Please bring back the summer

The last two weeks I have been walking up and down like a bear with a sore tooth. It's the winter. I cannot stand this miserable weather anymore. This morning I realized that if I don't do anything about it, I might just hurt myself with a blunt butter knife. My Facebook comments sounds as if I have lost the only love of my life, I am even sulking because the World Cup is over. I don't even fancy watching football that much, but somehow I miss that too. This winter is pulling me down into a depression and the sooner the sun comes out, the better for myself and the people around me.

So this morning I decided to change my attitude and got dressed for a nice bike ride. When I left the house I could see that the weather was NOT going to contribute to the "nice" in "nice bike ride", but I was not going to let that drive me back to the knife drawer again. I didn't know where I was going, but I wanted to discover at least one road that I have never been on before. From where I live this is rather difficult. When you live with the ocean to the west of you, with nothing but city to the south and the east, then your options are limited to only one direction. So this morning it was to the north again. The temperature on my clock said 8 deg C, but with the wind chill factor it was definitely much colder than that. I stopped at the beach to take a picture just to show what the weather was like. Completely overcast. If this wasn't South Africa I would've expected snow coming from those clouds very soon. Fortunately very little wind and no rain. At least I could see the silver lining in that observation.

I drove towards Melkbosstrand and then onto the N7 towards Malmesbury. I still didn't know where I was going, but I was hoping to find a new road where I could turn off, and this presented itself about 20 kilometers further on. Kalbaskraalpad. I have never been on that road, so without any delay I turned off and headed towards the little village called Kalbaskraal. This was nothing more than an old railway town and before I could stop to take some pictures I was already through the town and out on the other side. I got to a T-junction and decided to go left...further away from Cape Town. This was a narrow tarred road, but has not seen any maintenance since Madiba's release 16 years ago. It was running parallel to the railway line and both were heading towards Malmesbury. I was looking for words to describe the surface of the road, but all I could think of was "hubbly-bubbly" and "humpty-dumpty". Don't ask me why I thought of that, but there was enough bumps and potholes to make it worse than any gravel road I've ever been on. But it was fun. I even stopped at some point to take a picture or two. At this point I realized that my body temperature must've fallen to close to the outside temperature and that I needed a cup of coffee badly.

I wanted to avoid going into Malmesbury so I took another road back towards Durbanville. I was getting really cold now and not even my heated grips could get the blood flow normal again. I was thinking about heated seats and heated jackets but later the thought of a hot cup of coffee became permanently stuck in my head. I knew that the closest town now was Phillidelphia, so I headed straight back there. I stopped to take a picture of Paardeberg and was wondering if there was a road going up there. I will have to check my map because I had no intentions going up there while I was already half-way frozen. And with the mist hanging at the top, I was convinced that there weren't any roads going there today.

At Phillidelphia I stopped at the Pepper Tree Restaurant. The warm reception was just as could be expected from any small town in South Africa. I was handed a cup of coffee before I could even ask and they even brought me a blanket to cover what must've looked like a frozen corpse to them. I took a glimpse in one of the mirrors to see if I really looked that dead, but I soon realized that this is just kind-heartedness of the people living in Phillidelphia and nothing more. I obviously didn't use the blanket, I am a biker for heaven's sake trying to uphold that mean biker image, but I have to admit I did enjoy the cup of coffee. After getting feeling back into my hands, I could finish the rest of my breakfast with a fork and knife. At this point I could say that I was feeling better again. A new road, some time on the bike, and a nice breakfast. The only thing that probably could've lifted my spirit even more was sunshine.

After restoring the blood flow and cleaning my visor, I jumped on the bike again with renewed energy and headed home. I need more of this is my life. I need more summers and less winters. I need to see more places and meet more people. Isn't this one of the reasons we are on this beautiful planet, to live, to discover, to enjoy? It is amazing how much life a bike ride can put back into anyone, despite the low temperature or the lack of a defined destination. At least I know that I am still alive, that I will get the opportunity to do this again, and that summer WILL eventually come back again.

Run Rabbit Run Rabbit Run Run Run...

Don't know if the song is familiar to you, but we used to sing it at The London Town Pub in Durban many years ago...

Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run, run, run
Don't give the farmer his fun, fun, fun
He'll get by without his rabbit pie
So run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run, run, run...

Well, we have this little cute and cuddly creature that comes and visits our front garden everyday, chewing away on the my grass and little plants....

