On Tuesday we went on a canoe trip down the River Beauly. Our guide Russell from Kushi Adventures lead us on a fantastic trip down the river, providing us with lots of instruction on technique, and he provided several games and races along the way (Mr. Donahue won all of the games and races!), and we even stacked the canoes into a pyramid while going down the river!!
Back in Fort William, we visited Neptune's Staircase, Inverlochy Castle ruins, dinner at the base of Ben Nevis, and ended the day with a hill walk.
Our next stop after the stream train was the Glenfinnan Monument on the shore of Loch Shiel, and the Glenfinnan viaduct (the one from the Harry Potter movies).
Monday was a great day, but a long day. We had an early start for the 2 hour drive to Fort William, where we boarded the Jacobite Steam Train. The train ride was 2 hours from Fort William to Mallaig. Great fun!
At the Ceilidh last night the Crown Scouts presented Troop 2 with a Highland Quaich, the Cup of Friendship. The word Quaich is derived from the Gaelic word Cuach which means "shallow cup". The Quaich originated in the Scottish Highlands centuries ago and became the favorite drinking cup throughout Scotland. Traditionally, the Quaich is used when offering a guest "the cup of welcome" and again when offering a farewell or parting drink.
We were treated to a wonderful night of traditional Scottish food (yes, that means haggis, neeps and taddies), music and dancing. Robert Burns' poem Ode to the Haggis was recited by a young Cub Scout, we had bagpipe music, and dancing. We presented a plaque to the Crown Scouts to recognize this, their 100th year, then the scouts exchanged neckerchiefs.
After spending a few hours at the indoor pool (photos coming later), we walked through Inverness.
