We started our day with a tour of the Oban Distillery. When our guide met us, the first thing he did was look at my vest and say, “You’re a brave man wearing a Kilchoman label in here.” I looked down, realizing I was wearing another distillery’s logo inside the Oban distillery! Oy. I blamed it on chilly Scottish August, and he laughed.
Samer bought me a gift at the distillery: an Oban Single Malt Scotch Whisky called the Young Teddy. It’s easily the most expensive bottle of alcohol I have in my collection. I have no idea when I’m going to drink it, but when I tasted it, it was so delicious. A generous and early Christmas present.
For lunch, we stopped at the Oban Seafood Hut. This is a small shack near where we picked up the ferry yesterday. There is no real seating. There a large table where people crowd around to eat their food or some just take it and find a spot somewhere else. It was raining and we found a some cover at the communal table. We had fresh oysters, cooked mussels, shrimp sandwiches, and whelks. I didn’t even know what a whelk was before this trip—it’s a kind of sea snail, often boiled or steamed and served simply. I’m glad I tried them, but I don’t need them again. They weren’t gross or weird, just not for me.
In the afternoon, we set our sights on doing a cruise on Loch Lomond. We chose the 90-minute Luss Circular route. The views are mostly beautiful landscapes—you can see some birds, but there isn’t a lot of wildlife from the boat. It’s just a nice way to cruise around the lake.
The cruise takes off from the village of Luss. It’s a cute little town with a few shops and a nice walking route, but not much else. It’s a tourist gateway to Loch Lomond. We finally saw a Highland cow. In Luss, there were a few penned up. We then drove down to the Loch Lomond Hotel in Alexandria which is on the souther tip of the lake. When we got to Alexandria, Samer and I took a walk along the waterfront before dinner.
That evening, we had Indian food for dinner at a place called Annaya’s Indian. It was delicious. We ordered a lot of very spicy vegetable options. All of it was too spicy for Joe, so I quietly ordered him yogurt on the side. It was a nice break from what we’d been eating across Scotland.