Highlands and Islands

Delicacies from home. The Bavarian smoked ham, the Leberkäse (translates into livercheese – but there is no liver and no cheese in it, a kind of meat loaf), cheese-sausages and Pretzels from Bavaria are a real rarity here at Dunnet Head, the most northerly point of Scotland mainland and a treat for us. The first care package from home have arrived after we had to “suffer” 8 weeks without this “very important Bavarian groceries”. From Dunnet Head we have a terrific view over to the Isles of Orkney, which the sun turns them into golden light.

..Dunnet Head, in the background the Isle of Orkneys

We drive to Thurso, where we get some more groceries and petrol for about a week. In front of us are now the North-West Highlands. The next bigger town is Ullapool and this is about 160 miles away and lies in the West of Scotland. Between Thurso and Ullapool the surrounding is mostly deserted countryside. The small villages are never more then a dozen of houses. After the “Clearance” beginning of the 19 century, the population never came back. It was in the winter 1819 in the near of the mountain Ben Hope, where following tragedy took place: The landowner decided, to expel over hundred young tenants. They were brought against their will onto ships leaving to Ontario/ Canada. After the ship have left, it sank in a storm and it is said that nobody on the ship survived. Meanwhile the houses of the tenants got destroyed by the landowner, to take the stones and rocks as building material for streets. Even today, nearly nobody is leaving in this stretch between Thurso and Ullapool. Our journey through the North-West Highlands is as well a journey through our own past. We take the same route, as we did 10 years ago, the first time visiting Scotland. On some places we even can remember the exact place, where our tent stood.

...Box Stop in the Highlands …changing of the break pads

Here in the North-West of Scotland you find one of the last nature paradise in Europe. The streets follow along Lochs (Loch is the word, which in Scotland means lake or sea arm) and through peaceful mountain ranges. The Scot’s are very nature loving people and do have some exceptional hobbies, at least from the view of a mainland European. For example the “Munro-bagging” or the “rain-watching”.
Munro-bagging: “Munro” is the magic word witch let the hearts beat quicker of every Scotsman. The name derives from the Scotsman, Sir Hugh T Munro, who in 1896 have listed all mountains in Scotland which are higher then 3000 feet and from this there are more then 277 Munro-mountains. In the year 1890, people still believed that there are no more then 30 mountains of this height. Munro-bagging is the official word for this obsession, is a part of every mountain climbers live. Children, pensioners, whole families together with their dogs did do the whole round of Munro-bagging. Then there are more then hundred thousands of bird-watchers and last but not least the so called rain-watcher, which just wait till the next depression comes. Then there are out in nature and they list all the different kind of rainfalls they see, with time, place and so on. There are rainfalls which they just have seen twice in the last 40 years. There are already Clubs of rain watchers.
We are happy, when we can not see one or the other rain admirer, since we know then, that we will have good weather. We are in the spell of hiking the Munros. In the near of the village Achiltibuie, which houses by the way the biggest back piper school in Scotland, we meet an old friend of us, named Stac Pollaidh. This is a mountain with a extraordinary jagged summit, which we have hiked already ten years ago. From the peak you have a breathtaking view over the old mountains of Caledonien.

