Argyll shore loched ness.

or...Argyll sure looked nice, without the ridiculous puns. Sorry.

Really.

This past weekend was IFSA's trip to the Argyll Forest, where they had a myriad of outdoor activities planned. When we pulled up, I thought we had mistakenly driven to a mini-version of Hogwarts and would soon be learning spells.  While we didn't learn how to levitate feathers, we did experience the magic of a weekend spent with good friends and zero internet.

Hogwarts finally got with the times and upgraded to 16-passenger vans.

Out of the activities available, I chose hiking and kayaking. One was great, and one was a great mistake (albeit fun). I'll let you guess which was which. We left Friday afternoon, headed west through Glasgow, and drove onto an extremely turbulent ferry. This ferry probably could have sold tickets as a see-saw amusement park ride.

Over the ferry and through the woods, to Argyll Forest we go

Upon arrival at the Benmore Centre, we got assigned activity groups and dorm rooms, settled in, and were set loose upon a delicious dinner of fish and chips. It was great to see most of the IFSA-Edinburgh crew together again, and to meet some of the St. Andrews and Glasgow people. After dinner, I opted to go on the night hike, which was exactly as it sounds. Obviously I couldn't see much scenery, but I knew there would be time for that the next day. It was fun to get outside and stretch my legs after the 3.5 hour bus ride!

On Saturday, my first activity was hiking. My group headed for Puck's Glen, named after Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, supposedly for the area's fairy-like appearance. It was indeed green. Oh so green. Thick, spongy, green moss lined the walls of rock that we hiked through

where the faeries are

myself and Ali

The hike was tiring, especially after the previous night's hike, but really nice. As I said earlier, it was great to be outside Edinburgh and in nature! My group's second activity, kayaking, was a bit more... interesting. The temperature had dropped probably 10 degrees over lunch time, and the wind picked up. We suited up in wetsuits, waterproof jackets, and life jackets before heading over to Loch Eck for our kayaking adventure. Within one minute of getting on the water, someone tipped over into the icy blue Loch. Needless to say, after that we clung to the shore as sheep cling to the side of a mountain. Another poor soul tipped into the unforgiving waters of Loch Eck about ten minutes later, and that's when we decided to call it a day. Our guide had brought hot juice, which we wrapped our hands around in an effort to imbue some warmth into our freezing fingers. I've found wool mittens were not the best gloves to bring when studying in wet, rainy Scotland. They weren't much use on this trip!

The group headed back to the centre and we were greeted to an enticing snack of tea/coffee and delicious pound cake. Yvonne asked the kitchen chef for the cake recipe, who then happily came to our table with recipe in hand and an explanation of how to make it. That's this weekend's project, along with my Celtic Civilization essay. Later that night, there was a screening of Braveheart. It was my first time seeing the movie, and I was very impressed! I can see why it was re-released in Scotland to promote the Scottish Independence referendum coming up in 2014. The next morning, we packed up and headed out. This time, instead of taking the ferry back, we drove up and around several Lochs to reach scenic Loch Lomond.

Hilary, Yvonne, myself, Ali. It was cold.

If you can't notice from the picture, we got some snazzy new gear to wear as well. Possibly the most comfortable sweatshirt I have owned (well, maybe not the MOST, but close to). We then bade farewell to the other IFSA groups and headed back to Edinburgh, and back to the piles of homework awaiting us for these last few weeks of the semester.