 

(PS. Keep following my wife's cooking blog for her upcoming Rabbit Pie recipe)

Chasing snow

This morning to beat the winter blues, we decided that if the weather does not want to play along then we will make the best of it instead. Seeing that snow was predicted, we thought that it might be a good idea to go snow chasing. This basically meant that we were going to find a place where we can actually touch it. Most South Africans never have the opportunity to see or touch snow, and when it is snowing in South Africa, the only place where you might find it is on mountain peaks. The problem usually is to get up there, so I wasn't very optimistic when we left the house and headed towards Stellenbosch. When my son started complaining about getting too warm in the car, I knew that out chances of seeing snow today was very slim.

When we passed Stellenbosh I could see that the only peaks that was covered in snow was absolute unreachable, but instead of heading back home we decided to keep continuing on our trip to Ceres. On our way towards Paarl we decided to stop at Fairview wine farm. This was just to take a break and to let my son run around for a while. Sitting in a car for long periods is not what he prefers to do on a Sunday. There I took some pictures of the goats on the the little tower which is like the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Everybody has seen this in every book and on every TV channel, and you can find pictures of it everywhere, but everyone who stops there for the first time cannot help but to take a few pictures. I did the same. I was actually more interested in the sign that said "Swimming prohibited, crocodile breeding dam", but I knew this was only a lame excuse to keep people from swimming in the little dam. I send my wife to go see if everything was fine and later on she and my son was posing for pictures like any normal family would do on a Sunday-trip to nowhere.

After having some ginger beer at Fairview, we headed towards Ceres. By this time I knew for sure that if we are going to see anything today that's interesting, that it would NOT be snow. It was now a nice and sunny day. So we passed Ceres and just carried on driving towards Tulbagh. My son fell asleep but woke up when we had to stop to fill up. The only exciting thing that I knew was still on our way was the Nuwekloof Pass. There I was hoping to take some pictures of the old road and the railway line that was cutting through the mountains. On our way towards the pass, I saw a train approaching the pass. I pointed it out to my son who got really excited about seeing a train on Sunday (my wife always tell him that trains don't run on Sundays as we never see any on Sundays). Knowing that this would probably be the only thing today that would impress him and not wanting to disappoint him, I put my foot on the petrol and raced towards the pass hoping that I might find a nice spot to park and have enough time to take some pictures. I was in such a hurry that I actually drove passed the pass. The train passed us after I turned around and what was supposed to be a chase after snow then turned into in a chase after a train. I never knew that trains are so fast. Not the South African ones at least. Hoping to get the Daddy-of-the-Day Award, I was determined to get to a place where I could take a nice picture of the train, and to get my son to see it as it passes.

We sped past Gouda and The Voelvlei Dam in search of a place to stop and catch the train. When I eventually saw a turn-off towards a railway crossing, I jumped out with the camera and waited for the train which was fast approaching. My wife took my son out of the car while I was frantically trying to get the camera ready. I managed to get some pics, but all with the wrong settings. So this picture was a edited to actually make the train visible. My son and wife was happy with the view they got, but for me, all I was happy about was the fact that I could find a place for him to see the train. I didn't get the Daddy-of-the-Day Award, but got that feeling only a dad knows when he does something nice for his son. Thinking back now, I wonder who was more excited about catching the train, me or him...?

When it's raining it's raining......

I don't know why my moods are so easily effected by the weather. The past week was relatively a good week where weather was concerned, but I was at the office and didn't have time to do anything exciting. So last night the cold front hit Cape Town and at the same time some sort of depression arrived along with it. Or maybe it is just frustration. I have been waiting the whole week to take the bike out there somewhere and soak up some sun along the way, but Mother Nature obviously had other plans. Not that we should complain about the rain, the whole country needs rain and that includes the Western Cape.

To make matters worse, the Springboks displayed one of their most disappointing performances against the All blacks this morning, so basically there is noting to rave about right now. Before I started to chew through my wrists, I decided to go and take some pictures in the garden. Taking pictures of flowers is really not why I bought this camera for, but if the weather is miserable and my mood is miserable all I can do is to practise my camera skills at least. So today I thought I would concentrate on close-ups. I didn't have much luck, because taking shots with one hand while holding an umbrella in the other hand is probably not the easiest way to go about , but here are 3 out of the 300 that I don't feel too ashamed to post. But like my mom always say....."The sun will shine again....." Let's pray it is sooner than later.

