DREAMING OF SCOTLAND

Mike and I are dreaming up a trip to Scotland starting in late April or May 2025 and are inviting you siblings and in-laws in the hope that at least some of you will want to join us. There's plenty of time for the plan to evolve but we've been brainstorming and it feels good to put this draft itinerary together. Please note that some might want more or less time away - we don't all need to do everything together. 

Weather in Scotland is variable and tough to predict but May generally has a little less rain, average daily highs in the 60s, and a relative lack of midges which can become annoying in June. It's a shoulder season so prices tend to be lower and there are fewer visitors than during the summer months. Scotland's latitude is similar to SW Alaska's so we can expect more than 16 hours of daylight per day in May.

Here's the current dream - live links to more information are pink: 

Fly to London, maybe take the Caledonian Sleeper train to Fort William. I loved doing that in 2015 on a sola trip; I slept well and woke up to breathtaking scenery. Alternately, we could fly into Edinburgh or Glasgow (likely through London) and take the train to Fort William. I think we'll purchase Brit Rail passes to save on rail travel.

From Fort William we'd like to take the Jacobite steam train to Mallaig - it's the one they feature in the Harry Potter movies.

From Mallaig we'll take a ferry to the Isle of Skye and stay at least 2 or 3 nights for hiking and castles and (at Mike's request) whiskey.

Then we'll retrace our steps to Fort William for the start of our trek on The Great Glen Way, a 79 mile path along the massive Great Glen fault to Inverness, hiking to the north east, coast-to-coast across Scotland. We'll hike unguided but hire an agency to help us plan how to break up the trek and to make reservations and arrange for our luggage to be transferred to the next stop. We'll hike with small packs that include the layers, first aid stuff, snacks, and water we'll want for the day. 

The usual plan takes about a week and the legs are 7 to 20 miles long. We're planning to break up at least the longest day into 2 and take at least one rest day. I think we could figure out an option if anyone wants in but doesn't want to hike or only on some days.

The hike starts along the Caledonian Canal...

...and runs alongside Loch Lochy, Loch Oich, and the whole length of Loch Ness.

There are lots of youtube videos about this hike but here's a nice short one to give you an idea of the trail and scenery. 

I'd like to spend at least 2 nights in Inverness because of the wonderful culture of live music - you can check it out a bit here. 

There are lots of distilleries there, too...

...and one of the most amazing bookstores anywhere.

From Inverness we'd like to head north by train to Thurso and take the ferry across to the Orkney Islands. This area is very unique, in part because it's so far north and so rarely visited and also because of early ties to Norway and the vikings. There are incredible neolithic sites, a 900-year-old church, stunning scenery, amazing coastal walks, and - of course - more distilleries. We think 3 or 4 nights there.

From Orkney we'll head south again by train, to Edinburgh and neighboring Linlithgow. There is so much to love about Scotland and, for me, one of the very best things is my host family from my late 70s student exchange - Ruth and Norman Middleton and their daughter Val's family.

While we spend time with the Middletons and Davidsons, there's a lot in the area to keep you busy. Linlithgow has the amazing Linlithgow Palace where Mary Queen of Scots was born and many of the Outlander shows were filmed. It sits next to St. Michael's Parish Church, built in 1242, alongside a beautiful loch.

About 10 miles away, the Falkirk Wheel rotates to lift boats to the next level of the east end of the Caledonian Canal and there are the giant Kelpies sculptures.

Edinburgh is amazing - I'd like to spend at least a day there but some of you might want more.

And then home! We think all of this will take about 3 weeks. We're happy to answer questions and look forward to hearing what you think. 😊 ❤️

 

2020 BELIZE & GUATEMALA

Time for trip dreaming again! I'm using this space to pull together some thoughts about an adventurous, culturally fascinating trip. Live links are pink. Dive in!

~ BELIZE ~

I'd like to start for at least a few nights on Caye Caulker. Colinda Cabañas is where we like to stay; it deserves the terrific reviews it gets on Trip Advisor.

Here's an old blog post I like about Caye Caulker. I'd like to schedule at least a morning of diving and/or a group snorkeling trip. 

A friend and I had a great experience with French Angel Expeditions last October.

Mike has enjoyed fishing on his own - mostly bonefish...

...but once a tarpon from the dock at Colinda Cabañas.

There are lots of great places to eat but our favorite is Wish Willy (and it will be lobster season!). 

