Sailing in Scotland - Part 1

This trip was scheduled almost on impulse, just six weeks in advance. I felt I was settling down to aging in place, and I really wanted to show myself I can still get out there and do things. I picked a sailing trip knowing it would be both physically challenging as well as mentally so. Traveling alone requires me to use a lot of gumption to avoid cowering by myself in my room while regretting missing out, in order to avoid dealing with strangers. I actually really like traveling alone most of the time - I enjoy the actual trip, time on the airplane (never try to talk to me on an airplane, I'm in my self-absorbed bubble), wandering around a strange place looking at things, all on my own schedule and at my own pace. But where it falls apart is meal times - I find it difficult to go into a nice restaurant on my own, especially for dinner. I've found being totally on my own for about three days is my limit. I've also found active, small group travels can be much easier, with interaction around activities coming naturally, and group meals planned. Hence the small ship cruise.

The cruise was on the west coast of Scotland, but I found there is a non-stop flight from here to Edinburgh (in the east of Scotland), and I hadn't been to that city as an adult, so that's how I went. I went over a day early, to allow for disruptions and to start to adjust to the time difference, as well as to simply see the city. I checked out the extensive network of trains and buses in Scotland, to verify I could get to the start and back from the end of my voyage via public transport. Infrastructure, people! It really is nice!

Edinburgh's Royal Mile, from the top deck of a bus

I booked two nights in a hotel that was near the central train station, and not coincidentally near the end of the airport bus and tram lines. I paid extra for an early checkin, and I was able to go directly from my flight to a bus to my hotel room, schlepping my bags only a couple of blocks. I had spent time with maps, guidebooks, and Tripadvisor beforehand, so with a brief refresher at the hotel I ventured out. First I bought my train tickets to get to and from the boat, and then I wandered around. Unknown to me when I planned the trip, Edinburgh has nonstop festivals of all kinds the entire month of August - comedy, theatre, music, fringe, art, drag, on and on, at around a million different venues around the city. It was packed with people! But there is compact area with the history and other sites, and I spent several hours on my feet checking it all out. Sadly, the castle atop a hill in the center of city was completely sold out of tickets, so I just wandered nearby instead. A mid-afternoon pub lunch (steak pie, chips, and beer) fixed me up with food for the day. By early evening, I was ready to crash and didn't regret it.

I was intrigued by this spiral building - never figured it out
Lots of hills in Edinburgh, views all over

The next day, I started with following a self-guided walking tour in a different part of the city, with breakfast at an interesting restaurant along the way. Last year, I fell in love with the Irish breakfast, especially the sausages. I was pretty sure the Scottish versions would be similar. But I went for something a little different. I was so glad I did - it was the best restaurant meal of the trip! Dashoon is a South Asian restaurant that offers breakfast. I got sausage and fried egg in a freshly made naan with sweet chili sauce with fruit sides- yum! and I chatted pleasantly with the waiters and the folks at adjoining tables.

One of the joys of my centrally located hotel (which was otherwise no more than ok) was the ability to keep swinging back to take a break before venturing back out. I was able to pace myself nicely. After my walking tour, I ended up back in the room for a bit, and then bought a ticket for the circular hop-on-hop-off bus, which started across the road from the hotel. I got up on the front seat of the top of the double-decker bus and rode the whole 90 minute route. After another bathroom break at the hotel, I used my same ticket to ride to the interesting furthest away stop and made my way back slowly, pausing at a street art show, some shops, and in the late afternoon, a pub for fish and chips and beer. I ate outside, and stopped at a pastry shop on my way back to the room for a scone for a sweet treat before bed. With 12,000 steps the first day, and 15,000 the second, I felt I had done sufficient exploring of Edinburgh and could skip night life to get more sleep with no regrets about not having done more.

The next day was some tricky logistics, juggling the hotel checkout time, train schedules, and the requirement to show up at 7 pm - and not before - at the ship at a dock in a small town the other side of Glasgow, where I had to change trains. The weather in Edinburgh had been gorgeous, but was forecast to have intermittent showers all day on the west coast, so I didn't want to spend a lot of time touring on foot outdoors with my heavy bags. 

I ended up taking a train to Glasgow right at the hotel checkout time. The ride was uneventful - except it was crowded - there were some people standing without seats. The route lay through suburbs and a bit of gentle farm country - nothing dramatic. I had to exit the platform into the main station to change trains, and I had figured out the ticket was good for any connecting train to my destination. I decided to spend my extra few hours in Glasgow rather than the tiny port town of Greenock. I walked around the city a little bit, but the weather wasn't great and my bags were heavy, so I reverted to the train station waiting room. I watched on the schedule board as a series of trains to Greenock departed - every half hour - as I read my book. I finally got on a train and took the short ride to the small town, where I debarked onto an empty platform (with no enclosed station) in a light drizzle. I had to walk more than a mile to the ship, with my heavy backpack and tote bag. More than halfway there, I stopped at the only open business along the route, a McDonalds (how appropriate! Scotch food!). I was still ahead of schedule, so I lingered over a diet coke, appreciating the caffeine and a chance to sit down.

Finally, the ship!

Finally, I headed to the ship. It was clearly visible from a distance - a classic square-rigged sailing ship, not to be confused with anything else. I connected with my fellow passengers also arriving, and finally, right at 7, we boarded and were greeted by the crew. After a very brief tour of the ship with some safety instructions, we were shown to our cabins (I had one to myself as the ship wasn't full). Dinner at 8, where introductions were made, a lovely meal was served, and we were told breakfast was at 8 and we would be sailing right after that. 

(Next: actually sailing!)