...Michaela at the peak of Stac Pollaidh

After one week through the Highlands, we reach Ullapool and first of all we are longing for a hot shower. Our ongoing travel leads us to the remoted world of Islands of the Inner Hebrides.
Scotland is surrounded by 790 islands, from which just 130 are inhabitat. To the Islands here in the West you come with the ferries of the company Caledonien Mac Brayne. Most of the islands you ca reach throughout the year, just the smaller and most remoted islands only during the summer month. On the islands as well then on the west coast of Scotland Gaelic is spoken. Like the Welsh Gaelic the Scottish Gaelic is part of the very old Celtic language.
Scotland’s islands have fascinated us, only the dispose of the refuse and sewage of the islands have shocked us. From broken cars over fridge and freezers you can find everything on some of the nicest places and viewpoints.
Our next story leads us to the Isle of Mull.
Sheep, lambs, sheep, lambs. It is incredible how many white spots you recognise on the surrounding hills, the fields and even on the streets. Most of the sheep have a life like in paradise. When they are in their “childhood” they let them go with their Mummies. Means, they are not tied to fields surrounded by fences. The territory of them goes from one Cattle-grid to the next. Such a territory is very often as long as a valley (glen), from approximately 15 miles. A quiet funny encounter with sheep we had on the Isle of Mull. We found a terrific place to stay at the Loch na Keal, directly at the seaside. The weather is sunny and warm. Apart from us just sheep. That is exactly the right place and weather to do a “General cleaning” and let some air in the bus. As we are in process of our “General cleaning”, we hear a van which sounds the horn continuously. We wonder what that is. Suddenly all the sheep from miles away, start to run direction the van. Määäh Maäääh, The van stops, a farmer steps out and pick up a blue plastic bag. In this bag, you guessed already, is additional food for the sheep, to which –it seems like this – they are kind of addicted to it. This is now the prior story to it. Next day – we decided to stay here for a few days – about the same time there is again movement in the sheep. Ah, that must be the farmer coming again, we think. But we can not hear the horn. Well, maybe the sheep have a better hearing for it. Well, here the white van comes – oh no it is a white camper. All the sheep are running direction the camper, määäh, it seems that somebody is behind them. A look into the face of the driver tells us, he don´t know how to deal with that. Wasn’t it like this that sheep are peaceful and shy. But this is not looking like all like this. He starts to hunk the horn. Well he better would have stayed away from this. Now they are even closer around the camper and the driver is already sweating. He stops the camper and waits. Somehow the leader sheep got the point, that this is not the farmer they were waiting for and he start to bleat one short sharp time and up they go away and the camper is free! Raimund and I are looking at each other and certainly start laughing. Well this was to early to laugh about! I make myself ready to brush my teeth but just outside of the bus I realize that it is a bit brisk. So I put on my blue anorak. Well, you guessed it already. Blue colour – sounds a bit like plastic. „There is our farmer with our additional food and all the time we have not realized him standing there” A short and sharp Määäh from the leading sheep, attention, and all are running towards myself. In the first moment I start to think, what have I done wrong, sheep are peaceful, then I realize and I start laughing. But this doesn’t stop them at all. Meanwhile there are about 50 sheep around me and bleat like hell. What shall I do know? Well I have to inform them somehow, that I am not the farmer, they are waiting for. I start, in German certainly, till Raimund shouts through the closed door of the bus, laughing wildly“ They can not understand you, they are English speaking“ Ok I try it in English and suddenly the leader sheep moves his head like he would think: Does our farmer now pull my leg or is it really not him. Then the well known short and sharp bleat, he turns around and all the others as well. I am still standing in front of the bus with my toothbrush while Raimund can´t stop laughing, while sitting in the bus.
If the sheep did just understood me as I spoke in English to him, I don´t know, but I would really like to know what kind of additional food the farmer gives to his sheep!!

...Evening mood at Loch Na Keal on Isle of Mull

We are already on the Isle of Skye, the biggest island of the Inner Hebrides. The first thing we do, is to listen to a CD of Runrig. Skye is the home of the Scottish rock group Runrig. The musicians understand it excellent to mix folklore music with good rock. All their music and lyrics are written by themselves and a big part of the songs they sing in Gaelic. The fans are not just to be found in Great Britain, they are all over Europe .Most of their concerts are sold out already month before it take place. Last year we came especially over to Scotland to a concert of them in the near of Aberdeen (East coat of Scotland). Last month they had a concert in Regensburg, where we used to live. Great, now because we are gone!
Back to the Isle of Skye. It is a fantastic territory for hikers and climbers. The Trotternish-Range in the North-East of the Island invites to come here for climbing and hiking.

...Quiraing, a hike in the Trotternish-Range on Skye

It is hard to describe with words the fascination of the nature here on Isle of Skye. As well the mountains in the south called “The Cuillins” are as awesome as in the North. We already are in the second week of May and we had good luck with the weather. Skye is known to more rainy and brisk days. During the day, the weather was quiet warm, just on our last day on the Isle of Skye we needed again our stationary heating. Next morning we couldn’t believe our eyes. There was snow on all the mountains on Skye and even on the peeks of the peninsula of Applecross.

