my pal Dave, whom I couldn't meet before on account of his being fighting for his life at the hospital. Pss, excuses, excuses.

He showed me his city like a professional, and apart from learning loads of stuff, I even came to like Aberdeen, in a certain sort of way. Most probably the clear blue sky and heavy sunshine helped a bit. Everybody goes crazy in Aberdeen when the sun shines, and no wonder.

I slept badly from there to Glasgow Queen Street, awakening constantly from the sudden jerks the train was so intent on performing. I alighted heavy-lided and in bad need of some serious sleeping, but plunged on to walk the streets for an hour. After this Express Tourism® I specialize in, I hopped on the train to Prestwick International, where I was about to fall asleep when a smell of manure smashed against my nose with the mass of a cannonball. I was suddently very awake.

Day 14 - Inverness & Loch Ness

I just loved Inverness as soon as I arrived. I couldn't say why, I just did. Maybe it was the river, maybe the footpaths along it, maybe it was the 100m that separate the Tesco from the hostel, or maybe that I had just arrived from Aberdeen. Whatever the reason, it was love at first sight, and it burns still.

But Loch Ness was nearby and I thought it a good idea to make the most of the day and go there at once. The bus was a mere £8.40 return for a 30 min ride. For that price, I expected an on-board buffet and cocktail bar, but found no trace of it.

I alighted at Urquhart Castle only to find the admission to the grounds to be valued at £6.50, adults and students alike. Therefore I turned on my heels and promptly trespassed on several neighbouring properties, looking for a nice spot for a photo. I found it and made good use of it, obtaining material for a whole look-there-it-is Flickr photo set, with Nessie to be photoshopped on later.

After investing some more time in lake-gazing, hill-looking and sheep-spotting, I thought it prudent to return to civilization, at which point I extracted my bus timetable, only to discover in dismay that the next bus was due in 3 hours.

I dragged my feet 2km down to Drumnadrochit, the nearest excuse for a town, wondering how I was going to fill 3 hours of my life in this great big damp nothingness. I tried to get on a boat for some Nessie hunting, but the last expedition had already departed, so I just loitered about the souvenir shop, delving through piles of Nessie themed fridge magnets, key chains and the like, until boredom made its way into my life.

I left, extracted what entertainment I could from my wikipedialess, mp3less, bookless PDA and wrote a couple of blog entries, then just sat in the sun until the bus appeared on scene.

Back in Inverness, I enjoyed a stunning sunset on the banks of the Ness and treated myself to a cheap and very nourishing Tesco dinner.

A wonderful day, really.

Day 13 - Aberdeen

I left Edinburgh on a surprisingly fine and sunny day, and the sun smiled at me all the way to Aberdeen. There, it became just a milky round spot behind the clouds.

Aberdeen is famous for being grey, and very rightly so. The sky is grey, the buildings are grey, the streets are grey, even the sea is grey. Grey people with grey faces sit on the grey street, hold out a grey hand and, in a grey voice, ask you for money.

Of the few things that aren't grey, the huge ships in the harbor are certainly the most colourful, in their bright reds, oranges, yellows and blues. They're all related in some way to the oil industry, I believe, as all wear the badge of Shell or some other petroleum company. I couldn't say what their exact purpose is, but they seemed very busy at the docks, loading and unloading unidentifiable stuff.

I found my hostel at once, though it was a 25 min walk from the centre, and went out looking for a Tesco or similar provider of nourriture, with little success. It was 7pm and the town was dead as a grey corpse. I bought some expensive bread and cheese from the only open place, a 24h convenience store, and took a long walk around the centre.

I noticed in surprise, and not an unpleasant one, how many churches and monasteries are no longer used for their original purposes, but are now pubs. Pubs, funky restaurants and clubs. I had already noticed this most curious process of "dechurchification" and ongoing "pubification" in Scotland, but nowhere as much as in Aberdeen. I wonder how it happens. I'd love to see it replicated elsewhere.

After sunset, it became really cold and windy, really quick, so I hurried back and called it a day. I left the following morning without looking back.

Days 12,13 - Edinburgh

Edinbra! Aye, dat's a city werrth vezitin'.

And much more so with the Festivals going on. If yerr pockets are loaded, for sure you can't get bored at the Edinburgh Fringe. I'd love my pockets to be loaded, but as of now, I've had to be satisfied with just watching the street performances. I would have shelled out the average £11 a couple of times for a couple of comedy shows, but I just didn't have the time.

And scenery-wise, Edinburgh is by far the most interesting city in the UK, from what I've seen, and I've seen quite a bit. Impressive architecture and wonderful views give it a very special character, quite unlike anything else to the south. The city center is just stunning, especially if you take a walk through the lower streets and look up at the blackened buildings on the hills, towering above you.

With the idea of keeping a consistent public image, I did what you'd expect from me and climbed to the highest point available: Arthur's Seat. Right by the middle of the city, a wonderful vantage point, and yet surprisingly accessible.

The locals use to just run up and down it for fun, no matter the weather. Several of them were happily running, in sport shorts and covered in sweat. I watched them as I stood on the top, covered in all the layers of insulation available, shivering like a mobile phone, and quietly wondered what is wrong with these people.

The sunset was gorgeous, though only visible as a band over the horizon with the red rays piercing the clouds, and the sun melting behind the Weastern hills. The first time I see the Sun in a while.

I also took a stroll through the city center, and saw what there was to see.

When the evening turned to night and cool turned to cold, I went back to the hostel and took profit of the free internet access to upload pictures, blog and send mails.

I stayed there until 3 AM, when, dead tired and freezing cold, I went back to my room and forgot my 2 Gb memory card on the table, thereby losing it and, most importantly, 440mb worth of photos from the trip. What a damn, damn dumbass I can sometimes be.

I realized this in the morning, too late to do anything about it. I left a paper on the wall, offering a Reward, dead or alive, but I don't expect "great success". So I lost the pics from the first 3 days, but fortunately I have a selection of the nicest ones on Flickr. Lower quality, but still. The ones I really regret losing are the ones with Paula in Brighton and Curt at Land's End. Sorry guys, your photos are gone, can't send them anymore.

Oh, and now I don't have the Wikipedia with me anymore. I already miss it. And the dictionaries. And the MP3s. And the books. And... ok, enough. Shit happens.

Yet, interestingly enough, this hasn't spoiled my impression of Edinburgh, probably because of the gorgeous sunny day I walked into.

I watched some more street entertainers doing their thing and quickly visited the art gallery. Visiting the castle was also part of the plan, but I felt I would better spend my time and money going somewhere else.

I was even prepared to spend the £11 necessary to gain access to the castle grounds, but I realized that if I wanted good views, there's an important building you can't see from Edinburgh Castle, and that is Edinburgh Castle.

So I went up Calton Hill, and yes, that's a good place for sightseeing.