Lake District: October 18-23, 2006

We stayed a day in Scotland while Zoe recovered from a cold, then headed to the Lake District, England to meet with Amy Dobson, Zoe's friend from high school. Amy's mom was away from her rather large estate, so it was just the 3 of us living it up in the mansion. We stayed in our own wing and our shower was super deluxe, with water issuing from various angles, and a eucalyptus steam bath option. The air was fresh and Autumny there. A lot of chatting, cooking, eating, relaxing and a couple of nice hikes cured Zoe's cold and prepared us for our trip to come: 5 weeks in continental Europe. We'll catch the ferry across to Belgium after Craig's Great Aunt's 90th birthday celebration in Edinburgh on 25 October.

Ireland Photos

Sam, Lenny and Chris jamming away


Cousins


Zoe was really worried that we wouldn't be able to hike down these cliffs


End of a long day's hiking


Silver Strand just near our hostel


Slieve League Cliffs


Our new Donegal family

Ireland Continued: October 8-16, 2006

After Cubby flew back to the US, we stayed in Dublin at Sam and Julia's for another 3 relaxing days. We spent a good bit of time by their fire, eating great food Sam cooked up and listening to Sam and his band jiggle away. We enjoyed walking the streets and parks of Dublin and one day took a day trip south to County Wicklow for a hike. We dragged ourselves away from Sam and Julia's warm hospitality to head up to the wild weather of the north west coast of Ireland. On the way we stopped at an amazing passage tomb. Older than the pyramids. Designed so that on the morning of the winter solstice, the sun beams through a small crack in the ceiling to strike the altar that used to hold human remains. Very Indiana Jones.

We stayed a night at a unique circular eco-house hostel, then headed to where the waves were curling. The only place to find Craig's cousin, Gary. We watched Gary really carve up the surf at Esky. Impressive. Then headed to smaller waves of Enniscrowen where Gary helped Craig finally make his debut at standing on a board for more than a moment. Invigorating and beautiful under the sun setting sky. While Craig and Gary were in the cold Atlantic water, Zoe soaked nearby in warm Atlantic water with seaweed. Yep, another of the seaweed baths that Ireland's west coast is famous for, and rightly so. They are pretty cool. We got stuck talking to the owner of the bath house until Gary chased us out so we could make it to the pub before they finished serving dinner. After dinner then having eggs thrown at our vehicle by leprechauns (or maybe it was just the wild Irish youth) and being dragged around town by Gary until the pubs shut, we were ready for a good nights sleep in Gary's campervan. We left Esky the next day with Gary trailing behind us in his campervan, planning to meet in Donegal in the afternoon. But being Friday the 13th, the brakes on Gary's campervan failed and he ended up being towed all the back to England.

We continued exploring the Donegal peninsula. Went on a great hike with around Glen Gesh Pass with awe inspiring views of the peninsula. Beautiful beaches and waterfalls too. Stayed a couple of nights out at the tip of the peninsula and at a great little hostel in a sleepy little town with some lovely people. The remarkable bunch of guests kept us there an extra night as well as the host bringing out a bottle of poitin (Irish homemade alcohol, moonshine) to pass around. Needless to say, the next day we had a late start to our hike along the huge sea cliffs of Slieve League. We reluctantly bid farewell to Irish countryside and drove back to Belfast to catch the ferry back to Scotland.

Photos from our trip to Ireland with Cubby

At cliffs around Sligo

Cliffs of Mohair

In Dublin with Sam

This is what happens when you have over 5 cups of coffee a day, each one with at least five sugars.

Above are the photos from the post below.

With Cubby in Ireland: October 3-8, 2006

*Experiencing technical difficulties which won't allow us to post photos here. Will try again.

The three of us caught the early morning ferry across to Belfast and headed for the wilds of the west coast. Maps of Ireland are especially deceptive, and what does not seem like a great distance at all, soon translates into long hours of driving, due to the curving and uneven roads. So, the first day was mostly spent in transit. Eventually however, we arrived at our very old farmhouse hostel in the village of Doolin in the Burren. Cubby, who had only just become an official senior citizen that week, spent his first night in a youth hostel. We all loved the spot though, and there were three pubs down the road which were famous for their traditional Irish music.

The next day we resolved to not spend too long in the car, and drove slowly around the very rocky coastal area known as the Burren. We explored the rocky coastline, some old standing stones and tombs, celtic crosses and churches and were met with many a sudden downpour and rainbow. We then walked out to the Cliffs of Mohair, and ended up a bit further South in County Clare at a Thalassotherapy (spa treatments using seawater and/or seaweed) center in Kilkee. We had seaweed baths which warmed and rejuvenated us and went out for a very nice dinner. We stayed at the bath place and set out again for another long day of driving.

We took a short ferry ride into Kerry and drove down to Kilarney, via a stop at a St. Mary’s church to enquire about Culbertson family history. The day was unplanned and long and we had one of those strangle-each-other roadtrip moments around Kilarney. But after more hours in the car and miles and miles of rainy but gorgeous scenery, we managed to regain peace and serenity just as we arrived at the next night’s accommodation, Dzogchen Beara Tibetan Buddhist Retreat.

The Buddhist retreat was magnificently set on a remote part of the Beara Penninsula in South Western Ireland, perched atop cliffs which dropped straight into the atlantic. Our room and the people were there were fantastic and warm. It was a comfortable place to be and we all wanted to spend at least another day. There was no room nor much time however, so we all joined the morning meditation and reluctantly set out the next day for the big smoke of Dublin.