Home Sweet Home

I have just returned from probably my best ever "working" trip I've ever had. The flight from Amsterdam to Cape Town was without any problems and I arrived in Cape Town at around 21h45. This morning I got up and decided to take the bike for a quick spin and then to meet up with my family at Phillidelphia for breakfast. My son convinced me otherwsise when he said he wanted me to go with them in the car. There was NO WAY that I was going to disappoint him after just being away for two weeks. My plan was not to take any pictures, but when I took the car keys I grabbed the camera bag as well. On our way to Phillidelphia I could'nt help but stop to take some pictures. With my family in the car I didn't want to take too many, but here are just three of the pictures I took this morning. I have to admit, South Africa can also be beautiful if you catch it in the right season or time of day....

Aim to Please

I am not going to get into the habit of taking pictures of urinals for sure, but I read about the flies in the urinals at Schiphol and how it decrease the chances of missing the pot. Apparently research shows that these flies that are embedded in the porcelain increase the chance of hitting the spot by 80%. I am not sure how these tests were done, probably by counting the drops on the floor at the end of each day, but I know that it is always nice to have things to aim at. I think most men will agree that aiming at something adds to the fun of answering nature's call, and I am already teaching my 3-year old son to aim properly. I think it is because men just are born with that hunter's instinct, and besides, there will always be a boy who likes to play left in every man. I wonder who was the inventor of this, but I think if the statistics could be trusted then he was quite a genius.

In Africa we also have this. The only difference here is that the insects we aim at are usually still alive....

Going Dutch in Haarlem

I had the privilege of spending three days in Amsterdam. The problem with being in Amsterdam is that you cannot really write about the place without people either thinking your are not used to anything, or that you are on the wrong track. If you are not into smoking pot or sex-on-the-go, then all that is left are bicycles, trams and windmills. Besides, of you ARE into some of the activities above then a blog is not a place where you would want to advertise it to the world in any case. Fortunately for me I had something else that I could experience that the average tourist don't usually see when they go to Holland ...Dutch football fans when they beat Brazil.

I was in Amsterdam for the morning and decided to head back to Haarlem before the game started. I didn't want to get stuck on crowded trains with intoxicated supporters on my way back after the game, so instead I chose to be walking distance from where I could take shelter should things run out of control. The sounds of vuvuzelas was everywhere and needless to say, after the match it was a party of gigantic proportions. I had a couple of beers to share in the excitement, but I am sure some supporters made up for what I didn't drink. The orange array of flags, t-shirts and whatever they could find to show their support really lid up the area, and the party went on for hours after the game ended. A friend of mine that happened to be in Haarlem at the time suggested that we stay around for dinner, but we eventually agreed that it would be better to find a place where it is quieter. Footballs were being kicked up recklessly into the air and the chance of finding one on your plate was too much of a possibility. I wonder what it would've been liked if Holland didn't go through, but I am glad that I could experience the excitement of the Dutch Football Fans while I was there. So, they have my support for their next game for sure.

The Best Scottish Experience...Ever!

If you ever go to Scotland and want a real Scottish experience, DON'T stay in a hotel in a big city.  See if you can find yourself a Scottish family in a small village. Something like Insch in the countryside near Aberdeen. If the dad comes from England and the mom from Ireland it doesn't matter, it adds colour to the Scottish gibberish they speak after living a few years in Scotland. By the way, when they speak to you always answer with "I beg your pardon?" or "say that again?" This way you will not only manage to understand what they said the first time, but it doubles the chance of hearing that beautiful Scottish accent. After a while you will understand what they are saying, for instance when they say "how?" during a conversation, it actually means "why?" When they say "Hey Mukker", they don't suggest that you are mugging people, they actually see you as a friend. Once they call you a "chum" you have reached the highest rank in friendship.

Be warned, when they "sit down for tea" you are not going to get something to drink from a cup, you are actually going to get a huge plate of food for dinner. After the main meal they will treat you with a Scottish desert like Cranachan or Banoffee Pie. Sometimes they will even make you two different kinds of pudding at the same time and then sit and watch how you struggle to finish that as well. Choose your family carefully, one that does actually take "no thank you" for an answer otherwise you might end up eating Haggis or wearing a quilt. If the family can throw in kids, make sure they are in their teens. A 12-year old boy and 17-year old girl is perfect. To spice things up force the boy out of his room and make him share a room with his sister. His sister will have to bite her bottom lip every time he enters the room and shouts "Hi Roomie!"  If they have a dog, even better. The dog will keep wagging its tail days after you have overstayed your welcome. Also, taking the dog for a walk takes you further into the countryside, an experience not to be missed. The Scottish countryside can be described in one word. Absolutely Stunningly Beautiful. OK, you need at least three words to describe it.

