THE JOURNEY CONTINUES: Scotland & Switzerland
We had a great time in Oz catching up with family and friends and of course being there for the arrival of our first grandson. I had to wrench him away from Penny when it was time to leave!
We have just arrived back in Turkey and were pleased to find that the boat had weathered the winter well. Except for a little dust in the sail lockers the boat was in excellent shape. Although it does help when the boat yard had done a lot of the hard work – antifouling and polishing the hull in preparation of the launch next Monday
The rally reunion in the highlands of Scotland was sensational. There was an incredible turn out with over 60 people making the effort. There were crews from Canada, Sweden, Norway, Germany, France and Spain all descending on the little hamlet of Cannich.
Donald and Sue our hosts have such a beautiful place set in the magnificent hills of Glen Affric, described as the most beautiful glen in Scotland. It is located 30 miles south west of Inverness. Although it is a working farm they get most of their revenue from letting out the cottages and chalets to holiday makers and they had reserved the whole complex for the rally (check out the pictures go to www.tomich-holidays.co.uk).The week was taken up with clay pigeon shooting, archery, fly fishing, walking, riding and of course lots of drinking and reminiscing past sailing exploits.
From Scotland we flew to Switzerland to catch up with Emily in Verbier. Considering the season was nearly over we still got some great skiing in. The snow for that time of the year was excellent although a lot of the lifts had been shut down we still managed to explore a large part of the mountain. The weekend we were there they had a speed skiing competition on. This consists of mad people dressing up in red rubber suits and aerodynamic helmets, pointing their 3 metre skis down the steepest slope on the mountain. As the snow was a little bit sticky they only managed speed of 190 kilometres per hour – speed of 250 kilometres can be achieved- totally mad.
Emily and her boyfriend Jack organized free accommodation, right in the centre of Verbier, in one of the hotels that had shut for the season. Their “local knowledge” also helped when it came to eating out and visiting the local bars where we got our fair share of complimentary drinks. Not a bad thing considering how expensive Verbier is.
