Today is Sunday and a day of rest for us both. The weather is a bit windy and rainy, and so
far this morning we’ve been content to stay inside and do reading, knitting,
and computing.
We drove yesterday from Inverness to our next stay. The morning was bring and sunny, so the views
were wonderful. TomTom took us on a
secondary back road (really Tom, the fastest route???) but the single lane
roads, twists, and turns were worth it because of the views. We took so many pictures the battery in the
camera went dead. A sampling of our photos:
About the time we got to Fort Augusta things took a turn for
the “Rats” factor. First of all we
didn’t stay long (town is at the Caledonian Canal and rather scenic) because
it’s the beginning of summer holidays for many Scots and the beginning of peak
tourism and a Saturday. The town was
jammed with cars, buses, and people.
On our way out of town the traffic was intense, and though a
two lane road it was quite narrow… I mean when the buses and trucks go by,
their inner tires are on the center line, so one must move over. I did and our tires slipped off the pavement
onto the shoulder which at that point dropped several inches off the road. Boom… we heard and felt the tire blow! Went some yards further hoping for a pull-off,
but none in view so we had to stop… hazards on and trunk open we assessed the
damage. As I got things out of the trunk
a lady stopped to see if we needed assistance.
At that point I thought I could do it OK so she went on. Then as I started to try and remove the tire
and was failing, Kathy stopped a car to see if we could use a phone to call for
help… turns out they were from California!
Two men in the car and their wives (short story) with their help (doing
90%) we changed the tire, while the women struggled with a useless call to
Hertz. Meanwhile Kathy was having
trouble getting phone help, so Kathy flagged down another car, this time a
Scotsman, who was very kind and helpful getting phone numbers of local
garage. Another car, driven by a doctor,
also stopped to ask if anyone needed medical care. All this while we were blocking one lane of
the narrow two-lane road, so traffic was backing up in either direction! All in all it could have been much worse; we
are extremely thankful for the help we received.
So, shaken and much delayed and driving on a spare (not a
doughnut but restrictive on speed) we drove on to Fort William and Oban. The road was busy and twisty, and the blowout
added to the stress of UK driving. In
Oban the scene was Saturday shopping and tourism madness. We found a parking spot (miracle) and Kathy
went to a wool shop while I went to the phone shop and did what we should have
done in Shetland… bought a throwaway phone to use in emergency (which we hope
will now be totally not needed!). Then
groceries and on to our hideout for this week.
I took a double dram when we got here!
After we unpacked and rested, we took a short drive around
the area, since it’s new to us. We were
north of here in 2008 but hadn’t explored this particular area. It is quite lovely, with lots of hills,
walking trails, and plenty of sea coast with islands in view. We will do some exploring but also do plenty
of reading and walking. First order of
business today or tomorrow is calling Hertz and getting a replacement
tire. We will also express outrage that
the phone # for help in case of breakdown which is so prominently displayed on
the window was answered by an answering machine; the second number given was
answered by someone who transferred Kathy to Scotsdale, Ariz after she told her
we were in Scotland. Sigh.
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