EIS – Loch Ness cruise (Day 09 - Afternoon)

EIS – Loch Ness cruise (Day 09 - Afternoon)

(8/26/2010) Yahoo, we get to cruise Loch Ness looking for the Loch Ness Monster. Can’t wait to get a picture of it, if not well I just might have to Photoshop one. About an hour after returning from our trip to Ullapool, we are back on our way to Drumnadrochit, (pronounced drum-na-dro-chit). While in the room waiting to leave, we can see a person, fly fishing in the river Ness. It didn’t look like he caught anything. Too bad, I would have liked to see the size of the fish he pulled in.

We get back on the bus and head out arriving at the Loch Ness Exhibition Centre where we get back on smaller vans which take us to our boat. Each van holds just enough people to fit on one of the boats. (Wait where is the life jacket drill, forget the drill, where are the life jackets?)

As we head out from the dock, the boat operator commences to tell us that he was one of the people who captured a photo of Nessy and it is available for £5. I looked at the photo and figured I could create a more believable picture in Photoshop, so I didn’t get one.

Anyway, we leave the docks and as he is giving us information motors on past Urquhart Castle. Of course, this is the classic view you usually see of the Castle and we now have an original. No Monster yet though.

We get out a little further out into the lake (which is about 24 miles long and 1 mile wide on average) as the boats sonar displays the depths. (No sonar contact of anything big.) The sonar presents a view similar to that of a bath tub. The sides of the lake go down at a sharp angle and then flatten out to a flat bottom. Mind you, the bottom is over 227 m deep and the dept starts almost immediately.

We get a little distance out into the water when we see a rain line coming towards us. I also expect to see Nessy coming along with the rain, but again to my disappointment, a no show.

It begins to rain a little, most everyone goes into the boat, but at the same time, the sun begins shinning on the Castle.

Well Carmen and I can’t go in now, so we take pictures, as the boat slowly gets closer to the lake shore.

Wait I see the monster. No, it’s only some ducks and I got excited for nothing.

We head back to the shore and when we are about 30 yards or so, the captain turns the boat and heads back the way we came, in front of the Castle. The sun is still on the castle and we are able to get some great pictures.

More pictures of the Castle, but no sign of Nessy.

As we get back to the Loch Ness Center for an interactive audio visual about the myth and legend.

However, after coming out I find the monster in a little pond nearby. Ha, gotcha.

We returned to the hotel and Carmen and I hiked to the Inverness Castle, actually used as administration offices. We ate at a little tavern called the Castle Tavern. The food was pretty good.



Until later, Bob and Carmen – EIS.