'My Journey Through Scotland' - Part One: Highlands
This year, I had the privilege to travel to a land that I never knew I'd love that much. My knowledge about Scotland was very limited, still is, but nevertheless, I saw all of the stuff I planned to see, plus a couple more that just added to the experience. We had an open invitation for a long time before we bought tickets. I even found a postcard from our friend with a picture of one of the places we visited, signed by her. On it, she wrote that she would take me to the places I eventually saw once I came. I take open invitations very seriously; whenever someone is invited like that to my place, they should know that the invitation extends until I abruptly cut them from my entire life. I was present in our friend's life and I felt like we were going to hike in Scotland this April.
To be prepared for the weather and the hikes in Scotland means that you accept from the beginning that you are not prepared. After all, you can't be surprised if you already know that you are going to get wet. We had incredible luck to miss the bug season. Yeah, they have something like mosquitoes, but much more bloodthirsty and vicious. Because of their leaky mountains and climate, I assume, the population of the midges is out of control. Here you can get familiar with those bastards. They are kind of carnivores and they bite throughout the summer, forming gangs, terrorizing these beautiful communities, killing children and deer, so I've heard. We didn't have the chance to feel them because we went in April, and their terror starts a month later. So, we already missed a huge part of the Scottish culture, luckily. The other huge part of the culture is the lovely weather, which features one of the most unpredictable and wet climates. The main reason their mountains are 'leaking' almost all the time, creating an enormous number of waterfalls—a beautiful sight to behold—is the rain, which falls on around 300 days a year. I call it unpredictable because you can experience all four seasons in a single afternoon, sometimes even within an hour.
To go there, we booked two flights: one from Düsseldorf to Amsterdam and immediately after that one, another to Inverness. Well, first of all, the airplane was made from cardboard, or at least it looked like it. There were a total of 5 people on a plane that could stuff, I assume, a hundred, and the windows were uncannily huge. I watched the view from those panoramic windows, which was incredible and at the same time terrifying. If you know me, you know that flying is not my favorite part of a trip. We landed in Amsterdam and in 15 minutes we were on the second plane, which was the same as the first one but with more Scottish people. Although I was eager to discover the new land, the landing in Inverness was the rockiest landing that I have ever experienced. Because of the winds, we were bouncing enough so I could have the worst vivid nightmares that night. I am not a religious person, but when the turbulence hit, I became this primal voodoo priest from Haiti, and if I had a chicken to sacrifice in the name of me landing unbothered, I'd cut that chicken. It's true, I often find my faith and I pray to whoever is listening during flights. So that day I had to pray, and the worst part is that often I experience uncontrollable laughter during the most non-funny events. You name it, I laugh at it. Funerals, death encounters, turbulences, nightmares. I believe this is my nervous system telling me I am fucked, so what else should I do in this situation but to laugh like a crazy person? In the face of my own demolition, on this cardboard box of a plane, I laughed so hard, like never before. Imagine Joaquin Phoenix's Joker, same thing. Begrudgingly, the winds let us on the ground and we found out that our baggage was still in Amsterdam. Not a fun thing to hear after you’ve shit your pants 20 minutes ago.
Our friend was supposed to take us from the airport. If I may add, the airport in Inverness is the calmest and most relaxed building I have ever been in. There are always a total of 20 people there, polite and cool, and even when we were leaving the island this atmosphere was imperative for my mood for the whole day. We got out and Eli was there. First, I didn’t see that she had a pillow under her blouse, holding up the best sign: 'Icho, it’s your baby, you can’t ignore me forever!' I mean, isn’t that the best welcoming sign you’ve ever read? I wish the stress of the two flights in one day hadn’t blinded me, so I would appreciate it in the moment, but still, it is a precious memory and the very best start of our trip in Scotland.
Iliya Badev
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