I spent my last three days in Scotland travelling with Gabrielle to the absolutely breathtaking Isle of Skye in Northern Scotland. It was the perfect way to end my semester and reminded me just how much I love the country. We went on the trip with a tour group of 16 people, an international crew mostly in their fifties and sixties. We spent the first day driving up to Skye, stopping every so often in small towns to walk around and to take in viewpoints of the rolling hills and the vast amount of green. Our guide was a talkative, friendly guy named Paul who had worked in finance all of his life and then decided that he was tired of it and switched to being a tour guide of the most beautiful part of Scotland. What a life! The ride on to the actual island of Skye was perfect. We crossed an incredible bridge over the ocean and suddenly we were on the road surrounded by mountainous and gorgeous scenery. Once we actually reached Skye, all you could see for miles was nature. As I am always visiting cities, it’s been a while since all I have been surrounded by is grass, dirt, and silence. I can’t even express how serene it was to be in Skye, and how nice it is to see that an island like this has been preserved. We stayed in the small village of Portree. It was right on the water and we had a gorgeous view of docked boats and the sunset. There was a smell of fish and chips permeating the air and a small, beach town feel. For the next couple of days we heard stories of the mysteries of Skye and the surrounding areas—how fairies once lived on the Island, how a stream contained magic for a good love life, and how the Loch Ness monster (Nessie) may actually be real. We took tons of pictures of the landscape and officially decided that we were going to become ambassadors of Scotland. Skye was so different than Edinburgh, yet both have hidden beauty and a feeling of comfort and of home. As my final trip rounding out my semester, it made me think about how I was going to miss Scotland, and, once again, how lucky I was to be living in such a beautiful place.
