jamesq | Scottish Adventurrres 6 - Strome Ferry, Home of the Oxymoronic Sign

I think the night in Strome Ferry was the night we all clicked as a group. It could have been the alcohol (we broke down and finished the whiskey we drank at Dunadd), or it could have been the dip into warm and inviting waters of Loch Carron. Whatever it was, the ice was broken (and not just the ice on the surface of Loch Carron).

Everyone stayed up into the wee hours getting to know each other. It was exactly the sort of quiet social fun that I like. When it got really late, MT, RO, RZ, SH and myself started talking politics. Fun and risky with strangers from other countries. On the bright side, the fact that there were no Americans in the tour meant that we could use them as scapegoats if the discussion got too hot.

Despite a full bottle of Smirnoff ice and a couple whiskey & diet cokes I did not get drunk (a little buzzed maybe). I think I'm actually developing a tolerance for booze. Not sure I like this as it was fairly easy for me to get drunk over the last year.

Who were my fellow travelers? Here is a short bit about all of them:

Me you already know. I'm an evil evil person, known the world over for my Fishermen's Friend smuggling ring and for running with a gang of kitten-jugglers. I also teach babies terms like Cthulhu and Shub-Niggurath.

F was our tour guide. She's worked for WIS for a little over a year and really knew her stuff. She's passionate about her country and it's history, good at her job and just a fun person to be around. In an odd bit of synchronicity, she had a lot of similar experiences, attitudes and gestures similar to

somejauntypolka. Every now and then she'd remind me of

somejauntypolka with just a turn of the head or the cocking of an eyebrow.

JO and RX from Vancouver Canada have been traveling together for about a year, and had only met about 18 months ago. That seems like a short lead time before embarking on this sort of trip to me, but they seemed to get along fine. JO is into noble causes and seems like the stereotypical Kitsilano girl (except that she's actually friendly). She doesn't evangelize her causes though, which was good.

RX was the most stand-offish of the group (aside from KH, who spoke no English), but he was really a great guy once you took the time to get to know him. I suspect he was simply introverted rather then shy.

MT from Winnipeg Canada is the other tour member from the Great White North. He was spending a few months traveling through Europe. He had just come form Amsterdam and was going to go on to Germany. MT was the most fearless of us all. Not in a reckless way, but in a sort of damn-the-torpedos way when it came to doing things that would be fun. His "unicorn of love" in Amsterdam story is not mine to write about (but ask me about it in person some time). I can tell you that he was the mastermind behind crashing some stranger's 40th birthday party in Oban along with others from our group.

NF and HR are both girls from Germany. NF was the more assertive of the two and seemed really fun. HR was shy, but managed to come out of her shell by the end of it. While not being social daredevils they were always up for physical activities like hiking, climbing and diving into freezing, monster-filled, lochs.

SH and KH are brother and sister from China. SH had been studying in Westminister for a business degree and therefore had excellent English. his sister KH on the other hand spoke no English whatsoever (or it least that's what they claimed - I half-expected her to speak perfect English on our last day together. But then, I think that sort of stuff is funny). They were both friendly and willing to share their squid crisps with the others!

RO and his friend RZ are both Dutch (though only one of them lived there. RO currently lives in Ireland while RZ lives and works in Holland). Both work in technology, so we were able to chat about our common geeky experiences.

CF and LF were the oldest in the group (being about ten years older then myself). Married since being High School sweethearts they had one of those marriages that radiates fun and mutual affection. They have two adult sons (I think). WIS has an age guideline: 18-35, since there is a fair amount of exercise involved. I was very happy to see both of them because it meant I wasn't the old guy of the group. They might have been physically the oldest, but these two lived young. They hailed from Perth. The one in Australia.

TD was closest to me in age (but still much younger) and is an avid photographer from Canberra Australia. We teased her a lot because of all the flowers she took pictures of. She was combining the tour with visits to friends and family living in the UK and Germany.

LW was another girl from Australia (I'm not sure of where specifically). I probably chatted with her the least during the trip. No reason really other then I really didn't have too many chances to do so. C'est la vie.