Edinburgh Day 19 (8/16)

Today’s adventure is a surf escape to the small east coast town of Dunbar, which is about a 45 minute drive from Edinburgh. This meant getting up before 7am so that I could cook breakfast and get out the door in time to hike up the hill into town and meet our fiddle player Seth for an 8am bus.

Of course, just as we were arriving at the bus stop we got an email from the shop we had rented surfing/bodyboarding equipment from that the beach conditions were flat and unsuitable for surfing. After a brief chat we decided to head out there anyway and see what we could make of the day. This turned out to be the *right* choice.

We had a chill bus ride out, and we arrived at the beach to the aforementioned glass-flat conditions, so surfing really was out. That said, the guide at the shop invited us to instead join some folks that were ‘coasteering’ that morning - which is exploring the intertidal zone of the local harbor. We weren’t quite sure what that meant, but decided to give it a go anyway.

And that’s how Seth and I found ourselves smushed into thick wetsuits and helmets and clambering around and jumping off the rocks just outside of Dunbar Harbor. It was cold, and wet, and slimy, and 2 hours of exhilarating fun. It was not at all the experience I had expected to have when I woke up in the morning - which is turning out to be a theme of this trip.

After getting back to the surf shop and showering and changing, Seth and I walked down the street to a pub and got a much needed late lunch (including a couple of drinks 😎) before catching the bus back to Edinburgh.

The bus was a bit fuller this time, including a group of raucous students, so it wasn’t as quiet as the morning ride was, sadly. Eventually, Seth and I split up to head to our respective flats, where I was able to take a much needed longer shower, a snack, and then spend the rest of the day relaxing before taking an early bedtime.