...Quiraing, Isle of Skye

Well this was it for know. We have to leave Skye, since a new care package is waiting for us at the post-office in Onich.
Bye Bye
Michaela and Raimund

Eskdalemuir, sounds like a place in an old Celtic saga. Here in the seclusion, in the near of the village Eskdalemuir, the Tibetian- Buddhist monastery with the name Kagyu-Samye Ling (see links) is situated. The monastery was founded in 1967 by Dr. Akong Tulko Rinpoche under the guidance of Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpochean. Today it is not just a monastery, but a place in which people can come, to join the monastery life for a while similar to a roman-catholic monastery where you can go to attend meditation days.

Kagyu Samye Ling Kloster in Eskdalemuir

Two monks with there red habits walk over the courtyard towards the temple. The rain drums on the roof and the wind sings it’s different melodies. The same scene could happen in the Tibetan highland. We meet women and men in all different ages. Some of them are bare headed (later we get to know that this are the nuns and monks of the monastery)and some you can easily recognize come from Tibet itself. Most of the visitors stay here for one or two weeks meditation.

Eskdalemuir Budistischer Tempel

We introduce ourselves to George, a young man in his mid 30th. He is the administrator and organize everything in this small „religious community“. We make a deal with George. We work and therefore we get food and accommodation for free; but we prefer to stay in our „home, sweet home”. For the following day, George asks us to be at his office at 9 am. He shows us our next days works which is: Cleaning of the restaurant after breakfast, inclusive wiping the floor and window cleaning. In the afternoon there is mostly another room to be done. All in all we are usually ready about 2 pm, which gives us still enough time for ourselves. But if we feel, that we would like to attend one of the meditations in the temple, offered during the whole day, we are more then welcome to attend them and stop our work in the meantime.

...Raimunds erster Arbeitseinsatz

In case the screams of the two peacocks, owned by the monastery, have not already woken us up in the morning, the gong done of one of the monks to announce the morning meditation (prayer), will do. A “mass” in the Buddhism is done like following: First you have to put off your shoes before entering the temple. The temple itself is heated and it is really warm, different then the churches in Germany. On the floor you find pillows to sit on everybody in his own variety, but mostly in the simple yoga-seat. In front of the pillows are situated small tables, where one could place his „prayer book“. As the Lama enters the temple the faithful are turning towards him with leaned forward heads and a Wa (the Buddhist greeting, you fold your hands and lead them to your face, so more respect you have so higher it will be) following his way to a kind of „altar“. The altar in Buddhism is not an actual altar like we know it from the roman-catholic way. It is a increased seat, where the Lama sits faced to the believers. The Lama now starts a kind of singing with the believers. For our ears it sounds like different notes are repeated for about 5 minutes, to get everybody into meditation. After the five minutes the Lama hit’s the gong and everybody starts their one hour long meditation. The Buddhist have the opinion, that just through meditation it is possible to get the real inspiration and peace. After the principal, a German proverb: “To speak is like silver, to be silent like gold”. Somehow it is true! After this hour you hear again the sound of the gong and the Lama and the believers are ending with a „prayer“. The Lama leaves the temple and the believers follow him again with their head down and the Wa direction exit.

Breakfast is already at 6 am. Before you enter the dining room, everybody have to take off their shoes. We do find that great, since we are in charge to clean afterwards the floor. The kitchen is cooking vegetarian/vegan and we recognised that nobody is drinking while eating. Even in the morning there is no tea or coffee. On the other side, everybody is going round the whole day with a cup of tea in their hands, which you can get for free in the main building.
In Eskdalemuir nearly all works are done by themselves. The monastery has a nursery, a carpenter-workshop and a stonemason-workshop. Even a small farm is to be found on the ground. Our VW-Bus in which we “live” is next to Gyamtso´s workshop. Gyamtso is as well a monk and did become a stonemason during his youth in Tibet. In his workshop he shows us the techniques he uses and on which objects he is working on.

GYAMTSO, tibetischer Moench mit Michaela

We are fascinated about the casualness and the way how people get along with each other in peace.
Well, whoever of the goddess is responsible for the weather, they did not listen to us. After endless rainy days, fall in temperature and in the end our stationary heating which was not working anymore, we decided, to leave and go towards the coast where we hoped to get better weather.
Till next time Raimund and Michaela

Camilla Parker Bowles would like to have the titel of „Princess of Wales“ as the intended of Prince Charles and this, even nobody of the house of Buckingham has an estate in Wales. The Welsh are horrified!
This is the headline of today’s papers. We pass the Severn Road Bridge, which leads the motorway traffic in respectable height over the sea, between England and Wales. Welcome to Wales!
(see picture in German Version) Caste of Caernarfon
Wales with about 3 millions inhabitants is a very old nation and they understood it perfectly to keep their identity during the lots of changes in history. Especially in the North and West about 75 % of the population still speak apart from English the old Celtic language: cymreag. For us most of the words are tongue-twister. All signs in public and all traffic signs are bilingual.

