There are days when I have even questioned, if this joyful venture is truly joyful or am I fooling myself? This was a question I meditated on one day watching the reflection of the sun in the “Sound of Rassay” of Skye.
As I came out of my meditation, this story visited my consciousness, “The moment you question whether your life is filled with joy or not, remember that there is a spider that is weaving a web, it will fall so many times, but it never gives up, it keeps on going and going, until voila, it has weaved a beautiful web. So, there are moments when you’re frustrated but if you keep on moving forward, your life will be filled with joy and love.”
Looking back, I had left California hoping for something new in my life and, may be, yes, may be I might find the ideal location to move to or even meet someone special. Nothing of such sort has materialized yet but the more I travel, the more I realize that happiness is a state of mind and that it comes from within. You can be content and happy wherever you are. Also, it’s the people in my life, the ones that are supporting, uplifting and honest, who have helped me discover my true essence, which is an ongoing journey.
I won’t lie, there have been moments, I just wanted to come back home when things got too difficult or frustrating, but there was no way I was going to call it quits. I had to follow through until my birthday in November because it was always my dream to explore the world, find my true essence and learn as much as I can. The Universe had conspired to make this journey possible. I’m truly grateful for everything that’s coming into my life so giving up now would be like not believing in myself and my dreams.
After self-reflection, it was time to leave Portree. I took the bus to Armadale ferry station and then hopped on the ferry to Mallaig. After an hour wandering around in Mallaig, it was time to board the infamous Jacobite Steam train to Fort Williams.
Fort Williams –
I decided to stay overnight in Fort Williams which I wouldn’t recommend. There’s not much to see or do in Fort Williams unless you’ve plans to hike the Ben Nevis, which I had no intention of doing. Also, the apartment I was staying was not ideal.
I did check out the “Neptune Staircase,” which was pretty cool as the boats moved from one lock to the next, until they passes the 8th lock and got in the Caledonian Canal.
After breakfast, I headed to the Fort William main bus station to catch my Citylink bus to Oban. I had not planned or researched what to do in Oban, which worked out well since it rained most of the time.
Oban –
My 3 days in Oban were filled with relaxation, lot of nature walks and meditating by the lake. Luckily, my hotel was in the center of Old town and overlooked the dark blue waters of the Firth of Lorn and the Islands of Mull, Kerrera and Lismore. The name derives from the Gaelic language: An t-Ă’ban, which means the Little Bay.
Hiking up hill to the McCaig’s Tower was definitely worth it because of the superb views. I enjoyed sitting over the hill until it started pouring. It was time for brunch, so I headed down and found a cafe tucked away from the main Street.
As I’m having breakfast at this vegan focused cafe, “The little Potting Shed Cafe,” I overheard the owner share his story with a customer, about how he had acquired this cafe six months ago. It was his dream and when it fell in his lap, he decided to give it a try. It’s tucked back on a side street but still it’s always busy. I guess, it’s the chef owner, whose passion and happy face might just be the “secret sauce,” for the cafe’s success.
After hearing his story about going with the flow and taking the leap of faith did inspire me. Well, I’ve no idea what’s in-stored next on my joyful venture or where I’ll be going next… but on second thought, wouldn’t it be cool to find out how a spider meditates!
Lately, I’ve been enjoying watching a spider weave it’s web. You can learn so much about yourself from that little spider about survival, failures, not giving up and reaching for the stars.
The more I meditate, the more I notice that my problems and fears have been surfacing once again, which I had once shunned to the deep abyss. They have arisen like Poseidon from their deep sleep. Still a lot seems fuzzy and unclear but as I am acknowledging their existence, I’m sure the path will become much clearer one day. I hope so🤞
Glasgow –
From Oban, I took the bus to Glasgow, where I had planned to stay for one night. The minute I arrived in Glasgow, it was pouring. Through out my adventure around Scotland, I had been lucky with sunny days but on the last leg of this adventure rain seems to be hinting me that it’s time to slow down. Just imagine me dragging my luggage to the hotel 15 minutes away. I checked into this quaint old hotel and my room was on the fourth floor with no elevators but I managed it very well. After all, I’m in UK and this is a trivial matter.
The rain didn’t deter me to explore Glasgow. I enjoyed my rainy walks. It surely has a lot to offer and I’ll just have to come back here on a sunny day.
Woke up at 7am, which for me was an early morning, to catch the train back to London at 8am. Since my hotel was in the train station building, it was super easy to roll out of bed, have breakfast and be in my coach within an hour.
After a 6 hour journey, it was nice to be back at my London home base after being on the road for a month.