If you get the chance, mingle a bit with the "village idiots". No, never call them that, they call themselves that. If you don't understand a word they are saying at a party, just smile and then excuse yourself and go some other place. Be careful when they have a farmer at the party, because that "other place" could easily turn into a farm close-by where you end up gathering cattle that has broken through a fence. If you step into cow dung don't say a word, you are having a "Scottish experience", remember. If it is at all possible, make sure that one of the kids is having his or her birthday while you are there. Better if it is the 17-year old girl's party. She will invite all her friends from school and villages nearby. This way you will see how the Scottish teens party, and secondly it gives you more pleasure to look at the other 17-year old girls dancing than watching the 12-year old boys playing football. Oh, and remember, it is called "football" and not "soccer". If you don't like football, keep your opinions to yourself, but do go and watch the boys play. If the striker misses the net by a 100 yards and all the parents shout "unlucky" every time he misses, just except it as a way of encouraging the kids and not as a general lack of football knowledge. The Scottish seem to like their kids the way they are but keep encouraging them. At the kid's football game you also get a chance to check out the other Scottish mommies. They seem to be very interested in you when they hear you are not from there. If the grannies approach you, excuse yourself and go take pictures of the flowers next to the football pitch.

When the mom and dad starts arguing about who's doing the dishes, don't get intimidated and start cleaning up. Scottish men seem to find it harder to stand up to their wives than other men across the globe. If you start washing the dishes you might get the Scottish women to believe that washing dishes is in fact a "man's responsibility". If the wife drinks more Budweiser than the husband, you might want to consider helping. Never say no if she offers you one of her Budweisers, this means she likes you. She would normally offer you something else if she didn't, like Heineken or Tennants. Make it clear to them that you only consume food and drink in moderation. They will feed you until you can't stand up or offer you something more to drink until you fall down. They only do this because they  are very hospitable, not to harm you in any way. If the 17-year old girl looks strangely at you when you greet her on Day 7 of your stay, it is not because she cannot stand her roomie anymore and wants you to go, it is because she is like any other 17-year old teenager or is maybe just suffering from her previous night's party. When the 12-year old boy mentions that he cannot wait to get back into his room, don't feel offended, apparently that is a sign that he likes you being around, NOT that he wants you out of his room. If the wive goes away the weekend to go watch a concert by Pink, don't think that she wants to get away form her guest. She might just be  socialite who loves going to concerts.

So, to make that Scottish experience the best holiday experience you have ever had, do it with a Scottish family. To protect their identity I won't mention their names or surname, or that they live in Insch. But to Dave and Fiona, you made me feel like a VIP in First Class. Thanks for opening up your house, your hearts and your Budweisers. To Hayley and Aidan, thanks for shacking up together to give me a place in your house to sleep. Your mom might not agree, but that might have been more of a sacrifice than a couple of American beers. It didn't go unnoticed. To the village idiots, Tosh and Johann and the others who's names I couldn't catch because of the pronunciation, you guys are great. You are NOT idiots, you just speak funny. Your names will be mentioned in South African homes and around BBQ fires across our beautiful country. And if you ever come to South Africa you are welcome to come and have a real South African experience in my house with my family. I might just have to warn them first.....

Thanks for ATC

I was in Esbjerg when I took this picture of the contrails ("condensation trails") in the sky. Although the picture only shows about 5, there were at least 3 more that I could not get in. Apart from that I saw 3 aircraft in the air with no trails. I was imagining how busy the air over Europe has to be to see all that in one go. When we flew to Amsterdam, I sat at the window and noticed a 474 approaching us from the front. It was heading straight in our direction, but I could see that it was at a different altitude, so I didn't get too alarmed about it. The speed at which it was approaching was incredible seeing that both aircrafts were probably cruising at around 900km/h. When it came close enough I could see that it was a Lufthansa flight, it passed right over our heads and it was quite exhilarating stuff to see. Our our flightpath from Bullin to Schipol was not in a very straight line either. We were dodging not only heavy cloud cells, but for sure some other aircraft as well. With all this air traffic it is such a comforting thought knowing that their are air traffic controllers (ATC) at work...and hopefully not sleeping on their shifts!