We also enjoy street food and the banana bread lady's desserts.

For years I've had Raggamuffin Tours Overnight Sailing trip on my wish list and this might be the time. 

The trip is 3 days/2 nights and the nights are on these beautiful cayes, camping the 1st night and either camping or in a room the 2nd night.

Apparently there's some fishing on offer. Here's a YouTube video someone made of their trip.

The trip ends in Dangriga on the southern coast. We have lots of options from there but We are thinking they'll probably focus on fishing for permit. We could bus or fly or hire a driver to take us south. 

We could head to Placencia, at the end of a long, narrow peninsula further south along the coast. 

Here's a link to a Placencia blog post about the time Mike and I spent there in 2012. 

Mike had an awesome time fishing with a guide named Wayne Castellanos so that's an option - staying in Placencia and fishing with Wayne or another talented local guide. Lodging costs vary on what we choose and I think we can assume any good guide will charge $500-600/day for up to 2 clients.

There's snorkeling and diving on offer, too, and mainland options including waterfall hikes, caving, spice tours, waterfall rappelling, and Maya sites. One tour we did last time we could do again is the Monkey River Tour which includes a boat trip and hiking.

I think we'd want at least 3 nights in Placencia if we head there. I haven't looked much at lodging but these 3 have popped up: Captain Jak's:

Harry's Cozy Cabañas:

And Placencia Villas which appears to be the updated version of where we stayed last time.

Another option is a fancy island place off shore from Dangriga not far from South Water Caye called Thatch Caye - here is a review link. It gets a lot of non-fishing business, too, but apparently their head flyfishing guide is a legend and the area is great for permit. The fishing part of the operation is called Blue Horizon and gets great reviews on Trip Advisor. The bad news is that it's expensive - $3900 per couple for 5 nights all inclusive with 4 full days guided fishing or $2400 per couple for 3 nights/2 days fishing. 

Another island option is Whipray Caye, off shore from Placencia; the reviews are good but there aren't any recent ones. It appears to be about the same price but not as fancy - no air conditioning, for example, and not as much else on offer. The owner is another legendary guide and his wife is apparently a great cook.

Mike asked me to see if I could find Tarpon Caye Lodge because in 2012 when he fished with Wayne they fished near that island and he saw the lodge there. It has new owners, looks nice, more expensive than Thatch Caye. 

Their website has a helpful 'best time to fish' page and a moon phase page.

I looked over the websites for Pelican Beach and Blue Marlin Beach Resort on South Water Caye but their prices would be at least as much as Thatch Caye. The Pelican Beach site says, "Fly fishing guides and boats arranged with prior notice". Blue Marlin has flyfishing packages but doesn't tout their guides - sounds like they just arrange with someone else = potluck.

Here are some options on Glover's Atoll:

Glover's Atoll Resort gets mixed reviews, has cheaper options. Over the water cabin for 6 nights with meal plans, kayak rental, and tax would be about $1500 + $55/dive and $300/day fishing. Beach cabin and kayak rental with no meals, $650 (they might upgrade to over the water). 

Isla Marisol gets better reviews, has 4 night packages that would run $2150 + $60/dive and $450/day fishing. Their week long packages (7 nights) run Saturday to Saturday or Wednesday to Wednesday and are $3050; diving x6 = $435.

Off the Wall gets fantastic reviews, costs $3020 for 7 nights + $50/dive; they talk about flyfishing but I don't see guides on offer.

We're also looking at Garbutt's Fishing Lodge which is way south on the mainland in the town of Punta Gorda - off the beaten track. Mike feels that is sort of appealing because we think the fishing areas would get less pressure. Here's a description on a fancy website that advertising in the fishing magazines - Yellow Dog Flyfishing. Here are the reviews. The cabins sit over the water (it's not an area with sandy beaches) and look rustic but have televisions and air conditioning which we have appreciated having on recent trips. I emailed for rates and they quoted "4 nights/3 days for 4 guests, 2 cabins, 1 fishing guide - $5595.00 total for all 4 guests" and apparently don't offer staying there without all inclusive as an option. That seems high - comparable to the others despite being on the mainland instead of an island. 

Cost for using their guides would be $550/day if we stay somewhere else. Being on the mainland (either Placencia or Punta Gorda) could be cheaper because we could avoid the all-inclusive costs. There are other lodging options in the area including ones very nearby plus one we've loved a mile from town in the jungle - Hickatee Cottages - but that might not be as convenient for fishing.

