Before I jump into the Isle of Mull tour experience and since this is the first blog post of the New Year, Happy New Year everyone. I hope you’re all off to a great start in 2013!

I wanted to share a quick blog post about Bowman’s Tours departing from Oban, Scotland. We opted for touring the Isle of Mull and Iona which departs from the beautiful Oban Bay. After almost missing the tour ferry, which was docked on the other side of the bay from our bed and breakfast, we were finally off with the wind at our back. This tour took the majority of the day so plan for that; and make sure to bring a rain coat just in case.

The tour begins with a scenic ferry ride to the Isle of Mull; once there, you basically board a tour bus and let your guide navigate on a single-lane, two-way traffic road. They have a saying in Mull: you don’t drive on the road, you drive on what’s left of the road. Apparently, road maintenance is a difficult task to keep up with here.

The bus tour was nice, but I would have much rather brought the car aboard the ferry and explored Mull at my own pace. Lesson learned.

I will say this, though… our tour guide was great and he provided us with fantastic explanations of Mull’s history, life on the isle, and local wildlife in the area. I was pleased to see seals along the coast and some very interesting trees.

Mussels at Martyrs Bay Restaurant in Iona

Mussels are popular in Iona and Mull; so much so that it’s a popular trade to catch them for a living. Martyrs Bay Restaurant right near the dock offers these locally caught mussels in a garlic and wine sauce that will tingle your tastebuds and make you savor every bite. The portion was large and not too expensive either. Wish I had a picture…

Also, not too far from the dock is a pretty little beach area.

Good times were had by all on our way to Inverness, the capital city of the Highlands in Scotland. I’m not really one to enjoy driving in the rain while it’s dark outside; even more so when I’m in an unknown area. This is one of those trips that got the best of me here… I needed tack sharp concentration on the long, twisty roads because the windshield wipers couldn’t keep up with the buckets of rain these storm clouds were dropping. Let’s just say I’m glad this ride is done with and behind me.

Scottish Calm (Scottish Highlands Calm Before the Storm)

Before the weather turned into a giant mess, the clouds swirled viscously around the greenery and I found this juxtaposed tree in a scene that really does a great job of displaying the Scottish Highland’s grandeur. It was particularly difficult to keep the camera dry enough to salvage the shot, but I managed. Patience and persistence…

Edradour Distillery is known as Scotland’s smallest whisky distillery, but don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s not worth the visit. This place is the real deal and in my Scotland experience, Edradour gives the best whisky tour out of the few I visited. I say this because the master distillers know their whisky, will correct your misconceptions (if you have any), and go out of their way to please your taste buds. I enjoyed Edradour’s tour, but the real treat comes afterward.

Contrary to what you might read on Trip Advisor or the other travel review sites, their tasting room cost (cash bar) is disclosed up front before your tour tickets are purchased and it’s made crystal clear that additional whisky can be purchased for a modest fee after the tour. Some people complain that it’s not free anymore… well, I will happily fork over a few pounds for a dram (or three) from a fine selection of whisky that can’t be found anywhere else.

Not only does Edradour have a fantastic whisky selection, this distillery is the only one I visited in Scotland that allowed us to sample “The Angel’s Share,” which is defined as the percentage of evaporated whisky in the air during the casking period that’s been left for the angels to enjoy.

“The Angel’s Share” in the warehouse is enough to get you wobbly!

Whisky Trails

We opted to take the “whisky walk” to the Edradour Distillery. Unfortunately, we had to skip Blair Athol’s tour because tickets were sold out. Rick Steve’s “whisky walk” suggestion to hit these back-to-back left us hanging. So, in order to avoid the wasted trip to Edradour, we called ahead to make sure there were openings.

We’re good to go. The “Edradour Walk” was underway… wait, where are the trail markings? Yeah… it took a little while to get the hang of things, but we finally found our way to the Black Spout, which is a medium sized waterfall on the way to the distillery.

The trail markings were great up to the point “Edradour Walk” disappeared. We were faced to make a choice at a fork in the trail with different, but similar colored arrows; if I remember correctly, there was a yellow arrow with a white circle and a green arrow with a clear circle.

We made the wrong decision and instead of getting to the distillery, we trudged through really high grass that had not been cut in months. We were also in the middle of a midge gathering. Don’t breathe… carbon dioxide only attracts more of these annoying bugs. No, must… stop. Whisky Trails is born.

*** For those of you interested, I found the “distillery,” which was actually hidden in a neighbor’s basement. No, that’s not true, but I did think I found it and proceeded to ask the gentleman out front gardening if I had finally made it to Edradour. He smiled, then led me through his private entryway to an unmarked road pointing in the direction to go. ***

2012 brings new perspective, a fresh light, and a newfound hope for the future. Today’s photo is taken from a new perspective, which I hope gives a new appreciation from an ordinary vantage point.

If you’re heading in the right direction with your hopes and dreams, keep going; otherwise, try to see life from a new perspective and change it for 2012. I find that a dream board helps keep your desires at the center of your world; always remember that a dream written down is a goal with a deadline.

It was a beautiful January 1st, 2012. The weather was sunny and the temperature was in the 50’s most of the day with a bit of rain in the evening. Reflecting back on 2011, I am grateful for a supportive family, a great group of friends, and the most amazing girlfriend anyone can ask for. 2011 left behind great memories and lots of change; it’s time to move forward and make 2012 even better.

Best wishes.