Salisbury, Scotland and taking charge

23/8 - It never fails.

Every time I get close to leaving a city, I make more friends and meet fascinating people, e.g. Joanna. She has great travel advice so I'll miss her. 

We took a random day trip to Salisbury on Saturday, and that included seeing the massive Salisbury Cathedral. However, I wasn't impressed because the Duomo di Milano has made all other cathedrals look ordinary. But it was still fun to go to coffee and tea shops and buy fruit at a discounted rate from farmers who were packing their truck for the evening. 

This is the twilight stage of my year in Europe, and it's bittersweet. I don't really want to leave, but I do at the same time. I took full advantage of this opportunity, and I go back to California a different person from the nervous kid who arrived in Poole on Sept. 13, 2014, worried about the distance from Corfe house to campus and the prospect of being in debt. The person who returns to California has been infected with the chronic sickness of insatiable travel and the need to explore this world. 

We made it to Glasgow, Scotland after driving about 460 miles. This'll be another wacky adventure, as this time there are four of us and two dogs: Rocky and fellow bull terrier Lancelot. They haven't met properly yet, as they have been kept on opposite ends of the car because Rocky goes all Rocky Balboa when another dog is near. 

But in the car it's me, Danny, Viral and Sammy. Since Viral is Indian, he's never had a dog before and doesn't know how to approach being around a dog. He doesn't understand the joys of dog ownership. Luckily for him, Rocky sat on his lap for four hours in the front seat while Viral awkwardly stroked his head and asked questions about dogs in general, such as whether some breeds are more dangerous than others. 

Sammy is from Guatemala and is a very quirky guy who makes random sounds and blurts out unexpected and hilarious phrases. So this means there are three people in the car who speak Spanish. Poor Viral. 

24/8 - There were challenges when Danny and I went on the road trip to Italy because of Rocky. Those challenges have multiplied 4.6 times with the addition of Lancelot, and it really has made for a quirky cast of characters on this trip. This is because Rocky is so unpredictable when other dogs are near, and there have been a few times he has become completely stressed out. 

When you visit Scotland, you realize how different it is to the rest of the UK. The Scots hate the English, and they take extreme offense when you confuse them with the English. In fact they almost voted in favor of independence from the UK last September with a 51-49 % vote. We were lucky we have some Scottish friends to show us around Glasgow, and you know you're in Scotland when you can only understand about a quarter of what your barber is saying during a haircut because the accent is so strong. 

We visited Loch Lomond today, and here it was demonstrated how difficult to decide on anything while traveling with a group like this. 

"What do you guys want to do? This or that?

"I don't care." 

Sometimes you just gotta take charge. So I decided to hire a kayak for £15 an hour, and that turned to be the smartest decision of the trip so far. It was thrilling to row across the Loch. It was soul-cleansing to row across completely still water in silence, to be splashed with cold water as one end of the oar went overhead. There were no motorboats, only the jagged hills around the loch, one of which was concealed in a cloud. For Viral, who had never used a kayak before, he was ecstatic because it was easy and fun. Who needs drugs when you have this kind of scenery in the world?

We made it to one of the islands in the loch, across from the village of Luss. We had it to ourselves, and of course because what else would you possibly do on the shore of a lake, we began to skip rocks. I have no idea how long the row to the island took (25 minutes?) but all I know is that it was immensely satisfying to accomplish something like that, aware of only how one end of the oar enters the water the most efficient way possible to push the kayak forward. It was something so simple yet so powerful in that you become awed by the natural beauty of the area. It's this kind of adventure you live for; this is what life is about, not sitting in a cubicle or working a job you strongly dislike just because it brings income.

But I was telling a friend today how beneficial it is to completely uproot yourself and move to an unknown location. If you're not scared by what you're doing, your goal is not big enough. 

25/8 - I strongly dislike traveling in a group, especially with people who don't get up and running before noon. It's so difficult and frustrating to be a part of this lethargy. Get your ass up and go.

27/8 - I lost my cool with Danny and Sammy on Tuesday. If you want to get somewhere far away, you have to leave the hotel earlier than 12:30 p.m. Don't be surprised that things are closed when you arrive after 6 p.m.

Danny's Scottish friend and Glasgow native Charlene went with us to Loch Ness, so I hopped in the car with her, hoping to get away from the other three. I'm glad I did because I was able to learn more about Scotland from a Scot, including why Scotland wants independence from the UK. We drove nearly 150 miles through Perth, Cairngorms National Park, the Highlands and eventually into Inverness. From there we headed back south and straight to Loch Ness. The Highlands are beautiful, as they're tinged with purple from all of the heather. And when the sun escapes the clouds, the purple and green colors are vibrant.

We stopped in a village about halfway down the Loch, and all of us stayed in one room. That's seven of us, and the management were OK with all of us using it, as long as the dogs didn't mess anything up. And since we knew some of the group wouldn't be ready for a while, Viral and I got breakfast early in the morning and then went for a hike. There's something greatly refreshing about walking through the woods during gentle rain that makes everything wet and smell fresh.

We drove to Edinburg and spent a few hours there, and everyone agreed it is a beautiful city. Luckily, it was easier to drive in the center compared to Milan, though still hectic. We drove to Arthur's Seat, a large hill overlooking the city, and when the car was stopped, I didn't ask for anyone's opinion; I immediately began to climb the hill. It was so satisfying to get to that wind-lashed top. It was a fantastic idea of Danny's. But after driving for 625 miles through curvy, dark roads perfect for a motorcycle while blasting house and metal music, we're back in Poole. I need to get this dissertation done and we had to return the car.

Viral actually drove for an hour in the middle of the night, but it was his first time driving in this country, and I suspect first time ever. He didn't understand which lane to drive in or how fast he should have been going. His driving was more effective for waking me up than Red Bull. 

And with that, the trip to Scotland is over and done with. We decided not to visit Ireland because the ferry was too expensive. The next time I visit, I'll hike the Highlands and go to the Isle of Skye; it looks otherworldly in pictures. If there's one thing I learned from this trip, it's that you can't control when others decide to wake up and get moving. If you want to do something, you gotta take charge and make it happen. Indecisiveness murders adventure. 

I found a quote during our stay in Glasgow that will remain with me forever. It's something that should always be kept in mind for an adventure: 

Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.

Charlene, Danny, Rocky, Viral and Sammy