Ullapool, Scotland

🎶🎶 I’ll take the high road and you take the low road and I’ll be in Scotland before you 🎶🎶🎶

We were back in Scotland again, docked at a little village called Ullapool on the northwestern side of the country. Why we were here is a $24 question; because as we discovered, there is absolutely nothing here, especially since we are here on a Sunday and most places are not open. So let me back up and give you some information about our day.

We were due to arrive into Ullapool at noon, which means it was a workday for us this morning.  Class turn out was a bit light. Since this was only our second session, it is really difficult to get any continuity going. Hopefully, when we have segments where there are more sea days than we can have a more cohesive program.

The powers that be on the ship decided that there should be unhosted bridge every few days even if we are in port. Michael decided he would stay behind to make sure everything went as planned. He was the lucky one! I got to escort and today’s trip was exhausting.

So what is it like to escort when things don’t work out right? Well, it’s like herding cats. We went to this little village where nothing was open except the grocery store and one gift shop. It was not quaint, it was not cute, it was not charming.  Why the hell were we here? I finally get 32 out of 34 passengers on board and cannot find the last two. I spent quite a bit a time going back-and-forth looking for these people, who finally show up 15 minutes late, and didn’t even apologize for keeping the rest of the 32 passengers waiting. I had another passenger in the seat behind me tell me “well if they can be late then we can be late too.”  So rude!

I have since clarified with the excursions manager that we wait no longer than 15 minutes. And I am going to stick to that! Then we made what we call a photo stop, which is generally 10 minutes. Now the person who said he can be late too, said 10 minutes wasn’t enough because by the time we get off the bus it’s already past 10 minutes. I am trying to round up the people because it is time to go because all they had to do was take one picture and that was it. This idiot felt he had the right to go and hike and visit and explore; at this point I told him if he wanted to do that he needed to take a private tour where he could take all the time he wanted.

Then to top things off, I finally get the bus loaded and the bus driver refused to drive because he said there was another bus in the way. I said to him why don’t you back it up and then make a three point turn, at which point he very sarcastically said “if that’s what you want to do why don’t you try backing it up.”  So I went to the bus driver that was blocking the road and asked him to move and he said he would move. I then went back to our driver and told him to drive!  All in a day’s work.

Whew! So what did I think about the Highlands of Scotland?  It was vast with rocky hills and grassy valleys. There are 10 sheep per person, and the sheep here are bred for meat not wool. There is very little civilization, just hills, lakes, grassy valleys and sheep. It is very green and remote.  We stopped to see a castle, or what was left of it, but I have no idea who what where or when because our guide had no clue either. All in all I have to say this was not one of the better excursions I have been on although the countryside was nice to see. And it didn’t rain!

Corn and lobster chowder for lunch