1 Adventure

Find Yourself

First picture was at a moment where you catch someone looking to find something deeper in themselves. That moment where perched atop a hill in the middle of a place you never imagined you would see, you wonder why, when, where, who. You can only take in what is given you. What is asked of you, what is asked for you to see. Answers not required. Only finding the questions.

Faerie Glen Scotland - One Really Magical Place

I will be posting more pictures from the amazing place later on, but for now I would like to get one of the best pictures I think I took while on my trip. This is a picture of the entrance (basically) to the Faerie Glen. A place in Scotland visited by few, guarded secretly, and all around surrounded by mystery. I have never seen a place quite like it.

The story behind this place lies in the mystery within the various rituals performed and people that once claimed it home. You will have to understand two histories or legends. For centuries the place has been been home to animal, and even human sacrifices. Animal sacrifices are still be performed I think still, but very very seldom. You can walk around and find bones lying on and around the hills. As for the human ones, the last one we were told was in 1950. Now while that my sound a bit gruesome, it shouldn't, its part of a culture stretching as far back as we can remember. This was performed by people who believe in mother nature, basically, and the power that lay within. Now the people performing these where classified as "Faeries", women that inhabited the land praying to gods above, using means of rituals, dances, brews, and many other things.

The second part of the story is the about the land itself. Why would people claim this land as sacred land? Based on myth, the story goes that when God created the universe he threw out parts of spiritual creation on Earth. These parts of creation are what make up the mountains, lands, hills, and areas on earth. While most of the earth is covered by parts of equal creation, there are special and rare spots on earth with an immense concentration of this spirtual energy. You may have heard of a place like this before. This was supposedly one of those places.

To fully experience it you had to walk around without shoes (if you wanted). We had several hours to walk all over, contemplate life, meditate, and soak it in. Ask me about how it was like, some time for a more complete story. Till then, these pictures are the best on the internet. I searched for a bit for any other references or photos to the Faerie Glen, and could only find 3 from a few peoples travel journals.

Tropical Fish Found Off English Pier

Found this interesting little tidbit of an article while I was in London, reading the Metro newspaperwhile I was in the airport. Now, why would I be interested in something like this. Well, I have always been fascinated by biology, evolution, and the amazing diversity around us, and its one of the reasons I love to travel so much. How else better to learn then to experience it first hand? There is so much to discover that it would take my lifetime to just touch even the smallest part of it, and successfully understand it.

This article is ecologically related, and some proof that habitats and dispersal of organisms are always changing for a variety of reasons such as global warming. How did a tropical fish in the Mediterranean end up off the Southend pier (longest pier in the world) in England? So very far away from home? I am guessing the fish wanted to find a new home, was dumped into the ocean from someone in England, got swept up in an ocean current, or changes in environment (water temp) made it possible to emigrate to a new location. Maybe it was availability of food?

This is a picture of the male rainbow wrasse, that as described in the article had "iridescent green body, yellow strips, and red fins". Which pretty much describes the fish below. However according behavior, male wrasse stay in deeper waters, while females generally come closer to shore in rocky areas for protection. This fish was caught off a pier on the beach. Hmmmm, something is quite fishy. Answer: This fish changes sex from female to male often.

5 Minute Border Run

Alright this post is fun, and one you can even try at home as many times as you want. On one our adventures down to the Arizona border to stay at Organ Pipe Cactus Monument (famed for the Saguro Cactus), we went to seek out in Mexico or Gringo Pass, USA some cheap alcohol to celebrate the end of our trip for the next night in New Mexico. While we were not able to get some cheap duty free alcohol the night before, we did manage to head down to the border the next day for a quick trip into the liquor store. The only thing we could decide on to buy was a $10 bottle of Danzka Grapefruit Vodka, because none of us had tried it and the sound of it just seemed like it could quench the driest thrust in the desert we called home the night before.

We bought the bottle and were quickly confronted with a sign that read "all alcohol purchasers must bring all alcohol across the border or leave the alcohol for when you return from Mexico". Since we hadn't planned to venture into Mexico because it being Mexico it really didn't have much to offer once you crossed the border. Our plan was to buy the alcohol and make off before anyone noticed. Unfortunately the plan was foiled by a persistent liquor store keeper who stood out of the door and watched our next moves. While I fuddled with the map to look busy, and Emily, Dan, and Ryan debated the next move. We finally decided that we should just drive into Mexico, christen the vodka on Mexican soil, and come back in 5 minutes. That is just what we did, cross the border in our car, drive a few miles down the road, turn around and come back across the border. When the border patrol asked why we had been in Mexico, we told him we thought it would be fun to say we went to Mexico! LOL. ;-). With the goods in tow, we made it out of Arizona and on our way to New Mexico. That night once we had found a campsite in Leasburg Dam State Park, my good friend Dan came up with a drink name we created that night called the "5 Minute Border Run". The name was very befitting. Here is the drink we created:

5 Minute Border Run

1-2 shots Grapefruit Danzka Vodka
3-4 ounces of Grapefruit Juice (fresh is better)
Half a can of Sprite
Splash of lime juice
Sugar rimmed glass

- vary contents to suit taste

Yummmmm! Serve it at your next party.

"5 Minute Border Run" Copyright 2004 - Ben Pfeiffer, Dan Lavin, Emily Anderson, and Ryan D.

Scotland Travel Itinerary 5 Days

Some of the pictures I took in Scotland, don't make too much sense without a short explanation. Just about every place I went, it all seemed to have a rich history everywhere, so hence a need to document the places you went. Getting around wasn't much of a problem, their was some definate places I hope to come back and see, and many far out highlands villages. Places like "Kindalachen", "Killcrankie, "Kilmahog" were definately on the map. The itinerary for 5 Days on one of Macbackpackers.com Scotland tours& hostel stays.

Day 1

Firth of Forth Bridge
St. Andrews Cathedral
St. Andrews Golf Course
Pitlochry
Whitewater River Rafting - Tummel River

Day 2

Killiecrankie & River Burry
Bauer Waterfalls
Aviemore
Big tree near Aviemore
River Findhorn
Cullodden Battlefield
Loch Ness
Nessie Independent Research
Inverness
Rogie Falls (Salmon Migration)
Isle of Skye

Day 3

Kyle of Lochalsh
Kyleakin
Broadford
Traveled down A87
Mountains
-Beinn na Caillich
-Beinn na Cro
-Glamaig
Portree
Harbor in Portree
Mountains - Beinn a Cheacraft
Lochs - Loch Rada, Loch Leathen
Kilt Rock
Brogdaig Hike
Mountains
-Meall na Svivamach (left facing east)
-Rinda
-Buidhe (right facing east)
Blackhouses
Duntulum Castle Hotel
Macurdies Exhibition
Port Righ
Faerie Glen
St. Columba's Island Graveyard
Isle of Skye
Kyleakin

Day 4

Loch Alsh & Skye Bridge
Eilean Donan Castle
Blackhouses
Drive through Glengarry (Great Glen)
Fort William
Ben Nevis
Glencoe (Glen of the Weeping)
Onich & Ken Loch Leven
Three Sisters of Glencoe
Destiny Stone Story
Oban
Billiards

Day 5

Leave Oban
Ancient Viking Castle
Knights Templar
Benmore Lodge Lunch
Hairy Coo
Stiring
Scottish Immersion Program
Wallace Moument
Robert the Bruce