After the botanical garden, we went back to the camera obscura. Right then, the pics from Katya's Pocophone (Xiaomi Pocophone F1) arrived, so we'll have something to show. Including some previously unreleased stuff.
Botanical garden thickets
View from the museum roof
Here it is, the almost-successful photo from the Ames room
Auto-wed
Us against the stars
Infinite mirror maze.
An amazing thing, very hard to navigate, you can only really do it by touch.
A good photo of the spinning tunnel.
The inscription is sweet and pompous, but it's true though.
Gorgeous gates
A fine dude on a magnificent green stone
OSM tells us that this is the missionary and African explorer David Livingstone.
For the next fifteen years, Livingstone constantly traveled through the interior of Southern and Central Africa. He had numerous clashes with local Boers and Portuguese because of their cruel treatment of native Africans, which provoked his fierce opposition. He built a reputation as a devout Christian, a brave explorer, and a passionate fighter against slavery and the slave trade. Livingstone quickly learned the languages of the local population and won their respect.
He's also famous for discovering Victoria Falls, and generally crossing half of Africa on foot.
Two weeks later, Livingstone and his companions landed on the banks of the Zambezi River, where they saw a grandiose waterfall up to 1800 m wide and 120 m high, which the Africans called "Mosi-oa-Tunya" (rumbling water). Livingstone, the first European to see it, named this waterfall after the English Queen Victoria. Today, a monument to the Scottish explorer stands near the falls, with Livingstone's motto inscribed on its pedestal: "Christianity, Commerce and Civilization".
The architecture sure is beautiful
We also took a little walk around the Dean's Village area. For many centuries, this was a district where grain was traditionally milled. This was done using the watermills of the Water of Leith river. As you might remember, I already hiked along it in one of the previous parts. This time we had the chance to check out another chunk of it. The place is very picturesque and is definitely worth a visit.
Miller's Row starts behind my back
Katya asked to take a pic of a ferret on a leash, but the owner? reacted a bit weirdly.
In the spirit of tolerance and gay pride week
We also made it to the old cemetery, New Calton Burial Ground, dating back to maybe the 18th-19th century. Many bodies from an even older, 17th-century cemetery were reburied here. Even though folks call it the admiral's cemetery, it's mostly tanners and shoemakers who rest here.
View of the Waverley railway station
The cemetery is located not far from the eponymous Calton Hill, where the panorama is a delight.
Ekaterina in her signature style
Late in the evening we finally made it to Arthur's Seat.
It's a huge hill (251 meters) right in the middle of the city, in Holyrood Park. And also a volcano that went extinct 350 million years ago. The weather was inspiring, sunset rays were bursting through the clouds in a powerful stream. As if Arthur had decided to reward us for the effort of clambering up his namesake hill. The view from up there of everything around is absolutely mind-blowing — the Firth of Forth, the city, and the other hills. Including the ones Andrey and I were planning to visit: the Lomond Hills.
Ekaterina and I climbed down from the throne on the other side, and landed straight on the toilet in our place. Walked 18.2 km that day.