It's all about information and experience

The more you travel the easier it gets. Yesterday I arrived at the airport with no ticket or any reference to any booking. I had a bit of a problem when I tried the self check-in desk. My name was not recognized from my passport and only after a while I got it sorted. Was this in my earlier days of travel, I would've had everything with me, checked, re-checked and double-checked again. But you gain experience and you get to a point that going to the airport is like going to the toilet, you know what to do without any concerns really. Another thing that comes in really handy when you travel is information. The more information you can find, the easier it is to travel without the usual concerns and frustrations.

Yesterday when we landed at Schipol Airport, which according to many is the best organized airport in Europe, we headed for the carousal to collect our baggage. All you have to do is follow the signs. The information is in your face, so finding it is not much of a problem. Our luggage was expected on carousal 12, which was also very easy to find. But what I saw on the screen above the belt really amazed me. They were actually telling you when your baggage will be loaded on the belt, they even tell you once all the baggage have been loaded, so if you don't see your bags then you will know that you don't have to wait and do the next obvious step, go to the baggage claim desk. All this information giving to you while you are standing there.

Compare this now with arrivals at Luanda. The size of the airport is a 20th of Schipol. Two flights arrive at the same time and there is complete chaos. You stand and wait at any of the only TWO carousals and you still don't know when or where to expect your baggage. After 2 hours (and this is not a lie), you still stand and wait because you have no idea whether your bags might appear or not. There's no-one to ask, because no-one seems to know what is going on outside where the luggage is loaded on the belt. Or maybe they know that nothing is happening outside and they are too embarrassed to tell you. In this case experience comes in handy again. If you have been through this before you know that you just stand in wait until you fall over, because there is still a chance of your luggage appearing. When you compare airports like these two, then only you realize how far behind some countries in the world are when it comes to service delivery. What a pleasure to travel through Schipol airport, you can actually arrive at your hotel with a smile and minus the headache you pick up when traveling through the airport at Luanda.

Sunset in IJmuiden

Today I took my first sunset scene with the SLR. We arrived in IJmuiden and went straight for a beer and a TV to watch the Spain-Portugal game. After dinner I fetched my camera with the plan to walk to the beach, but only when I got out of the building I actually saw the beautiful sunset. Because the yacht club is in front of the hotel and in between myself and the sun, I had to literally run to a place where I could take a proper picture without too many things in the foreground. While running I had to change lenses and looked like some war reporter in Afghanistan running to get the best action photo…or running for his own life not to get shot himself. Four girls on Vespas drove past me and cheered me on like I was about to win the Comrades marathon. They obviously figured out why I was running with a camera while the sun was about to disappear…or they were just happy that it was such an awesome day. By the time I found a spot the sun had already sunk lower and was about to hit the water. Fiddling to get the right settings didn’t help much either, and by the time I took the picture I was out of breath and shaking. So yes, the final product was nothing to rave about, but this was one of the better ones. The bloody yacht that was coming in was also not giving me much time, so the more he moved into my pictures, the more desperate I became to take the bloody shot. After that I couldn’t wait to get back to my PC to check out my first sunset shots. I was a bit disappointed to be honest, but I am sure if I have more time on my hands to set up and even use a tripod I might get a better shot. I can just see me sitting at the beach in Cape Town waiting for that perfect sunset. I have one concern though….TIME! If I start this new hobby that is really got me hooked right now, when will I get time to do my other hobby stuff? I was thinking of taking the bike and go to a spot where it is really beautiful and then just spend the day there taking pictures until I get that prize winning shot, but where will I find time to fit that in…?

Esbjerg, Denmark

I have arrived in Denmark yesterday and is leaving this afternoon. Esjberg to be more exact. I didn't have much time to take pictures, but I guess if you have one of the four massive men staring at the sea (Men at the Sea), then you have at least something to show all your eagerly awaiting mates at home who cannot wait to sit through your 3-hour photo slide of "My time in Europe"!

Gorge Walking near Aviemore

When I was informed that we were going gorge walking somewhere in the Scottish Highlands I really didn't know what to expect. I knew for sure that on the scenery side of things I wasn't going to be disappointed. Scotland is very well known for it's beautiful mountains, and combining that with rivers and waterfalls one cannot other than expect just the ultimate beauty. Every time I see the luscious green hills with the rivers in between I always think about my mom that loves to watch movies and programs that plays off in these parts of the world, and of course the accents that goes along with it. I was fortunate enough on this trip to experience all of that, so the trip across country for a day's fun in the sun, was the cherry on top of everything that I have already experienced this week.

