Long We Tossed On The Rolling Main

Friends, Romans, Countrymen...

I'm back in Glasgow! We left Stornoway by ferry at the ungodly hour of 6am this morning and drove and drove and drove through the centre of Scotland to return here, to home, and the chance to repack before I board a plane tomorrow morning for the Emerald Isle.

A few things I'll miss from my time in Stornoway:

1. The sheep!

They're everywhere! Mincing across the road as if they have no idea you're bearing down on them at 50 an hour. Better yet, not even bothering to get up from their afternoon siesta across the double yellow line. Lewis sheep look different from the normal countryside variety. They've got character. And My day will be that much greyer without them.

2. Sailing.

Stornoway is an ocean town. The island has so many seafaring connections it's unbelieveable. There are some seriously beautiful tall ships who come and set anchor here for a few months every year, the fishermen come home each day with the sea lions in their wake and the birds diving overhead, and the locals make amazing yard decor from old buoys and fishing net. A few days ago I had the pleasure of getting to temporarily play skipper aboard a 26' sailboat in the Minch. Several hours of pure bliss skimming before a stiff breeze up the craggy coast towards Harris.

3. The Sunsets.

That's all that needs to be said about them.

So I leave Lewis behind for my next stop, Dublin! Now, at last, after the madness of the Fringe Festival, I can settle down to being a budget traveler and spending as little as possible. But just when I thought it was safe to not go broke, I discover that the city of my destination has decided to host its own Fringe Festival in September.

Bastards!

I'm going to have a hell of a time restraining myself from seeing every show I can lay my grubby little mits on. Luckily I'm not staying long becaue of Laignee!

For Laignee's sake (You'd better still be keeping up with the blog, young lady. It was your idea in the first place.) I am roughing it by bus to the Southern countryside in search of a small bakery bearing her last name. Of course the national bus route to the place has just been cancelled, so I am on a quest to avoid walking the 50kn from Waterford on my own little tootsies by any means necessary. We'll see how that goes.

And then there's the matter of my European Union passport. I haven't been boring you all with the details of my family's trials and tribulations vis a vis the labyrinthine beurocracy inherent in any governmental department responsible for citizenship, because I wouldn't want to inflict that sort of torture on anyone voluntarily. However, the fight has been going on for about three years on and off, and now, when it matters most of all, we're at an impasse.

So some drastic steps have been taken, and some exciting plans have been laid. Like any surprise tactical maneuver, this one has daring advances to places nobody expects, long-lost reuinons with souls given up for lost, secretive documents which must be delivered safely to certain parties, and plenty of time doing battle with the Forces of Nature.

You are all in the dark for now for the sake of your own safety. Information will be dispensed on a need to know basis.

Remember: The codeword is "Badgers." We meet tonight at the sign of the Flummoxed Haggis!

Welcome to the chaos that is my backpack.

Well, here we are.

At the behest of a close friend I've started this blog in an effort to keep all and sundry aware of my doings over the next six months. I've had precious little time between tall ship sailing, packing, and organizing to see all the people I'd like to see in Ojai and the surrounding countryside prior to leaving, but perhaps this will make partial amends. For anyone who wishes to receive postcards and other exciting foreign paraphernalia, feel free to leave a mailing address. It will be included in the next outpouring. I'm currently up to my eyeballs in Things To Do Before I Leave, a daunting noun to say the least.

To bring those unaware of my plans up to speed: I have recently returned from two weeks aboard the beautiful tall ship Lady Washington, love of my life that she is, sailing through the San Juan Islands with a band of beautiful compatriots -- sailors and guests alike -- and am now back home preparing for the following madness. I will be flying out of LAX tomorrow morning and landing in Edinburgh, Scotland on Tuesday the 14th -- smack dab in the midst of the Edinburgh Festival and Fringe Festival. I'll be there for the remainder of the month enjoying theatre, dance, prose, poetry, art, film, and general debauchery, then moving into northern Scotland, down to Ireland, over to London (briefly), then scooting out to Berlin. From there my plans get hazy, but they involve Greece, Italy, France, and Luxembourg (!) in quick order. There may also be a detour to Israel in October, but that remains to be seen at this point. By December I'll be fairly stationary in England and will remain there until January, when I head to the University of Salamanca in Spain for a 10 week course in Spanish Language. I suppose, after that's all done, I'll come home.

Possibly.

Internet may be scarce at times and fees may be exorbitant, but I will try my hardest to update this as frequently as possible with the latest on my adventures. They promise to be quite something. Photos will also make their way here once my camera has arrived in a few weeks.

I am also accepting quests, as they make the traveling much more exciting. These can range from getting a photo of a monument or building you've always wished to see, to delivering cookies to an estranged loved one or long-lost relative. No task is too absurd. It gives me something (fairly) constructive to do with my time.

So that, I suppose, is that. Any contact from home will appreciated and enjoyed, either through comments here, emails, boxes of candy, letters, small animals, etc etc etc. The most reliable way for things to reach me by mail will be to send them to my house, where my parents will be the most well-informed about where I can collect mail from next. Just address the envelope to me at 727 s. La Luna ave. Ojai, CA 93023 and all should be well.

And now the cavernous mouth of my backpack opens wide like the very jaws of Beelzebub, enticing me to pour my belongings into its maw and begin the process of taking everything I own into the world on my shoulders. See also: Packing.

Until next time,
Lucy