South through Tayside

After our explorations around Inverness and Loch Ness we would have liked to spend some time exploring the Cairngorms on our way back south. In the end we decided that a couple of days of r&r in Perth might be a better idea. We were all feeling a bit fatigued and a day with no packing up, driving and unpacking had some appeal. The drive from Inverness to Perth on the A9 wasn't exactly boring in any case. After travelling over the moors we spent some time exploring the valley of the river Tummel.

Soldiers leap - supposedly a soldier leapt over this chasm to escape pursuers during the Jabobite uprising

We found the fish ladder (and accompanying visitors centre) at Pitlochry interesting. Eric could even sort of remember visiting their when he was a child. The fish ladder allows migrating fish to get around the dam on their way up and down the river.

We took it pretty easy in Perth although Elise took Sam out to an adventure park just north of town. It had mini golf, peddle go-carts and various other entertainments to keep Sam entertained for a few hours.

Comments

Inca Trail day 4

This was the day we would arrive at Macchu Picchu so we awoke with a keen sense of anticipation. To celebrate the last day on the trail, somehow the chef had whipped up an enormous cake which was served after breakfast. After a discussion with Marco about the likely weather over the next two days we agreed that it would be best to tour Macchu Picchu as soon as we arrived in mid afternoon rather than wait until tomorrow. Marco assured us that this would mean less crowds and better weather (he was right). We could see the backside of the mountain above Macchu Picchu in front of us as we started out. Unlike the last two days, today was mainly downhill. We would have to descend about 1,000 meters and judging by the first part of the morning walk, most of this would be on steep and slippery rocky steps. After alternating descents and traversing along steep hillsides through cloud forest and bamboo groves we reached the ruins of Intipata. Intipata was a very...

Vatnajökull National Park

Vatnajökull National Park is a must visit destination for any tourist to Iceland. It's also one of the most inaccessable. The main reason for this inaccessability is that much of the National Park is taken up by the enormous Vatnajökull glacier. So you can't just drive in and walk around. To see the interior of the park (the glacier) you need to make special arrangements - like taking a tour in a Superjeep. We booked a Superjeep tour for our first day at the park which was cancelled due to the inclement weather... However the next day we were definitely ready to see as much as we could and fortunately the tour was back on. Our tour guide was Hungarian but very well informed and we learned a lot about Icelandic culture as well as glaciers and volcanoes. The Jeep we were in had been made by the driver (and some friends) and consisted of part of a Chrysler with another van's back end bolted on and modified engine and gears. It had 54 inch wheels w...

Iceland's wild east coast

The east coast of Iceland attracts a fraction of the tourists and has a fraction of the population of the western side. It really is the place for a remote getaway. The hosts of our farmstay near Egilsstadir moved from Reykjavik to get away from the system and the hectic Reykjavik scene 😊. Their farm certainly epitomised the word remote. Samuel loved the farm, especially playing with the two very friendly and intelligent farm dogs. As with much of Iceland, one of the best ways to spend the time is just driving with plenty of stops for photography - in fact it's hard to make much progress in some scenic areas as the urge to park the car and whip out the camera every few kilometers is overwhelming. This was especially the case on the one long day we spent driving from Egilsstadir to Hofn. We started our journey on yet another overcast morning and almost immediately headed down a rough back road off the ring road in search of a waterfall. We...

EE & S Adventures

Search This Blog