All I want for Scotland is more Sun

The final days are coming to an end, my final days in Scotland and all I can do now is smile at this wonderful 3,5 years of adventure in this very special part of the world.

I will never forget the journey I took on the boat from Hoek van Holland, sailing across the ocean to Newcastle. Driving in my car at the time as slow as a turtle and irritating every single car behind me. What I do appreciate with the Scottish people is that once they realised I had a foreign car plate, they made me feel less guilty of driving 40 mph all the time. To all those drivers who had to deal with me, please know it was strange to me at the time all the curves, bends and hills. Everything about the roads in Scotland should and would give any novice a heart condition. Despite my lack of ability to drive faster at the time, I do appreciate how patient Scottish never honked or flash their lights behind me. Or maybe I never noticed it because I drove with the windows down, sweat pouring down my face especially at the sight of those trucks. I have seen the longest, tallest trucks in my life here in Scotland.

I am not ashamed to say it, the trucks overtook me left and right. But then I started getting more confident on the road and I will never forget my first sense of accomplishment the day I overtook a tractor. Well it would have been an accomplishment had I not gone into 2nd gear instead of 4th (another thing I learned when driving with the gearbox on the other side). And then not seeing another car heading right towards me as I got on the other lane because I failed to notice the ‘dip ahead’ sign.  The tractor was huge and I had already been anxious for over 10 minutes zigzagging about as to when I was actually going to overtake the thing. When I finally made my move, it was a little too late, I was headed for a head-on collision, so I did the first thing that came to mind…I screamed and then I hit the brakes, swung back into position and trailed behind him for 20 miles. I was too chicken to take the risk again of overtaking him even when 4 cars behind me sailed by, I still did not dare.

The day finally came when I overtook someone on the road, this time I got the nerve to overtake a ‘special convoy’ truck carrying one of those massive wings of an airborne wind turbine that make up the many windmill farms scattered across Scotland. Just one blade can reach lengths of over 90 meters and trucks carrying them are escorted with at least 3 convoy special vans and police cars. Oh that day I could feel the taste of iron rush through my mouth as blood blasted into my brains out of shear anxiety and a sense of bewilderment that I had finally overtaken another vehicle in Scotland.

Fast-forward 3 years later, I take the Scottish roads as if I own them, zigzagging, multitasking even as I hit the road. I have even been stopped by the police on 2 occasions. Okay the first time I was driving 42 mph on a 30 mph bend so that doesn't count and another one was just right when I overtook a tractor. When the police officer asked 'did you know you were doing 77 mph? My response was 'How fast was I supposed to go?' He looked at me and replied '60 mph' and then my eyes brightened up and I said 'really, wow, that is great..I mean...'

On my way to my remote cottage, far in the woods up a few hills is a place I have called home for over 3 years. I now know every single turn, I can even predict when a rabbit or pheasant is going to come shooting past, daring to make that final leap into the side of my car. They dart at the last minute thinking they are faster, and just before I come racing past, they make a sudden leap backwards and dash back inside the bushes and into the fields. I wonder if they also can taste iron in their mouth having narrowly escaped my bumper.

But besides the darting animals and huge lorries, Scotland is truly a beautiful country. When I drive, I can’t help but want to be on the passenger side most of the time so I can admire the landscape. The blood orange sunrise in a winter morning that covers the hilltops is enough to make you stop and take a picture. Or the crystal clear water falls that shower the hills leaving a pool of water enough to splash when a car drives at the edge is like music to my ears.  Ah, Scotland is wonderful, the scenery is just breath taking and that is what attracted me to this country.

What I did not realise however is how much little the sun pays a visit to this wonderful country. The rain that falls on my window is soothing for the first couple of weeks but when the weeks turn into months and there are mini waterfalls at every cliff and my front garden could be converted into an Olympic swimming stadium, then it can get quite irritating. I remember having to drive an extra hour to get home because of road damaged by water. I would have been home in less than 5 had it not been for the torrential rains.

So here it is, the one thing I would ask for Christmas for the Scotland is that they have more sun. That way folks would stop asking me whether I use tanning pills. Seriously, I have been asked if I use tanning tablets or a concoction of melanin that allows me to maintain my ‘tanned’ colour amidst the rain, fog, mist and snow. That is another thing I like about Scotland, they love their 'wee bit o banter' now and then.