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We were headed to the home of our friends Gino and Fiona (Gino' Travels) whom we had met in 2013 in Panama. We had actually first met on line in 2011 and have been corresponding since then. They welcomed us into their home and then took us out for dinner with a view of the Fourth rail bridge and the sunset.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/292/18...e405ce13be.jpgEdinbourgh 10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/467/18...03df4f8a7d.jpgEdinbourgh 9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/323/18...ebd18c3bdd.jpgEdinbourgh 8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Haggis
Back in the city we had traditional Haggis dinner with Fi’s family. Gino did the address to the Haggis by Robert Burns. It starts out like…
Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the puddin'-race! Aboon them a' ye tak yer place, Painch, tripe, or thairm: Weel are ye wordy o' a grace As lang's my airm. Nice seeing your honest, chubby face, Great chieftain of the sausage race! Above them all you take your place, Belly, tripe, or links: Well are you worthy of a grace As long as my arm. https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/319/18...bf0231b5c5.jpgEdinburgh 36 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/386/18...2ed3b00756.jpgEdinburgh 42 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/521/18...50b9f458f9.jpgEdinburgh 43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
A tour of Edinburgh
The next day we had a chauffeured tour of the city including a short walk up Arthur’s Seat, a drive by the castle, and some fresh oysters at the Café Royale.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/452/17...94e2b88b1f.jpgEdinburgh 52 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/317/18...5ba680c906.jpgEdinburgh 46 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/447/18...1d573e096f.jpgEdinburgh 47 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/320/18...682578172c.jpgEdinburgh 48 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/318/18...c20d73f23c.jpgEdinburgh 50 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/294/18...d8f5e1b372.jpgEdinburgh 53 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/445/17...a781c4d62c.jpgEdinburgh 54 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/438/18...753dfa5551.jpgEdinburgh 56 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/379/18...347ec0b452.jpgEdinburgh 59 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/440/18...4676e955c2.jpgEdinburgh 60 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/456/18...462a30a242.jpgEdinburgh 65 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/358/18...21e51bae09.jpgEdinburgh 66 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/446/17...4183beb53d.jpgEdinburgh 68 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/268/18...60d61e4e3e.jpgEdinburgh 69 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/319/17...bc4f333374.jpgEdinburgh 70 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Canadian Club
Gino’s post Canadian Club
Excerpt Canadian Club After a bleak week at work I decided to call a holiday on Friday to welcome our friends Dan and Sara (World Wide Ride) to our humble abode on Friday. I must say it was weird, here are two fellow travellers (still travelling unlike us!) who we first met for a beer in Panama rolling up to Casa Rondelli on the same bikes. We met them again in Vancouver when Sara was back working for a short while and Dan was…..enjoying himself. Really great to have them in our home for a few days, Friday we took them to Queensferry to see the famous Forth rail bridge which of course they hadn’t heard of. My god, what passes for education in the colonies these days? Neither had they heard of Moniaive so we headed to this bustling metropolis to the sidecar rally, Fiona bravely sitting in the chair whist a complete lunatic piloted it (me). Great time at the rally, worth a mention was the punk / ska bands whose average age was higher than mines, great crack and excessive drinking. As we took off on Sunday, I tried the crash ability of the outfit by driving directly into some dustbin’s at the side of the road, unknown to me Dan had been up early in the morning and put a huge magnet in one of them to attract the chair to it, minor adjustments alter we were on our way having brightened up everybody’s Sunday morning (except Fiona as she was still in the chair) Another party night Sunday with Fi’s family visiting, and then a high speed chauffeured tour of Edinburgh on Monday with Fi in the driving seat looking after us. I have to say I reluctantly climbed a mountain as well, I survived without oxygen or a Sherpa to help me and now I can claim to have climbed a small part of Arthurs seat. Lunch in the town and then a superb dinner at Bert and Laurenne’s house topped off a great weekend. A struggle to keep focused at work today but luckily tomorrow we are off to Ireland for the Norton International Rally, life can be hard. If you spot a couple of homeless Canadians this week on their BMW’s (the giveaway is the British Colombia numberplates) say hi, the tall blokey one is Dan and the petite girly one is Sara, they’ll be visiting a monument near you soon. The Pedersen’s arrive, both with nice new Bumot panniers https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/323/18...e0ec5de5_z.jpga1 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Dan’s first ever Irn Bru https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/537/18...5bf6ae68_z.jpga2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr It seemed to affect his riding style somewhat https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/531/18...b83f8b63_z.jpga3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Fi was sitting backwards in the sidecar taking these, very brave. https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/442/18...a64a4d7c_z.jpga4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The ladies after climbing the mountains https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/327/18...9c4c56a5_z.jpga9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Kelpies
Today we are starting out on the Gino Rondelli tour of Scotland. The first day’s campsite is in the town of Aberfelty in 85 miles, but there is a lot to see on the way.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8854/1...808a16277e.jpgScreen Shot 2015-05-27 at 5.50.16 PM by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The first stop was in the town of Falkirk to see the 30 meter tall Kelpies. A Kelpie is a shape-shifting water spirit that is said to inhabit the lochs and pools of Scotland. It is usually said to appear as a horse, but can also adopt human form. These Structures flank the lock here are it would be quite something to come thru here in your boat. https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/531/17...7428d21d03.jpgaberfeldt 1 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/329/18...fa7700cbee.jpgaberfeldt 2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/261/18...d29e8a4a88.jpgaberfeldt 3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/453/18...29c7339108.jpgaberfeldt 4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/501/18...4d324cdb4d.jpgaberfeldt 8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/371/17...4666bfbb7a.jpgaberfeldt 11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Falkirk Wheel