We left early on Sunday for a 90 minute ride to Aviemore on the northwestern side of Scotland. There we met up with a team, Pete and Mike, from Active Outdoor Pursuits. The plan was to treat Dave's two kids to a day of gorge scrambling which included rock climbing, cliff jumping and some "foefie sliding", or zip sliding as it is referred to over here. I think I was the most excited of us all about this whole trip, but 12-year old Aidan would soon overtake me as his confidence grew, but a bit more on that later. We arrive arrived at Aviemore with just enough time to fill our stomachs with a bacon roll, bread with bacon that seems to be a very popular treat in Scotland. After sorting out our wetsuits we headed for a small river gorge not far away.

When we arrived at the gorge, they beauty of area obviously stunned me again. The sound of the water roaring over the rapids added to the excitement and pretty soon we were all climbing along the rock edges on our first challenge for the day. The route wasn't very technical, but for Aidan and Hayley this was just enough to get the adrenalin going. With only cold water below to catch your fall, it was enough motivation to cling on for dear life. Aidan was a natural and was soon following Pete all over the place to make sure that he was going to be the first one to try out everything that Pete had planned for the day. While we were climbing I made the most of my chances to appreciate the beauty of the gorge. After the climb we finally all ended up in the water, sliding down rapids and eventually doing a few jumps off a cliff. The water was much warmer than I expected, but coming from the icy waters of Bloubergstrand, I guess I was just used to numb feet and ice cream headaches. While the rest of the gang still spend some time in the water, I took the chance and grabbed the camera for some action and scenery shots. After all, what would the day be without some memories and pics for my blog.

Over lunch we had some sandwiches and coffee, while Pete and Mike set up the ropes for the zip slide. Dave and I would soon realize that the slide was a bit on the small side for the two heavyweights, but Aidan and Hayley made the most of it and really enjoyed sliding down into the water. At this point we were all getting rather tired, so after packing up and while heading back to Aviemore, all of us were caught dozing off into a short nap or two. The day belonged to Aidan and Hayley who really had all the fun they could squeeze out of the day. I got my pictures and memories and Dave had the smile of a dad that was very proud of his two children's achievements for the day.

Aberdeen Beach

Bennachie

If you have no idea how to pronounce the word "bennachie", go ask the Scots. You will be surprized what it sounds like, but then again, every word pronounced in Scotland is a bit different than what I am used to hearing in South Africa.  On Wikipedia it says that it is pronounced as /bɛnəˈxiː/ (ben-ə-khee), or something like that. No matter how it is pronounced, it is probably one of the best spots to view Aberdeenshire from the "air" without having to climb in an aeroplane. The walk to the highest point called Oxen Craig (518m) is a pleasant one which starts off meandering through a bit of forest until you hit the open part with vegetation which reminded me a lot of the fine bush you find on Table Mountain. There are just no cliffs, but this is Scotland and everything seems to be a bit saver here than back home. Even the muggers are absent, but I still felt awkward leaving the car behind.

When we left the starting point it was quite warm, but getting closer to the top it seemed that bad weather was approaching. When we went back again I realized that the "bad weather" was disappearing again. So anyone climbing without taking the necessary jacket or jersey might get a little surprize when they get to the top. Even though it was a bit cloudy the view was still clear enough to get a good impression of what the surrounding area looks like. It is strange, but in South Africa I can easily determine where north and south is, but as soon as I get north of the equator it seems like I lose all my bearings. At the top of Oxen Craig is a sign indicating the directions and some of the more obvious landmarks. I was surprized to see where north was, but fortunately this was not an adventure walk and following the footpath was easy enough to guide us to the top and back. Anyway, my "chum" that was with me knows the paths like the back of his hand and I was never worried that we might get lost. He told me his mother apparently climbs this hill every day, so if we got lost we only had to survive until the next day I guess...and wait for "mom" to come and fetch us.

I again used the opportunity to take some pictures. I am getting good at handling the SLR camera, but I probably now need to work on spotting good subjects to photograph. Milly and Casey, the two dogs that were walking with us seemed to end up in every picture that I took. I don't believe in "photoshopping" my photos, so I basically had to take each picture a couple of times until my "picture spoilers" had disappeared from the scene. But they get so excited being there, they are all over the place...and all over my photos. I cannot really blame them, one tends to get renewed energy when you walk up there. This is experiencing the beauty of Scotland first hand. What a beautiful place.