This was the day where we would start walking, so we had an amazing breakfast. Since we didn�t have a very large budget, we had bought misshaped bacon instead of normal slices. These would take ages to bake, but we didn�t mind that, because we had all the time in the world. After breakfast, we would be heading to Milngavie /mUngei/, where we would start our walk. We finished breakfast at about, and we left around one, due to our packing (We didn�t know it would take that long...)
Before we left, we made an agreement. Since I was here to learn the language better, I would do the talking on the way, for example, when buying tickets.
We arrived in Milngavie around three, and we immediately saw the effects of tourism on the West Highland Way. Firstly, we went shopping in the supermarket for water and bread. After that, we walked to the centre of the town where we saw quite some people with backpacks on walking in just one direction. We followed them, because we didn�t have a map (not of the first part, that is.) We just followed the signs that were posted at every junction; they weren�t hard to miss anyway. First, we walked through a park, which was followed by a minor forest track. The weather was perfect, about 22? Celsius. A bit warm to walk in, but we didn�t mind. We were just happy that it wasn�t raining.
After an hour or so we got the feeling that we were really in the country (we weren�t of course) and we could enjoy the nature and hills. Around seven we got a bit hungry and started looking for a place to camp. Luckily, we just walked by a beautiful small loch, and besides it was a hill with long grass, excellent to camp in. Once up the hill, we got to know Scotland�s most annoying little creatures; midges (Culicoides impunctatus) They come in huge swarms, and they bite you whenever they can. The only thing that keeps them away is DEET and caps with build-in mosquito nets. Luckily, we bought these caps and they worked really well. The only disadvantage is that they are really annoying to deal with. Just sitting down and cooking our dinner was not one of the options, because Alex and Ellemieke did not have these special nets. When they tried to cook, they were stung everywhere the midges could reach them, and Alex and Ellemieke would be running away because every time they took a breath, midges were flying into their mouths. Back home, they made fun of our nets, because they looked so stupid. But now, every time they took a breath, dozens of midges were flying into their mouths. Alex and Ellemieke decided to go sit downhill and cook us dinner, while Marten and I set up the tents. Ten minutes later, we joined them. Luckily, we were able to take our nets off for a while, because they smelled so badly (they were impregnated with DEET). Then, a man who walked his dog came by and talked to us. He told us that the midge vexation was about to get worse during the evening, but luckily we were prepared for the worse. He also told us that midges live in the long grass during the day, and at sunset they come down the hill, to the water. Unfortunately, we put our tents in the middle of it, but it was too late to pack, because the sun was already setting. The midge-vexation did become worse later that night. We had to eat our dinner walking, because otherwise we would be having midges as dinner (full of protein, but not the kind of protein we like best). The midges were swarming around us in big clouds; the only way to avoid them was simply to keep on walking. And as our holiday was a walking holiday, we weren�t bothered by that. At that time, the midge swarms were so horrible, that, when we waved our arms, our hands became grey of the amount of midges sticking onto it and sucking our blood. Quite funny, actually, but later, our hands were extremely itchy.
We went to bed around ten, because the midget swarms kept getting worse.
The midges in our tent were easily killed by insect spray. |
