Scotland
At 5:30 PM on 10 February we tied up at the jetty (48 Yorkhill quay) in Glasgow. We’d made it as far up the river as possible given the size of the ship.
As soon as we cleared customs we were off the ship and standing on Scottish soil! The first thing we did was head for a phone and call home. The one thing you miss the most when you go to sea is your family. And while there are radios and even satellite telephones on our ships, we usually do not call home as it only makes the trip seem to last longer. This was the exception to the rule!
After a chat with our wives and children, we made our way to down town Glasgow. We spent the evening wandering around, finding out where things were and planning places to go the next day. We were only scheduled to be in port a day or two at the most, so plans of venturing very far from the ship couldn’t be made. As it turned out, we ended up staying four days due to delays in repairs. However, all we ever could plan on was 24 hours in advance.
On Sunday, 12 February, we went over to Edinburgh on the train. We weren’t due to sail until Monday, so it was a chance to see Scotland’s capital city and all the historic sights that go with it. Edinburgh is just about an hour from Glasgow by train. It is divided into two parts, Old Town, which dates to the 16th century, and New Town, built from the 18th century on. We went through Edinburgh Castle and walked the Royal Mile from the castle down to The Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is now an official residence of the British Monarchy. This is all part of Old Town. After that, we spent the rest of the day just walking around New Town.
One of the scientists (Dr. Peter Jones) was a bit of a historian and had been to Edinburgh before. He acted as a sort of tour guide for the rest. By the end of the day, most of us were starting to tell the difference between Victorian and Georgian architecture. I recall being quite impressed with myself when I acquired this skill.
Unfortunately, I lost this talent a few days later. Maybe it had something to do with the vapours from the fine single malt in the whiskey factory several of us went through. For while Scotland is a fantastic country and both Glasgow and Edinburgh are impressive cities, there are periods during our stay that are a bit foggy and hard to recall. Son of a Gun! What more can I say, other than echo the old saying that “a good time was had by all.” And it was. Absolutely.
On Tuesday, 14 February at 3:00 PM we pulled away from the jetty and started making our way down the Clyde and back out to sea. And while we left Scotland with a tear in our eye, we took with us not only tweeds, tartans and sweaters, but memories that will last a lifetime. Even the foggy ones are not dimmed by the hospitality and friendly welcome we, from Nova Scotia (New Scotland), received from the people of Old Scotland.
Last updated on Thursday, 12 April 2007