Life's Great Mysteries

Got on the bus to Ullapool because I heard about a music festival here... its sort of like the Reggaefest only more bagpipes and less dreadlocks. Cool. The road out here was FANTASTIC from Inverness and I finally got to see the hairy Highland Cows! They have bushy hair right over their heads like we do when its time for a little boy to get a haircut. So adorable! It really personifies them...

So I went directly to the back of the town just to hike up and take a look. It was fairly steep and I felt warm for the first time since I've been here till I got up a bit and the wind picked up. Felt pretty nice to get my heartrate up and be a little sweaty, and as I'm walking down this oooOOOLD white haired lady is coming my way as fast as ever. I'm a little baffled for a second and looking at her white, white hair. She looks up and says, "good view of Stac Polly isn't it?" I look at what she's pointing to. Its a fairly large mountain very far away. "I climbed that about ten years ago. I'm just on a little jaunt before supper. You know, half an hour up and half an hour down!" What a gal! I would like to be just like her when I grow up.
Alright so I get to the hostel and crash for a few hours, and head out for dinner about 8pm. A little place called the Ferry Boat looked nice so I belly up and order dinner and immediately meet these guys that work on the actual ferry boat that sails to Stornoway a couple of times a day. They were just starting their "two weeks" much like our slope workers, and the drinking began. They were both pretty incredible because they'd sailed ALL over the world and had even been to Dutch Harbour and worked for Esso (Exxon? before it became Exxon?) so we all had a bunch in common. Anyway the older guy was a hoot because he had a really thick accent and was just the sort of thing I wanted to hear while I'm here. Turned out they wouldn't let me pay for anything, ANYTHING and not even the dinner I had just before I met them. It was cool. So Griam, the 55 something said check out the ship tomorrow (which would be like all day, work day style) I smartly said no thanks because I can't imagine having 5 beers and a whiskey the night before THEN going on a ship. Thank goodness. Good times.

So I've been moping around the hostel today waiting for the music festival that starts tomorrow. I'm gazing out at the harbour and see something VERY wierd and just can't make it out. The seagulls were also interested. It looks like something bloody, and very large..... I eventually run outside to solve this what has become one of life's great mysteries. I find it has caught other people's attention so I ask them what this might be. A seal with a pizza box teasing the gulls with it by flipping it out of the water here and there. It all makes sense once you understand. I'm practically Galileo!