Climbing Ben Nevis was definitely the highlight of our trip so far, for me. It was a long, strenuous hike with every type of weather above freezing and wonderful different climate zones and terrain as we climbed higher and higher.

Our plan was to have a rest day in Scotland and then proceed to Geneva to start our Tour du Mont Blanc trek. Key word there is 'was', but I'll keep you in suspense a bit as we tell you about our 'between hikes' days. This is a collaboration post composed by the two of us since I've been struggling with a head cold the past few days.

September 2 - After climbing Ben Nevis on Sunday, we collected our packs from the campground office, ate fish and chips (again) at the campground restaurant, and walked another mile down the road to our B & B, The Brevins House. Vincent and Brenda offered us a lovely room filled with everything we needed - it was a great stopping place! I walked another 2 miles round trip to a grocery store to get orange juice and cold medicine before taking an awesome hot shower.

The next morning, our hosts cooked us a delicious breakfast of blueberry pancakes, cream & yogurt, toast and coffee. While we were eating, Vincent noticed that only one of my water bottles had been filled, so he filled the other one up for me. So kind!

We then walked to the original WHW endpoint, took a selfie, and headed to the bus stop. We were lucky to get on our bus to Stirling because it was pretty full and we didn't have tickets. It was fun to look out the windows and see some of the WHW trail and the many hikers progressing along the way - I counted over 80 in just a few short sections. While on the bus, we secured tickets for the next bus which would take us the rest of the way into Stirling.

It was another rainy day (of course), so we had a wet walk through town from the bus station. When we showed up at our next B & B, Castlecroft, we were a bit soggy. Laura allowed us to wait in her lovely sitting room and drink tea & coffee and eat cookies & shortbread until it was time to check in.

We spent the time trying to figure out how to avoid the rain for the next 2 1/2 weeks. As with all of our other hikes, the weather forecast for the Tour du Mt. Blanc route will be rainy for the next 10 days, and we JUST CAN'T! Actually, the weather forecast for most of Europe above Spain is pretty poor. With both of us on the Internet, Hiking Dude finally found that Lisbon, Portugal had great weather, and Portugal had many long hikes. So, we started considering making some dramatic changes.

September 3 - After a great rest in a very comfortable bed, Laura made us a wonderful breakfast and wished us well as we hiked away from Castlecroft.

We enjoyed our overcast but not raining morning exploring Stirling Castle. The weather for the next week in Scotland, now that we're leaving, of course is very nice. :-)

On our train to Edinburgh airport to catch our flight to Geneva, we continued to research and consider options. We could delay our TMB hike a couple days hoping the weather will improve, or just plow ahead, or call it quits and head home, or completely change our destination. It appears that we've come to a decision.

We are flying to Geneva tonight, as planned, and will arrive around midnight. But then we are flying on to Portugal for about 10 days! It truly will be improvisational hiking! Along the Atlantic Coast of Portugal is the Fisherman's Trail which is about the right length. It's pretty flat, so no majestic mountain views, but there's beaches, sunsets, and 75 degree highs. Most importantly, there's no rain in the forecast, but we might change that!

One thing that tipped the scales to Portugal happened in the Edinburgh airport. As we were waiting for our flight and contemplating choices, a young woman asked to sit by us. I asked her if she had had a long travel day and she had, but it wasn't over. After a stop in Bordeaux, she is flying to Portugal. We figured that was enough of a sign.

September 4 - After a plane delay due to thunderstorms in Geneva and a short midnight walk in drizzling rain, we finally reached our airport hotel around 1am. We checked the weather one last time and then bought the tickets to Lisbon.

We got a few short hours of sleep, a quick breakfast included in the hotel, shuttle rather than walk back to the airport, and we're on our way to Portugal! We hope to take a bus to Porto Covo and then a short hike to our first campground this evening.

Check out my current location on the map.

A bit more about Castlecroft. Laura is a gracious host who provides everything you could think of! Her B & B is beautiful, the views are amazing, and there are paths that take you right to Stirling Castle and into the town of Stirling. I highly recommend both B & Bs as places to stay while you are doing day trip explorations around Scotland.