Scotland
The rest of the South Island, New Zealand
At this point, we bid farewell to Corentin. With a one year visa, he had the freedom to travel slower than those of us with the standard 90 day visas. Five of us rented a tightly packed car and headed to the southern tip of the South Island. The Catlins Beaches, lighthouses, tree climbing, … Continue reading
Routeburn Track, New Zealand
The Routeburn Track is one of New Zealand's Great Walks, a series of popular multi-day hikes which require hut or campsite reservations booked well in advance. Several months ago, I booked my December dates to do the 3 day Routeburn hike but ultimately had to cancel when I realized I would have had to race … Continue reading
Goodbye, Europe!
In another couple of hours, I’ll be out the door and heading to London Heathrow to catch a flight to Tanzania! Over the next four months, Mini Bear and I will travel around five east African countries so be sure to use the new subscribe option in the sidebar to stay up to date with … Continue reading
Scotland miscellaneous
A few unorganized recollections of Scotland. Being so far north, especially in Turriff, the sun didn't set until well after 10:30 pm. This was novel and exciting the first night, but was less appealing just a few hours later when I was up with the sun at 4:00 am. In this photo, it's 4:16 am. … Continue reading
More Edinburgh
Edinburgh Castle is surrounded by a cliff in three sides and the fourth side is reached by climbing uphill and entering a narrow gate. Scottish kings and queens reigned from here in centuries past. The Scottish Crown Jewels are on display, though they haven't been worn in a coronation ceremony for hundreds of years. St. … Continue reading
Edinburgh
With my aunt, cousin, and mom, I boarded the train from Aberdeen to Edinburgh. The ride lasted just a few hours and was scenic. We traveled past cute villages, the shore, and more rolling green hills with low stone walls and sheep (or cattle!) than you can imagine. In Edinburgh, we planned to see … Continue reading
Delgatie Castle, Scotland
It's not every day that you visit your family's former castle so the four of us were really looking forward to it. I scribbled about sixteen pages of notes during our visit, but I'll spare you the minute details and give you the highlights instead. Delgatie Castle is on the edge of Turriff in northeast … Continue reading