We came into Dublin at dusk and met Sam and Julia for dinner in Sandy Mount Village. Zoe met Sam 8 years ago on a long, roundabout flight to Melbourne during a layover at Dubai airport. They enjoyed many an adventure all together in Melbourne, Tasmania and Japan but hadn’t caught up for a solid seven years. We also got to know Sam’s sterling partner, Julia and Cubby and Sam bonded and spoke Blues-speak to one another. We toured some of Dublin, visiting the book of Kells, walking through Trinity College and Temple Bar and enjoying a vibrant city.

Cubby departed from Dublin airport, leaving behind whole countries of rainbows, sudden showers, a thousand glinting rocks and crags, long stretches of deep green and a youngest daughter with her leperachaun fiancé. There was dinosaur-sized effort and good intentions and a splattering of courage and faith involved in making this trip for my dad so I hope it was more than worth it and all the goodness of travel and connecting or reconnecting with loved ones has spilled over into life in Pennsylvania, lightening his step, quickening his heart, calming his breath. Thanks for all of the effort dad and for your presence.

Cubby’s Visit: September 29- October 8, 2006

Zoe’s dad, Cubby, embarked on a rare overseas trip to visit his daughter, meet Craig’s Scottish family, trace his celtic roots and celebrate his 60th birthday. He flew into Glasgow and took in some authentic Scottish countryside and wet weather on the 2 plus hour drive back down to Southerness. We spent a few days in Southern Scotland, seeing a few quaint villages, a sculpture installation by Andy Goldsworthy, abbey and castle ruins, having a swim and sauna and mostly just hanging out and talking. He passed the first day of his sixth decade at Carlaeverlock Castle, a brilliantly sunny and mild day (which according to Zoe’s superstition where birthday weather corresponds to the upcoming year, was a great omen for him.) In typical Cubby-style, he verbally abused all cats and children below 15, created new and imaginative nicknames for the Robertson family and generated a good deal of laughter. It was lovely to have time and space to spend with my dad and cross our interactions over to a new world. The trip was shared between Scotland and Ireland, hanging out “at home” and later road-tripping.

Family in Southerness: September 20-24

Craig's mum and her friend accompanied us back down to Southerness to see the rest of the family. Not long after she departed we had another visitor, cousin Gary (Cath's older brother) and his wife Jingle, their kids Storm (8) and Fern (6).

Highlands Road Trip: September 12-19, 2006

With a new tire on cousin Cath’s car, Craig and Zoe headed out on a road trip up around Scotland, especially eager to get to know the infamous Highlands.

We first stopped to see Dumbarton Castle, just North of Glasgow. This castle is perched on a towering volcanic rocky island and had some impressive views.

We drove up the side of Loch Lomond, stopping to see some waterfalls and headed over towards Loch Awe to search for a good campsite. We took in the ruins of another magnificent castle and a huge church before finding a little reserve and picnic area to “wild camp” (the Scottish term for camping in the open).

The next day we headed up into the real Highlands of Glencoe and Rannoch Moor, huge hills and valleys trapping cloud and mist all around us. We went on a short hike in the area, walking part of the famous West Highland Way (connecting Glasgow and Fort William). We went up the gorgeous West Coast, enthralled by the views the whole way, and crossed over to the Isle of Skye.

The Isle of Skye boasts some of the highest mountains in the UK and is a magnet for serious climbers and trekkers. We went for a full day hike, not through the big mountains, the Cuillens, as they were shrouded in cloud, but around a big peninsula. The peninsula looked out onto other islands and sheer cliffs dropping into the sea. There were flocks of sheep grazing, which at one point we enjoyed chasing down a big hill, flailing our arms. Also on this peninsula we found some ruins of a building from the iron age. The heavy cloud lifted in the evening to dazzle us with a beautiful sunset complete with a rainbow.

We visited a few castles back on the mainland and peered out over Loch Ness, with no signs of Nessie. On this day we also repaid our traveling karma by picking up a record 6 hitchhikers as we traveled up to Inverness in the North and down into the Caringorms, another mountain range. Next to some serene evening waters of a loch in these mountains we again wild-camped. We even had a chance encounter with an Irish guy out photographing the sunset as we cooked our pasta on the camping stove. He turned out to be a wonderful guy and gave us heaps of great tips for both Scotland and Ireland (the next destination) over dinner together.

We rose at dawn the next morning to see the sunrise over the very misty Loch Morlich. We packed up our tent and went for a few hours hike around the loch. We took lots of back roads, exploring more countryside and searching for another place to wild camp, this time in vain. We ended up frustrated and jumpy as darkness set in, and stayed instead in an inn in a very quaint conservation town.

We explored a few more castles, notably the huge one in Stirling, before driving into Edinburgh to stay with Craig’s relatives, James and Maggi, and meet up with Craig’s mum who was in town for 2 days.

It was great to get a chance to see lots of different parts of Scotland and explore the real Highlands.

Edinburgh Family Reunion: September 18, 2006

Many of Craig’s family gathered for a lunch in Edinburgh, in honor of the Robertson matriarch, Aunt Nita. Aunt Nita is turning 90 in October and we held a sort of early birthday celebration for her. She only recently moved into a nursing home and this was her first outing, to lunch in one of her favorite old haunts. She is a very sharp and fiery woman of great humour and spirits. It was great to have so many Robertsons and Dignalls together, however fleetingly.