Oak :/

Thursday was our second Scotland port, Inverness. The dock is a little town called Invergordon, and from there you can take a shuttle or catch the train into Inverness. Again, I had originally been signed up for a tour to see the Lochness monster. But, we were called into a meeting with the cruise director, which meant I couldn’t be a tour guide. The meeting was at the request of my cast, and other people in the cruise division. We were frustrated with how things were being handled in this “state of emergency”, upset at how we were being mistreated by heads of divisions and even fellow crew members, and had a few suggestions about how we could improve the situation.

In the end, the meeting was pointless. Our cruise director listened to what we had to say and thanked us for our efforts and cooperation, but ended it abruptly despite several other issues we had left to address. I think at this point, my cast is just counting the days til we can go home. The new cruise director, who is on board to get the feel for the ship and is replacing Dave, respectfully acknowledged how much we had been through. He said in his extensive career with Royal, he has never been in Code Red and the fact that we are in our third round from one contract; he doesn’t know how we have dealt with it so well. I believe we have done a good job, keeping our issues off the stage and not letting our bitterness compromise our performances, but we have all reached a breaking point.

In the last code red, which was while we were still in Brazil, nobody was allowed to eat in the Windjammer. That included all officers. We are still serving to officers, and have even witnessed the hotel director help himself without gloves. The fact that they aren’t serving may be understandable, but when we have to take on shifts to help and we aren’t allowed to eat there, and then an authority figure breaks the rules, that is when I call it quits. Several of my cast members have dealt with much worse than I; they have been mocked and spoken down to, and I believe no matter what your position is on the ship, you need to treat everyone with respect.

I had made the simple request to put plates out to hold the tongs when they aren’t being used, because if they sit on the heated trays, they get hot. DUH. But when I told this to a chef, he snidely laughed at me saying it was “hot” and said, “they stay where they are.” I am a dancer; I don’t deal with food all day. My hands are not calloused because I don’t serve hot plates and work in the kitchens. I just don’t understand why people have to turn so nasty when we can all try to help each other out.

So after the horrendous meeting, Neeko, Kat, Kristin and I rushed outside to get some fresh air. We checked to see the details about getting to Inverness, but Neeko and I decided it wasn’t worth the money for how short of time we would have there. So we left the other two at the bus stop and took a walk around Invergordon. It was a cute town, but not much to do. All of the shops were closed, and we didn’t want to enter the church because it had a posted sign saying, “Please join us for tea and coffee”, which I took as a cult calling. We browsed through the grocery store, but weren’t interested in the hardening “fresh” bread. I grabbed a bag of custard filled sugar donuts and we decided to head back towards the ship.

The wind was fierce, especially as it crossed the water and blew freezing mist in our face. We entered the ship, only to disembark again with Robert and Allison. Allison is our camera girl; she films our shows and the happenings around the ship. She is allowed to go on the tours with the guests to add the ports into the cruise in-review DVD available for people to purchase. She was taking Robert along with her to help carry the equipment. Neeko thought it would be a good idea to wait for Isabelle, the cruise explorations manager, to come outside and see if there was any available room left on the tours.

She never came outside, but we talked to one of her workers, who was so sweet. The tours to Inverness were way too full, but she managed to get us on a tour to the Falls of Shin and Dornoch. We weren’t sure what this entailed, but we weren’t about to say no! Our tour guide was so adorable; she was a widower who was retired. We told her we liked her stories, so she continued to talk about her home and what she had experienced, living her whole life in Scotland. The PA system would randomly get louder and crack when she would say certain words like “oak” and “old”, so now Neeko and I always laugh about that.

When the Vikings came to Scotland, they found “painted people” and named them Picts. The Picts left very few written historical archives but intricately carved stones were found, maybe as memorials for their deceased. The ancient language is Gaelic, but the way the guide was pronouncing it, it sounded more like garlic. She pointed out an old church and the small blue house that stood in front of it. She said this was a portable preacher, used to protect the bible and the preacher against the wind and weather. There are only three or four of these left in all of Scotland.

In the first World War, 26% of ever village in Scotland signed up for battle. Our guide told us her mother watched the men leave, and almost all were killed. As we drove through the countryside, I saw the famous sheep fields. We must have past hundreds of sheep, the babies looked like little bunnies running around. SO CUTE!!!!!! We passed a swan lake and headed into the woods. Sheep are not the only thing that covers the acres in Scotland. Gorie, or whin, are yellow plants that grow too prickly for animals to enjoy. Since they aren’t eaten, they overflow in the land and create a beautiful landscape, a green and yellow canvas.

We reached Shin Falls, where the main attraction is to watch salmon jump against the waterfall to return to their birthplace. We were a bit early in the season; it was too cold for the salmon to be back yet, but I could imagine them beating their bloody bodies against the rigorous water to continue a centuries old ritual. To be honest, if I were a salmon, I might be the rebel who lays her babies elsewhere. I’m all for tradition, but I’m not a big fan of blood and pain; I’m sure the fishy parents would understand.

After a quick view of the falls, Neeko and I ran for warmth in the gift shop and coffee house. We scanned the products; I bought some postcards and a box of caramel chocolates. After we had our souvenirs, we crossed to the dining area, but were too early for dinner. We ordered some peppermint hot chocolate and took it on the bus with us. Our guide had bought some candies for the guests in the shop, a Swedish sweet called a tablet. It had a vanilla taste and was a lot like fudge. I’m glad I had my drink with me because just one of the candies makes you thirsty!

Our drive away from the falls was breathtaking. She pointed out a castle that had 365 windows for everyday of the year. We passed an old spinning mill that she said went out of business because all the employees were farmers and tended to that job first, so the mill failed. We also passed the Skiburg Castle, which is now an exclusive country club. The members are 40% UK, 40% US citizens, and the remaining 20% are of 29 different countries. It used to be owned by Carnegie, as in Carnegie Hall of New York! CRAZY!

We headed into Dornoch, which is popular for its golf. In fact, it’s home to the most northerly championship golf course in the world. But it is too small to host any world golf tournament. I think that is the PGA, or maybe that is just in the states; I obviously don’t follow golf ;) Dornoch also has the smallest church in Scotland, and allowed the first female to preach. Neeko and I toured inside the church, which was where Madonna had her son christened the night before her wedding. The christening brought tons of media down to this spot; reserved seats filled the roads and hills so that reporters could capture photos of the family.

Opposite the church is the Dornoch castle, the old Bishop’s quarters. The castle is now a hotel. Further down the street, we entered a shop that was built inside what used to be the town jail. We walked around the square a bit more, than got on the bus for the trip back. Our lady handed out raffle tickets to the guests and gave the winning number a Scotland calendar she has purchased. For the rest, including Neeko and I, she gave out a postcard to commemorate where we had been today and what we had seen. See, freakin adorable RIGHT!?!