Visiting with Paul and Wendy was more
like a blind date than an actual reunion.
When we received their email inviting us to stay, we actually had to
consult our journal to recall when and where we had met them: last year in Peru
on a bus from Puno to Cuzco as it turns out. Paul
is a Scot, born and bred in the Highlands, with the accent to match. Wendy is a perky Dutch lass who has added a Gaelic lilt to
her slightly accented English.
They are both well-traveled.
We hadn’t planned on traveling to
Scotland on this UK trip but couldn’t resist their invitation. As soon as Wendy opened the bright red
door of their home we knew we had made the right decision. She is one of those people you like
immediately, even more the second time.
She didn’t want to waste a second of the precious sunshine and hustled
us off for a quick tour of town.
North Berwick its on the south side of
the Firth of Forth – no kidding!
Beaches, small town life and world-class golf make it one of the most
sought after locations in Scotland and their house fits in perfectly. As we strolled along the harbor healthy
looking kids in wetsuits with salt-crusted hair trundled their “topper”
sailboats across the beach after finishing the regatta. They were such a contrast from the
chubbies we have seen elsewhere.
Paul returned from work in Edinburgh
around six and within minutes the four of us were sipping pints in the local
pub. My kind of guy! We drank too much before returning home
for Wendy’s fabulous dinner. Our
conversation that evening could hardly be considered “catching up” since we
knew so little about each other.
We talked mostly about travel; trips past and trips yet to be
taken.
Their home is, in a word, incredible – three
stories, four bedrooms, a modern spacious kitchen in the most desirable town in
Scotland. And we had a giant
bedroom with a huge en-suite bath in the attic where we could listen to the
rain on the skylight windows. They
don’t have a yard to speak of but with the town park across the street and the
beach a block away, who needs it?
Wendy took us around to her favorite
beach spots after breakfast on Saturday.
The North Sea coast is rugged and unbelievably scenic with cliffside castles
and islands covered with breeding gannets. The water must be freezing but we saw families sunning and
kids swimming. The gray seals
looked more comfortable.
The rain started just as we were walking
to the local Highland games and grew steadily heavier as the day
progressed. The pipers and
drummers were soggy but undaunted and the stone hurlers and caber tossers
hardly seemed to notice. We
eventually found our way back into town for a nice dinner.
The record rains continued through the
night and all day Sunday. Paul wanted
to show us Edinburgh, not terribly impressive in the gloom. Wendy’s plan was to drive into the
highland heather to see the famous (red) grouse. They were there even if a bit waterlogged but overflowing
streams forced us to retreat back home for another visit to the pub before
dinner.
