3 Isles Tour!

On this day, Topo and I embarked on the Caledonian MacBrayne and began our day of travel to the Isle of Mull, Isle of Iona and Staffa Island! 

First stop was to the Isle of Mull where we got on a bus for around 40 mins to arrive at the ferry terminal to get to the Isle of Iona 

The Isle of Mull was absolutely stunning with incredibly scenic landscapes. On the way back Topo and I managed to get the first row of seats on the top deck of the bus and boy was that a treat!!

This was in the Isle of Iona. It was my least favourite of the 3 but was still quaint and pretty

Hairy Coos!!

 

We then got on a speed boat to Staffa Island! It was the most unique island I have ever seen with rocks in the shape of columns/pillars that make up the island

Look how angular the rocks are!

Puffins reside on this island! 

So adorable! My only memory of puffins is from the Puffin Books publisher 

We then got back to the Isle of Mull to drive back to the ferry terminal where the Caledonian MacBrayne was docked to then bring us back to Oban

Front seat views!!

I took a couple of time-lapses and they were amazing 

Topo and I both had a falafel burger with chips (we had too much chips this trip) on the restaurant on the ferry and arrived in Oban at around 8pm. 

We caught our last sunset in Oban and watched Beauty and the Beast that evening and I love Emma Watson's singing voice!!! 

The next day was a very wet day - the perfect day to leave Oban. Topo and I spent £10 on a seal colony boat trip but we only managed to see 1 seal and so that was really disappointing. We felt like we were cheated as we were suspecting that the boat crew would've known when the seals would be resting on the rocks yet they still took us out. but oh wells 

We then had Thai for food lunch at Spice World (the same place we had takeaway dinner on our first night here) and I had the best red curry with naan that I have ever had !!!! I was tempted to get it again for dinner for the train ride back to Edinburgh but I was too full :( But just thinking about it is making my mouth water !! We then got the train at 6:11pm and got back home at 11:15pm! 

This trip to Oban was so wonderful and I love how everyday was a day packed with exploring nature and witnessing the grand landscapes that exists on this crazy beautiful Earth!! 

But though traveling is fun and exciting, it always feels so good to be back in Edinburgh ♥

Fort William (⼭)

The next day, Topo and I took a day trip to Fort William, a town in the Scottish Highlands and home to Ben Nevis, UK's highest peak! But we weren't there to conquer Ben Nevis though we had initial plans to as after researching more into it, we decided it was too advanced hahaha 

We got on the 918 bus from Oban at 9:30am and arrived at Fort William an hour and a half later! After getting lunch at a salad bar at Morrisons (a great find as it was so delicious and filling! oh we also topped it with vegan ham that we found :) ) we headed for the Cow Hill circuit that was recommended to us by the travel centre. 

The views were incredible :')) 

Again I cannot begin to describe how amazing it felt to trek through these landscapes. It is a feeling like no other. It's just you and the untouched wilderness :') You can feel so insignificant amongst the majestic gigantic hills and mountains but at the same time feel like you've got a strong presence (can't describe but it's a crazy wonderful feeling!!)

This has got to be one of my most favourite treks I have done! 

We got the 5pm bus back to Oban and had a crazy unhealthy dinner of fish and chips (for Topo) and a deep fried veggie burger (I didn't even think this was a thing) with chips (for me) and the boy serving us practically drowned our food with salt - EEEEKKSSS but we retired for the night with happy tummies nonetheless! 

☀Oban☀

Oban is a coastal/resort town west of Scotland and has really good seafood! In Slovenia, Clarence mentioned that he visited Oban and that's how I made the decision of wanting to come here. The train ride is just 4.5 hours from Edinburgh and I got them cheap for just £50 (return for 2 people!!) 

Topo and I arrived in Oban at around 3pm and we headed straight to Corran House, the hostel that we were staying in (a result of late planning because we would have much rather an air bnb or a guest house) and then spent the rest of the evening walking around and exploring the town. You can basically go through the town in an hour as it is that small 

We walked up 5 mins of a steep incline under hot temperatures (hot for UK standards - 22℃) and I was sweating SOBS but the view at the Mc Caig's Tower was so worth it!  

We ordered Thai food takeaway (20% discounted) for dinz and I had a really yummy green curry!! 

We caught an e - p - i - c sunset at 9:45pm!!

We then headed back to the hostel after and got ready for bed. I felt rather optimistic when I headed to sleep as the other 2 people in our room were not in but little did I know, I was in for the worst night of sleep EVER. At about 1 in the morning, 2 old men came into the room and throughout the night they were coughing so loudly and talking and snoring and I was awake throughout and all I could think about was all the germs flying around in the room (EW). I only had 2 hours of sleep that night but I could not be happier when morning came just so I could start the day and not think about having to endure sleeping through all that 

The next morning, it was blazing hot!!! Topo and I rented bikes (£25 for 10am-5pm - rather pricey) and went to the Isle of Kerrera just a 2 min ferry ride from Oban. We had the most amazing day cycling for about 4 hours through amazing landscapes that I can't even find the words to describe how beautiful it was! Truly a remarkable experience :'))) 

Cycling on paths like these

Just look!!

!!!!

This is one of my fav pics :') Pictures look amazing but it's even better in real life though it may be hard to believe 

We made it to the Kerrera Tea House for lunch and had a refreshing Apple Quencher and delicious sandwiches!! I had pickles, homemade chilli jam and caramelised onions sandwiched between two slices of homemade sourdough bread (my fav bread!) and Topo had a Tuna Melt ☺

After that much needed and deserved break, we got back on our bikes to finish our journey and the first 5 mins of cycling was painful!! You know when you've cycled on hilly roads for so long and your butt bones get so sore? Yeah that was us and our thighs were so tired on top of that 

This was an epic scene when the cow just emerged over the hill, the picture doesn't do the moment justice 

We made the 3:45pm ferry back and the journey back was much more forgiving as it was flatter and had much more fun downhill bits :) We then had dinner at Cuan Mor and Topo had a Coley Fillet with salmon mash and I had a yummy falafel burger with sweet potato fries!

When we headed back to the hostel and I looked at myself in the mirror I was so shocked because I hadn't realised how burnt I was - both my arms were so red and so was my back in the shape of the tank that I was wearing. Showering was so painful but that trip was definitely worth the burn!!