First, a note about yesterday's blog. The wireless at the hotel was slow and erratic. As a result, the blog and photos did not get posted until this afternoon when we arrived in Dundee.
Back to October 1 - Today, we started a little later than we have been lately..we were on the bus and on our way by 8:30am. The weather was threatening rain, but there were a few blue spots in the sky, so we were hopeful. We drove through Cairngorms National Park. It was more like a forest, with patches of clearings and the mountain hills in the background. It would have been more spectacular but for the rain and foggy conditions. But even so, it was interesting to see the varying landscape along the road. There were two areas of constructions where we had a bit of a wait - Canada is not the only country to have highway construction, lol.
Arriving at Pitlochry, we drove a little further to Blair Athol Distillery where we had a tour and tasting. This distillery is a small one, with only 4 stills. But they manage to put out about one million litres of scotch whiskey every year. The tour guide covered much the same information as the guide did yesterday, but with a slightly different approach, focusing on some of the differences between different distillerys. All in all, very interesting.
Five minutes down the road, we parked in the centre of Pitlochry, where we were given just under two hours to explore the town, shop, and eat. Bob and I opted to take a short walk down to the train station, which was quiet today because of a rail strike, and they wandered down to the Pitlochry dam and fish ladder. With the development of the dam, used for creating energy, it was necessary to provide a way for the thousands of salmon to make their way upstream. The ladder as it is known is 310 metres in length and has 34 pools, 3 of which are resting pools.
After our visit to the dam, we stopped at a small shop for our usual scone and coffee lunch.
By then it was time to head back to the bus...so no shopping.. ahh.. what a shame.
We continued our travels towards Dundee. We passed what looked like a single vehicle accident on the road, and immediately noted the backup of oncoming traffic that literally went on for miles (not km..we are in Scotland).
We arrived at our hotel around 3:30pm and after settling in, wandered out to see the water park just outside the hotel. It was a massive park, with lots of water sports available. We watched a group of kids for awhile, and then came back to the hotel so I could get today's blog done before supper. Bob is on the bed, reading his tablet.
A word about Covid. We first experienced Covid on the bus on Day 3 of our trip. Up to now, there have been 8 people confirmed positive, and several others with symptoms who are either negative or who have not tested. The back of the bus (where Bob and I were sitting) was declared the isolation zone and those affected travelled there. Fortunately, no-one has been very ill, and it mostly seems to be behind us as very few folk are still coughing.
Hotel: Apex City Quay Hotel
Weather: mix of sun and rain - high 16c
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