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A wee wander through the Galloway Forest

Scotland, September 25, 2021

By Tineke Ziemer

October 1^st, 2021

|we travel to see beautiful places and to meet great souls|

- Lailah Gifty Akita

I made it to Scotland!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's been a dream in the works for such a long time and here I am. There were so many setbacks along the way and I don't know if anyone actually believed I'd follow through with my wild idea. But nothing - and I mean NOTHING - was going to stop me. I lived and breathed Scotland for the past year, day and night. I made friends online, I found courses I wanted to do, I adapted to their time zone, I surrounded myself with photos of their stunning landscapes. I left no other option open. If manifesting is a thing, I fucking manifested!!

Guys, don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something! If you want something bad enough, Make. It. Happen.

There is one thing that got me here and one thing only: I knew I could do it.

Yeah, I may have been crazy to relocate temporarily to the other side of the world in the middle of a world pandemic, but from where I'm sitting in my cozy flat (a block away from the beach FYI), staying home for another minute longer was far more irrational.

A wee wander through the Galloway Forest

Loch Doon Dam

Part of the Galloway hydro energy scheme, Loch Doon Dam was constructed in the 1930s. It was one of the first "all river" hydro schemes in the world, with the capacity to generate more than 100MW of electricity. At the height of the Great Depression this project provided employment for over 1500 people, but it was dangerous work. During the construction, five people were killed and another sixteen were seriously injured.

I didn't get my camera out for the first week I was in Scotland. I allowed myself time to adapt to my new surroundings and breathe in this new lifestyle. This trip is not about cramming in as much as possible. It's about listening to my body, mind and spirit and giving them what they need.

My first adventure was with my buddy Jamie (everyone settle down - it's not Jamie from Outlander and he's already spoken for) We went for a wee wander in the Galloway forest, which is the largest forest in the UK.

For the record, every walk is a wee wander here, no matter how long it is.

Wishing Trees

I've read about the mysterious coin-studded trees in woodlands around the UK, so I was chuffed to come across one on our walk. (I'm getting the British lingo down as well. Hell yeah!) Legend has it that pounding a coin into one of these felled-trees will bring good fortune. A nearby stone usually does the trick. It originated with the ancient belief that deities lived in trees and this was an offering of sorts. Nowadays, it's akin to throwing a coin in a fountain for good luck. As this tradition goes back hundreds of years, coins can be seen from all different periods over the centuries.

Loch Doon Castle

I can't tell you how many times I imagined driving the quintessential narrow Scottish roads through the countryside and stopping for meandering sheep. And now here we were, windows down, breathing in the fresh air, driving on the "wrong" side of the road, laughing about our different cultural quirks-- and then we rounded the bend to this. Honest to God, my heart skipped a beat at the sight of the ruins of Loch Doon Castle.

In the 1930s, when the hydro-electric scheme was being constructed, there was a lot of concern from the locals about the historic castle, which sat on the largest island in the lake. Consequentially, the castle was dismantled stone by stone and re-erected on the shore. The interior walls and some outbuildings are still on the island, submerged under the risen water levels. (Hello!!! Where is my diving gear, people?!?!)

Although it was overcast, it was a muggy 20 degrees in East Ayrshire that day. Despite the rather generous warning signs that the water was "deep and cold", this Canadian was for-damn-sure putting her little toesies in the water. (For the record, it's got nothing on our glacier-fed lakes. ha!)

If you can do anything - LIVE!

One week in and what have I done?

Met an amazing couple at the Vancouver airport who were headed to the same little town in Scotland as me!!! Whaaaat?! They took me under their wing, got me through the transfer at Heathrow, brought me into the VIP lounge for free drinks and made my 30 hour journey to Scotland so much more bearable.
Got off the plane in Glasgow to be greeted by sandwiches and chocolate from a close friend I'd known online for eight months but had never met in person. BEAR HUG!!
Stumbled around in the dark, trying keys in random doors until we found my flat in Troon because addresses are not in numerical order or labelled with any rhyme or reason here.
Walked the sandy beach barefoot from one town to the next for drinks at the pub.
Met a chatty old drunk guy at the train station and carried on a conversation even though I couldn't understand a drunken, mumbled, thick scottish-accented word he said.
Shopped the supermarket and giggled at all the differences between here and home. Every meal is an experiment over here, not to mention, the symbols on the oven mean nothing to me so I'm just winging it!
Watched a gorgeous sunset over the ocean.
Had fish and chips sitting in the car in the rain at the harbour.
Accidentally locked myself out of my flat, but subsequently met my landlord and we totally hit it off and I'm now teaching him photography.
Helped a little old English couple find their way around Troon even though I had no idea how to get around it myself. (Thank God for google maps!)
Went to a street dance in Glasgow under a railway bridge, partied to the techno beats, slammed back vodka shots, and ate the worst chips (aka french fries) that have ever existed on the face of this planet.

And SO MUCH MORE!!! But I'll spare you the details because a lot of it isn't pretty (and I mean A LOT!) This adventure has been fucking brutal at times, there has been NOTHING easy about getting here and getting things running here. But I didn't sign up for easy, I signed up for LIVING. And I will keep being present through these highs and lows, I will feel it all. I won't "find the good in every circumstance" - I will fucking MAKE good out of every circumstance, because ain't nobody else going to give me the life I want to live but ME.