I have been in Oban for four nights. I arrived nice and
early in the afternoon. It was only around 1.30pm and check in wasn’t until
4pm. The great thing about this backpacker in Oban was you could turn up, leave
your bags, chill out on the couches, drinks their hot chocs and coffees and
generally chill out till check in opens. I didn’t bother with the other things,
but I did leave my bags and go exploring. Why? Because it was the first day of
sun that we had had in a loooong time. It was sunny all day and the bus ride in
was to spectacular (sunny) scenery. I have been feeling a little bit Vit D
deficient so I was like a cat, chasing it all over town. Anyway, I had a really
good feeling about Oban because it was sunny and bright and it looked really
beautiful. The port town is spectacular
and although I had been before it had been the middle of the night when I had
arrived and we had left first thing in the morning, so this time I got to have
a proper look.
I went for a walk right along to the war monument so that I
could look back over to the town and it was there that I sat down and did a
sketch of the lighthouse and the Isle of Mull. From there I headed back towards
town, face into the sun and walked up to the other war monument which is a mini
roman colosseum built on the hill about the town. Very strange and incomplete
as far as I can remember the story. The builder ran out of money, which funnily
enough seems to be a pattern in the Scotland.
I sat on the hill top colosseum until 4pm then made my way
to the hostel, more than ready to check in and get warm. I had even been to the
information centre so that I could get the ferry timetable and bus timetable
for getting over to Iona the next day.
The hostel was lovely and warm and for the first time since
travelling I had been given a top bunk bed. I thought it would be bad but
actually I enjoyed it. It was like my own little sanctuary.
I also went to a touristy shop and saw the cutest little
cross-stitch of a hairy cow. I loved it so much that I had to have it.
I met a few interesting travellers. A couple of girls were
actually camping, tramping the highlands and had popped into the hostel for the
night to use the showers. They were really friendly and I hung out with them
for a bit.
The next day I was up and moving at 7am. I had a ferry to
catch at 8.00 and you had to be there 10 minutes before. And so I was. I turned
up at 7.50am and was told, sorry, I need to be there before then. The ferry was
still there but I couldn’t board it. Sigh. That meant that I had missed the one
and only bus that left at 1030. The next bus didn’t leave until 1230 which
meant that I would miss the ferry to Iona on the other half of the island.
I walked back to the hostel, completely dejected and met a
couple of other travellers who were catching the 10am ferry to mull so I
thought, hey, why not? Before I left the hostel, I booked in an extra night at
the hostel so that I could go to Iona on Monday on the 8am ferry which I had
confirmed with the ferry people.
I arrived and caught the one and only bus that went up to
Tobermorry.
Tobermorry is lovely. It is a traditional seaside port town
but when I got there my first thought, was is this it? I had three hours stuck
in this place. The bus didn’t leave again for a three hours. I think it was a conspiracy
by the locals to force you to stay and buy there stuff.
I walked the main street and popped into a silver-smith’s
shop and after a yarn with a local he pointed me towards a walk.
It was a very nice walk and wasted a few hours. It followed
the coastline and headed inland a bit and all along the way were small
waterfalls before finally I came across a massive one. It was so loud, the
water crashed so hard onto the rocks that standing on the bridge I could feel
the spray.
I headed back and was waiting for the bus and started talking to this nice old Scottish woman who was
out with her husband on a day trip and she said that she was embarrassed to be Scottish
by what was offered on Mull and the fact that you couldn’t leave for over three
hours. I had to laugh but wisely didn’t air my own grievance on the matter.
The next day I headed off for a bit of closer to the hostel
walking. I went to Kerrera which is this
tiny island with a population of 30 and a lot of farm land. To get there I had
to walk 2 miles at a power walk. I really wasn’t prepared for how long it took
to get to the ferry but I arrived with some time to spare so grabbed a rock and
chilled for a bit.
The ferry itself is a little barge that you just walk on to
and then off again ten minutes later. I met another girl called Ana, who was
staying on the hostel. She actually works at the High Street Hostel in
Edinburgh which is where I stayed at the beginning of the month. Small world. I
joined her for a walk around to the castle. The castle was stunningly set on a Cliffside,
completely impenetrable on all sides except one and the views from up there...
wow. There was a stone beach which while amazing was also sadly littered with
bits of plastic – bottle tops, bits of bottles... it is upsetting to see that
something so remote has rubbish and it has all come from the ocean.
I sat and had my lunch on the stone beach before Ana and I
headed back to the mainland. It was with heavy feet and hearts that we boarded
the ferry, knowing that we still had a 2 mile hike back to town. As we began
the slow trudge of the weary, a couple who were staying in Oban stopped and
offered us a lift. YES! Thank you for small mercies. They were really lovely
and it meant that we were only 5 minutes from the hostel as opposed to 40
minutes.
I slept so well that night and I was ready for Monday, the
day I was going to go to Iona. I got up at 7am and was out the door by 7.25. I
was NOT missing the ferry again. I turned up at 7.30 and asked for a ticket.
The man nodded and said, ‘For the 10 o’clock crossing?’
“No, for the 8am one.” And then he told me that on a Monday the
ferry leaves at 7am. You have got to be kidding me!? I actually looked at him,
I rubbed my eyes, I could feel the tears threatening to spill over and told him
that I had been told it would leave at 8am on Monday. I told him that I had
even booked to stay an extra day in Oban especially for this and while he was
regretful it wasn’t like that would change anything.
I was so dejected, so utterly weary, that I was literally
fighting back the tears as I left the ferry terminal. It was only 7.50 in the
morning. I plonked myself down on a bench looking out over the harbour and
called home. It was nice to talk to Mum for awhile and I am so glad I switched
phone plans. It only costs 1 pence (penny?) per minute to call NZ. Woohoo for
me!
The sanctuary was actually really neat. There was not a lot
there but I made it stretch out for two hours and even got a close up look at a
couple of sea otters. How cute are sea otters!? I want one. They were feeding
them and they have teeny little human hands that they catch the fish it and
they sometimes roll around in the water and eat on their backs and are sooooooo
cute!
While I was there I also got to see some seals that had been
rescued and also some really weird fish, some not so weird fish like Nemo, and
frogs that looked like they had naked human flesh and claws. I wasn’t sure if I
liked them or not but either way I couldn’t stop staring at them.
For the rest of the day I chilled out on my bunk, working on
my cross-stitch, re-downloading all of the maps for my gps that had been
deleted thanks to Nokia (grrrr) and eating waaaaay to much chocolate.
Today I jumped on a bus to Stirling. It took me 4 and half
hours but I arrived safe and sound with no fuss. I arrived around 4.30pm and
found a great bar called the Kilted Kangaroo that is basically like an Outback
bar owned by Aussies. I met one of the owners who thought I was an aussie but
was kind enough to welcome me even if I was a kiwi. It was just nice to meet an
accent that wasn’t totally foreign to me. I am feeling a bit homesick today,
partly because I am terribly hormonal and tired.
The hostel is nice and warm and friendly but I am so tired
that I think it is time for bed.
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