Probably the lodging that makes the most sense is Beya Suites, very near to Garbutt's. Here are the reviews. Suites with full kitchens are $109/night and studios with kitchenettes (fridge and micro) are $95/night. Maybe cheaper on the Airbnb site?

There are lots of interesting things to do in the area - spice tours, Garifuna drumming, jungle hikes, Maya sites, caving. 

~ GUATEMALA ~

I will definitely spend a few weeks in Guatemala enjoying our apartment, the perfect weather, and visiting the families of our new Beca Project students. We haven't decided whether we'll start with Guatemala or end up there and Mike doesn't know what part of that he's interested in but at most days instead of weeks and he might fly home from Belize. For the sake of the flow here, I'll say we're going to Guatemala next.

Obviously the plan depends on who is in and the group's interests and budgets. There are 4 routes from Belize to Guatemala. The first 2 involve heading to Flores, either by road or by flying from Belize City to Flores. From Flores we could visit Tikal... 

... and maybe other sites like Yaxhá, or take a night bus or fly to Guatemala City. We probably wouldn't choose to stay in Guatemala City but would head to Antigua or Lake Atitlán - more on those later.

The 3rd route is the quickest and likely most expensive which is to fly from Belize City directly to Guatemala City; it might cost around $100/per person to fly from wherever we end up to Belize City and $300/pp from there to Guatemala City. 

The 4th is to take a boat from Punta Gorda to the Caribbean coast of Guatemala, either Livingston or Puerto Barrios. They sit on either side of the mouth of the Rio Dulce River which flows through a beautiful gorge. We could boat up the gorge and stay a night or 2 on the river if we wanted to; there's a ruin of an old fort, hot waterfalls, and kayaking on offer. 

Here's a link to a few more photos of that area from a visit with a friend 13 years ago.

From there we'd head by bus to Guatemala City and beyond. A good first stop is Antigua, a beautiful colonial city and United Nations World Heritage site. 

Our favorite little hotel there ($30-40/double) is Casa Cristina (reviews) and our favorite spot for coffee and breakfast is just down the block, Fernando's Kaffee (reviews).

Exploring colonial ruin sites, the market, and people watching in the parque central are favorite activities.

Sometimes from the rooftop of the hotel I can see Volcán Fuego erupting at night. 

A trip we've had our eyes on is hiking to the top of neighboring Volcán Acatenango (13,000+ feet) and camping up there to watch Fuego erupt. It's a challenging hike but we've all done harder ones. :-) OX Expeditions is one of the outfitters I'd consider but I need to research more. 

Always for me, Lake Atitlán is the highlight of my time in Guatemala. It's really beautiful - ringed with volcanos as well as towns and villages, each with its own style, traditions, and traditional dress. 

There are hikes along the lake, peak hikes, kayaking, soccer games, coffee tours, and visits to neighboring villages. The town of San Pedro where our apartment (Ti Wachooch) is has a vibrant market and is a good jumping off point for all of the activities listed above. 

Mynor and Josefa and their sons Antonio and Manuel are dear friends and up for adventure. They're hoping to do the overnight Acatenango hike with us.

In addition to the gorgeous textiles...

...there's a vibrant folk art community in San Pedro. 

I have several friends who have made names for themselves in the US, too - Marlon Puac who exhibits internationally

and José and Henry Mendez who have illustrated children's books. 

When others join us I often set up cooking classes and weaving demonstrations.

Some trips I take Spanish classes at the Cooperativa Spanish School but I don't know if I will make time this trip. 

One thing I know I want to make time for again is birding - there are some great areas around the lake and the big prize is Guatemala's national bird, the resplendent quetzal. Partly I just like hiking around in beautiful environments. 

Another thing I love about San Pedro is Beca Project - visiting students and their families and seeing them around town. If you're with me you're likely to get hugged, too.

We have a double-sized air mattress at Ti Wachooch so you could stay with us there...

...or we could all stay on the lake in one of Mynor and Josefa's new apartments. Gorgeous!

(That's my friend Susie who stayed with me there in November.)

~ SO ~

That's the current state of my trip dreaming! We'll keep digging, especially where fishing options are concerned, and look forward to hearing the ideas and opinions of everyone else. HAPPY TRAILS!