From here it is a short drive to the Falkirk wheel. This is a rotating boatlift that connects the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union canal. It opened in 2002 to reconnect the canals for the first time since the 1930’s.The wheel raises boats by 24 meters (79 ft), but the Union Canal is still 11 meters (36 ft) higher than the aqueduct, which meets the wheel. Boats must also pass through a pair of locks between the top of the wheel and the Union Canal. The Falkirk Wheel is the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/440/17...9799cd5092.jpgaberfeldt 12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/333/18...285eeed68f.jpgaberfeldt 13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/414/18...68b0c0953f.jpgaberfeldt 15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/363/18...3f5c3e5738.jpgaberfeldt 16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/472/18...d83baf63c8.jpgaberfeldt 19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
National Wallace Monument
The tour continues with a drive by of the Stirling Castle and then onto the Wallace Monument. The tower stands on the volcanic Abbey Craig, from which William Wallace was said to have watched the gathering of the army of King Edward I of England just before the battle of Stirling Bridge. You can climb the 246-step spiral staircase to the viewing gallery inside the monument's crown.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/256/17...75d9e5f217.jpgaberfeldt 21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/325/18...288cb25491.jpgaberfeldt 22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/539/18...6ac03ef881.jpgaberfeldt 23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/397/18...4b3c1bec0d.jpgaberfeldt 24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/346/17...26673837e7.jpgaberfeldt 25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/271/18...e757dec815.jpgaberfeldt 27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
From here we got onto some of the small roads to wind our way into Aberfelty. We got off easy with just a cloudy day and no rain for camping.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/543/17...586e811d5d.jpgaberfeldt 32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/467/18...32dcc22eb3.jpgaberfeldt 33 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/360/18...ce1c5db0ed.jpgaberfeldt 34 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The destination today is the long way to Strontian in 126 miles.
https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7779/1...347c5713c7.jpgScreen Shot 2015-05-27 at 5.52.57 PM by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The route is up and around the Loch Tummel and then back around Loch Tay. https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/491/17...3128ef6dd7.jpgstrontiam 1 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/315/17...b648715cef.jpgstrontiam 2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The rain started around Killin and got worse and worse.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/347/17...cea4352d19.jpgstrontiam 4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/377/18...283955e4a3.jpgstrontiam 5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/314/18...d907b55edc.jpgstrontiam 6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Despite this the views over the pass on the A82 in to Glencoe were amazing. https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/460/18...e01856a3_c.jpgstrontiam 11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/299/18...2cdf564d_c.jpgstrontiam 12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/482/18...8a0d50c1_c.jpgstrontiam 13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/387/18...0dee2cd1_c.jpgstrontiam 14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/470/17...5cca40a4_c.jpgstrontiam 15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/488/18...40b2eff1_c.jpgstrontiam 16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/542/17...39bf6b1b_c.jpgstrontiam 17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
From here we got the ferry to Strontian. It was still pouring and options are very limited here. We finally found a hotel with a room, but it was a bit like being in a twighlight zone episode. There were only 3 guests in the large hotel and the owner was drunk at dinner and at breakfast.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/538/18...41d1b895_c.jpgstrontiam 18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Despite the continued rain we had to leave the atmosphere here. Our plan was to get to the westernmost point in the continental UK and to the Commando memorial near Fort William.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8893/1...a55ea8f15a.jpgScreen Shot 2015-06-06 at 9.38.27 PM by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
passing places
The road here is single lane with passing places and may actually have been some of the most dangerous driving we have done because of the speed of the oncoming cars on the corners.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/423/18...c981e72f_c.jpgfort william 1 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/262/18...159b38a0_c.jpgfort william 2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/535/18...dc5bb89b_c.jpgfort william 3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Ardnamurchan
We continued down the single-track road along the coast until we reached the most western point of the Continental UK at Ardnamurchan Point. Here there is a lighthouse and you can see the Wee Isles of Rhum, Eigg, and Muk, which are important to us since Sara’s sister actually lives on “Rhum and Eigg Drive” at home!
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/458/18...651a760e_c.jpgfort william 6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/384/18...8f4e0175_c.jpgfort william 9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/479/18...5480630a_c.jpgfort william 10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/399/18...da9e51f7_c.jpgfort william 11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/407/18...ce0e6ba4_c.jpgfort william 12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/409/18...b4519792_c.jpgfort william 14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/459/18...7e266691_c.jpgfort william 15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/550/18...e0b59555_c.jpgfort william 17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/445/18...89848c0f_c.jpgfort william 18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/374/18...947fa04f_c.jpgfort william 19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
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