Yesterday we left our apartment early to arrive at the bus station and board our Rabbie’s Tours bus to the Isle of Skye on Scotland’s West coast. We were met by Graham, our kilted, bearded guide, and boarded the bus with 13 other passengers, mostly from the US, but a couple from Korea and a young woman who lives in Denmark.

The weather was typical for Scotland—sunny one minute and rainy the next, windy one minute and calm the next. But the scenery was spectacular. We started in the lowlands, green farmlands and rolling hills. Then came the dramatic demarcation to the Highlands—steep mountains, lots of forests, rocky cliffs.

We were able to stop in several villages or lookout points, but didn’t get to do any real hiking. For part of the trip we paralleled the West Highland Way, a 97-mile walking path through the rugged terrain. It looked inviting in the sunshine, but I pitied the hikers as they slogged through the downpours.

Graham supplied a good commentary of what we were seeing and the history of different clans of Scotland. So much of the history involves fighting, wars and death—or is that just what men have chosen to document?

I will talk about the Glencoe massacre and the legend of kelpies when I can come back to it, but right now I have to get my shower and get started on a new day.