and the winner is…

today i took a job at the hollytree hotel, which is in the very small town (“town” really isn’t even that appropriate) of kentallen, right on the bank of loch linnhe, which is quite pretty.

and cold.

but people dive in it! i saw some this morning!

i also saw several rainbows in the mist over the lake loch, and had a nice little walk through the woods on my way into town to meet the woman from the hollytree. the hostel in edinburgh was at the top of a flight of 77 stairs, and the hostel in glencoe was a mile and a half out of town, with no buses. at this rate i’ll be climbing mountains bens soon. :)

i had a hard decision to make between this hotel, which is quiet and somewhat formal, and the clachaig inn, which has a famous pub and is rather laid back. the manager at the clachaig was very friendly and the chance to work in the pub was very tempting, but, at the end of the day, i chose the hollytree because the clachaig wanted me to stay at least until december, and i really think i want to set off again before that. the pay is also higher here, and there is wireless internet, so those are both nice bonuses.

hopefully, i won’t mind the quiet too much, and there will be different experiences of scotland to make up for not working in the pub. one of the potential perks is that there are bikes here that i can ride around for free, so that will be fun, and i should be able to drop by the clachaig every once and a while when they are playing music. i’m a little bit worried that i will regret the decision, i admit, but the fact that i’m worrying about it aloud while making use of the wireless makes it a bit less compelling, as worries go…

i don’t think that it has sunk in yet that i am planning to stay put now for a few months. i realized this morning that i have been on the road for a month and a half, so it’s nice to be somewhere with a room of my own and a chance to spread out a bit. i just hope that, once i’m rested up, i don’t freak out and wish i had stayed in edinburgh. :)

hopefully, i’ll be able to get my camera charger situation figured out now that i will be in one place for a little while, and then i will take pictures, because it is very beautiful.

now i need to do some laundry, and tonight i start work!

4 Responses to “and the winner is…”

  1. Guest Says:

    Regret? It sounds idyllic.

  2. Kevin Makice Says:

    A very exciting little adventure you have carved out for yourself. The closest I have ever been to Scotland was last week, when my plane presumably flew over your year on its way back to the States. The cloud cover was sooooo thick, I didn’t have a prayer of seeing anything.

    I finished reading Stone of Destiny by Ian Hamilton (I had read it in ’96 as well). I anxiously await your input as on-the-scene reporter, knowing that this assignment is the REAL reason you decided to stay put.

    If you get the hankerin’ for even more adventure … Isbister is a small town up in the Orkney Islands. That is my given surname, before making one up from scratch. There is reportedly some rich golfer named Isbister in the area, too. If you see him, ask him for funding and tell him Kevin says Hey.

  3. dad Says:

    Awesome. Do you still have an ordinary e-mail address, or just the blog?

  4. kynthia Says:

    dad, we clearly don’t write each other enough email, because i don’t know how it’s possible to imagine that I would ever be without an email address. :)
    i sent you a message last night to help ameliorate the situation.

    and yeah, it Is rather idyllic here, and i think i will enjoy it immensely. what i feared regretting was that i passed up the chance to work in the pub, which would be a different experience altogether. but i’m feeling better on that front today. i might post something that says so here in a bit.

Leave a Reply