Caste of Caernarfon

Wales with about 3 millions inhabitants is a very old nation and they understood it perfectly to keep their identity during the lots of changes in history. Especially in the North and West about 75 % of the population still speak apart from English the old Celtic language: cymreag. For us most of the words are tongue-twister. All signs in public and all traffic signs are bilingual.

cymreag, an old Celtic language

After a few days of wild camping, it was time again for a shower. We drive to a campground which is part of a farm. In the time where I fix our standing location, Michaela goes to the nearby barn. After a while she comes back with a smile from one ear to the other and tells me, how she just been a witness of the birth of a newborn lamb.

…wherever you go, lambs, lambs, lambs

For dinner we do not cook and that’s for a good reason. We have Bären-Lauch (Latin name is Allium ursinum), a wild garlic marinated in olive oil. We eat it pure on bread – it is a delicacy!
The next days we want to visit all three national parks. We travel from east to west and south to north. Over night we stay either next to a beach or in the wildness of the mountain range. On a Sunday morning it happened. „The water for the tea did not want to be in the thermos jug”. For breakfast we have tea, like usual, the British way. As the water boils, Michaela want to poor it over the tea-bags in the thermos jug. But somehow it doesn’t work and the water is more on the floor then in the thermos jug. So she stops. Now it is my turn. At this moment I pick up the pot and want to poor it, the pliers of the pot fall out of my hand and the boiling water is all over Michaela’s right ankle and the toes of her left feet. She panics and screames in pain. In a kind of reflex I open the 10 l water can and poor it all over Michaela’s feet. What next? We treat the burned parts with rescue cream (Bachblüten – original flower remedies) and Michaela treats herself with Reiki. But the pain is coming back so we go to a pharmacy which sells us a First aid spray. But still the pain will not stop, so I fill a bucket with cold water in which Michaela places her feet. Immediately the pain stops. Suddenly Michaela has an idea: „people in earlier times treated burned skin with soft curd cheese“. So we will buy it. Since in Great Britain the big supermarkets are as well open on Sundays, no problem to get it. But the British do not have soft curd cheese like we know it from Germany. But Yoghurt and cream cheese will do it. We pack Michaela’s feet in tea towels filled with fine yoghurt. It is a immediate relief with the healing method “Yoghurt” even the blisters, which showed already are getting smaller. In the afternoon we repeat the treatment, this time with half of the cream cheese. The other half we have for dinner. Yummy! As then the sun comes out and we can sit in front of our bus and watching the sunset over the sea, the world is back to normal.

…the mountains of Wales

Thanks to our lot of care to the feet of Michaela the burned skin is healing quite quick. So after four days we could already do some easy hikes in the wonderful mountain range of Wales.
In our next travel journal we will tell you about Tibet in Scotland.

We already told you that we have started our journey on the 18th of March.
The whole day we packed the last things, which should be stored in Pfreimd, as well then the last things going into the bus – which was ready to go quiet a while.
9 pm: We managed it all!
The very last time our bus is going down the street through the town of Pfreimd (where Raimunds parents live). This time everything is different. A last look back, then into the future. We both look to each other, we laugh, cry, Raimund is turning on the music (our song from Haindling: Umlaufbahn – orbit), I open the window and do shout out loud. What a feeling – indescribable! A feeling of liberty. What will we be expecting, how will it be, will it be like we dreamed about. Thousands of questions, thousands of feelings are going through my mind. I ask Raimund: “How are you, what kind of feeling have do you have? “I feel like an empty bottle” Somehow Raimund is right. A mental vaccum and nevertheless satisfaction. All the month of preparations, the small and bigger problems. That´s now history.
We are ready to go!
We start to drive direction North-West. Over Frankfurt – Trier – Luxembourg – Belgium (short break in Bruges – well it´s true that I know Bruges more or less already by heart – but I wanted to show it to Raimund) – France. Here we had the first compulsory stop. It is 11 am. On the industrial port and the docks of Calais/France the Dockers are on strike. Information we got: Most likely just today. So we have to wait. Then we see a car, which is not driving back direction exit. Another one and another one. We straight back to the information. “Yes there will be a ferry going over to Dover at 6.30 pm” Meantime it is already 6 pm. Back again to the ticket office. 6.10 pm. In front of us two people. 6.15 pm. We made it, with the ticket in our pocket we run back to the bus, jump in and up we go direction check in counter. It seems that the check in is miles and miles away. Passport control of France, second passport control of the British. 6.20 pm. A costumes officer ask us to open the bus. O no, not know! With a flashlight he looks over here and over there. Then a friendly “Have a good trip”. Up we go, time 6.25 pm. Finely we are the last car to go on the ferry. The docks around the ferry are closed by the hundred of police officers for security for the strike-breakers. 6.35 pm. We are on! The ferry itself is nearly empty. Once on board we get the information, that this is the first and only ferry going over to Dover today. How lucky we are!
1 ½ hours later we are in Dover. Meantime it is already dark and we spot out for a place to sleep. At the beachside on a parking lot we do find the right place. The next day we drive along the coastline direction Cornwall.

