Looking for the Loch Ness Monster

A cruise along Loch Ness

On a trip to Edinburgh, we booked a Highland Tour that had the option of a cruise along Loch Ness. This seemed like the culmination of a childhood dream.As a kid, I had always been inrigued by stories about the Loch Ness monster.

My favourite was about a girl who comes to Scotland to keep her sick grandfather company. Her grandfather is going bankrupt and is on the verge of selling his centuries old castle close to Loch Ness.This girl takes a few friends on a canoe trip on Loch Ness. Here they find and befriend a giant sea creature who is, of course, Nessie the Loch Ness monster. She makes an arrangement to exhibit Nessie to tourists for a fee. This way she earns enough money to save her grandfather from being forced to sell his beloved caastle.

The evening before our Loch Ness trip, we were returning to our hotel by taxi. We got talking to the taxi driver who was Pakistani like us. We told him about the next days’ plan. He chuckled and said, “Who knows? You just might see the Loch Ness monster!”

We had a very interesting bus tour to the highlands. Our coach stopped at Loch Ness where some of us chose to go on the cruise. The boat ride lasted about forty minutes. It took us across Loch Ness and back. The loch was vast, much larger than I had imagined. It was bordered by tall mountains that appeared hazy and grey. The water was deep blue, and mostly still. It gently lapped against our boat. Here and there, ripples appeared on its surface.

Each time a slightly larger ripple appeared on the loch’s surface, I would exclaim,”Look ! That might be Nessie !” My kids would roll their eyes at my childish enthusiasm. They were naturally too sophisticated and mature to believe in things like monsters. My youngest who had just turned seven quizzed the tour guide on marine biology but could not get much info.

A couple of weeks ago, a long time after our Loch Ness trip, I saw an interesting piece of news. A team of scientists from New Zealand conducting research on Loch Ness have found large quantities of eel DNA in the water. So Nessie could just be generations of giant eels. This means that the legend could be true (my enthusiasm may not have been misplaced) . In days gone by, people would not have ccosidered a giant eel or other sea creature to be an unidentified species. They would have considered it a monster.

Travel Tip

Highland tours start from Edinburgh and from Glasgow and Inverness. The one we took began from The Royal Mile in Edinburgh. It includes lunch and a guide who points out the sights along the way.

 

Have you been to Loch Ness?

Have you caught a glimpde of the monster?

Do let me know in the comments section below.

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