on the road in Cornwall

Over eastern we drive criss cross through Cornwall which is blooming beautifully: Camellias, Rhododendron, daffodils, primroses as well then broom. The weather is sunny and well mixed English. Sometimes a bit of rain. We do enjoy our new life. We go for a walk when we feel like it, read, write or simply do nothing and look out to the sea. We try to chill down and leave our old life behind.

chill down

Moreover we get used to our new life or better to say with the things, which our new life brings with it. For example cooking: To cook in a small bus like we have, you first have to arrange nearly all of your cooking equipment around yourself. Every step should be carefully thought out, before starting. Once you have placed the pan on the oven and you figure that you would need that spice, pan or any other cooking equipment which is placed just underneath, it could get a bit of a chaos. But with the days and weeks I guess we well be experts in it.
Certainly with the technical equipment in the bus you have to get used to. The fridge works in three ways. With the battery during driving, with electricity on a campground and with gas when you park somewhere out in the nature. Gas is something you really have to get used to it. Even if there is installed a ventilation – gas smells.

one of the thousend Cornish gardens

By the way for all of you send us an email and did not get an answer jet, we have problems to collect our emails. The problem, how we get to our mails (info@windrose-unterwegs.com) should be solved very soon. Please do NOT send to our previous address Mark-Meissner@t-online.de, which we can not get at all anymore!!!!

Going further with our experiences: Whoever would like to visit one time Cornwall, should not miss out on a typical Cornish cream tea. What is that all about? Instead of the well known English 5 o´clock tea, where one get served tea, biscuits and sandwiches, you will get tea with scones and strawberry jam and clotted cream. For my opinion it tastes delicious at least for one time, but to Raimunds taste, it is to fat. You find cream teas all over Cornwall, but the best ones are to be found on the countryside, when you see a sign: Farm – cream tea.

Fisher in Marazion

Another highlight was waiting for us in the evening, as we searched for a good place to sleep. Unfortunately here in Cornwall there are not many of them. Not because there are not enough beautiful places, but due to the fact, that here is a lot of tourism and the density of the population is quiet high, other then campgrounds, there are nearly no places to be found. And if so, then there are signs” No overnight parking” to make sure you go on to the next campground; which are quiet expensive with the time for people like us (about 15 Euro per night).
Back to our highlight: Above the cliffs near Mullion (that’s´ on the Peninsula of Lizard) we found a beautiful spot to park overnight and even longer. Apart from the breakers against the cliffs, there was no other noise to be heard. Just we two and the power of nature. Two days we stood there and enjoyed every single moment of it. After that we travelled on to Helston, where we unfortunately had a breakdown with our bus. The alternator broke down. But we were still lucky in our misfortune. Just a two minutes walk from where it happened, there was a garage. They worked it out for us, but it could not be done the same day, so we had a two day break in Helston. The night we could stay right across the garage for which we were grateful even if it was not as nice as on the cliffs. This time our neighbours were car wrecks. The time we had to wait we used for preparing this journal and to collect our emails which was not working as you know by now.
But however, we have all the time in the world and problems are there to solve them.
So that was it from us for now.
We wish all of you
“Calmness, which you need to face a problem
and the necessarily bit of luck to solve it.”