legend of nessie

Welcome to The Legend of Nessie, the Ultimate and Official Loch Ness Monster site, with up-to-date information and photographs of new and past sightings. A must for all Nessie enthusiasts. Bringing you the facts, pictures and sightings of this most elusive of creatures and Loch Ness technical information.

If it’s information about Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster you’re after then this is the site to visit. With documented evidence, film, first-hand accounts, stories, scientific studies and expeditions you will find that we are one of the most informative Loch Ness Monster sites on the WWW.

Browse through at your leisure and enjoy the wonders and mystery of Nessie and Loch Ness. Nessie is waiting.www.youtube.com

Loch Ness things to do

Loch Ness is known around the world for Nessie the fabled Loch Ness Monster, but the area is also famous for its beauty and history as well as our legendary mystery.

You may be surprised to learn just how much the area offers in terms of visitor attractions, things to do and activities and as a base for exploring further afield in the Highlands.

There really is something for everyone. For instance, if you like history, the area is filled with historic gems - from majestic Urquhart Castle to the Caledonian Canal, a wonder of the industrial age that is still very much in use today. Indeed, there are lots of opportunities to enjoy the magnificent Caledonian Canal and Loch Ness itself from the water either sailing or on the numerous pleasure boat cruises that operate in the area.

Back on dry land, there are plenty of heritage and wildlife trails around Loch Ness - and the parish churches are ideal sources of information for those hoping to research their Heritage or Scottish ancestors.

There are plenty of sporting activities to take part in - all set against a breathtaking backdrop of highland scenery. You could spend a relaxing day fishing for salmon, trout or pike - or try your hand at sailing or canoeing on the Loch.

If you’re feeling more energetic, there are plenty of adventure sports on offer in the area - mountain biking, hill walking, wind surfing, paragliding and skiing on the Nevis Range.

Remember, Scotland is the home of golf, so don’t forget to pack your clubs.

If you enjoy a more sedate pace, you could tour the art galleries, exhibitions, museums and craft shops in the area - stopping off here and there to sample the award-winning cuisine offered by our restaurants and inns.

In the evening, you’ll find a wide range of entertainment options - from traditional Scottish ceilidh music to open-air productions of Shakespeare plays.

Whatever your interest or whatever your age - Loch Ness and the Great Glen will help you and your family find what you’re looking for.

liane Engeler , The Associated Press , Geneva | Wed, 01/07/2009 8:17 AM | Sci-Tech

Tourists get their picture taken at the Grand Canyon. (AP/Amanda Lee Meyers)

The Grand Canyon, Mount Everest and Loch Ness will vie with more than 200 other spectacular places in the next phase of the global competition for the New 7 Wonders of Nature, organizers said Wednesday. The 261 nominees from 222 countries include some of the most famous mountain peaks, lakes, and other attractions, such as the Great Barrier Reef and Niagara Falls.

Over a billion people are expected to join in Internet voting that will nominate 77 semifinalists for the top natural wonders, which will share in the glory already enjoyed by the seven man-made wonders chosen 18 months ago.

"We are calling on people all over the world to actively show their appreciation for our … natural world by joining together to celebrate the most extraordinary sites on our planet," said Tia Viering, spokeswoman of the New 7 Wonders campaign.

The Swiss-based nonprofit foundation collected 441 nominations over the Internet since it opened the selection process in 2007.

The foundation then chose the top vote-getter from each country, making a list of 222 sites. The overall list rose to 261 with the inclusion of sites shared by two or more countries — such as Niagara Falls and Lake Superior between Canada and the United States, and the Matterhorn, between Switzerland and Italy.

Votes can be cast until July 7. Registration on the Web site aims to prevent people from voting twice.

The quarterfinalists include some lesser known sites, such as Yasur Volcano on the south Pacific island of Vanuatu or Nigeria’s Zuma Rock, a giant monolith in the middle of the African country.

A panel of experts in nature, chaired by Federico Mayor, former chief of UNESCO, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, will reduce the list to 21 finalists in July.

The seven winners will then be chosen in another round of public voting lasting until 2011, this time by Internet, telephone and text messages.

Around 100 million people voted in the selection of the seven man-made wonders. The winners were the Pyramids of Giza, Egypt; the Colosseum, Italy; the Great Wall of China; the Taj Mahal, India; Petra, Jordan; Christ the Redeemer Statue, Brazil; Machu Picchu, Peru; and the Pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico.

"The enthusiasm for the campaign, which brought culture out of dusty corners and back to life on front pages, TV screens and computers everywhere, crossed all social and economic lines," said Viering. "Everyone from schoolchildren to entrepreneurs eagerly participated."

Choosing world wonders has been a continuing fascination over the centuries. UNESCO keeps updating its list of World Heritage Sites, which now totals 878 places.

The New 7 Wonders campaign led by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber aims to promote cultural diversity by supporting, preserving and restoring monuments and natural sites. It relies on private donations and revenue from selling broadcasting rights.

76 TIPS MEMENANGI HATI WANITA :.

Mei 23, 2008 oleh ayatayatcinta

1. Bila saja anda pulang ke rumah, carilah dia dahulu sebelum anda lakukan perkara lain dan peluklah dia.

2. Tanya kepadanya soalan-soalan yang tertentu menunjukkan anda sedar apakah yang dia rancang untuk lakukan hari ini.

3. Latihlah diri anda untuk mendengar serta bertanya soalan kepadanya.

4. Bentengi diri anda untuk menyelesaikan masalahnya, tapi tunjukkan sifat memahami anda.

5. Berikan padanya perhatian yang sebenar tanpa menunggu dia memintanya selama setengah jam setiap hari.

6. Bawakan kepadanya hadiah yang mengejutkannya pada bila-bila masa lebih-lebih lagi pada tarikh atau perayaan yang bermakna.

7. Rancanglah masa untuk bersamanya beberapa hari sebelum itu,jangan menunggu hingga malam Jumaat kemudian bertanya pula apakah yang hendak buat.

8. Jika pada suatu malam, dia merasa letih atau terlalu sibuk untuk memasak, tawarkan diri anda untuk memasak pula.

9. Selalulah memujinya dari segi kecantikan dan keanggunan rupa parasnya.

10. Akui perasaannya bila dia merasa marah.

11. Tawarkan bantuan kepadanya bila dia merasa letih dan penat.

12. Jadualkan mana-mana perjalanan lebih awal agar dia tidak kelam kabut membuat persediaan.

13. Sekiranya anda terlewat, jangan lupa untuk menelefon dia dan beritahu dia tentang hal itu.

14. Bila dia mahukan sokongan anda dengan bertanya mengenai sesuatu perkara, katakan ya atau tidak. Jangan jadikan dirinya rasa bersalah kerana bertanya.

15. Semasa perasaannya tersinggung, berikan padanya rasa simpati anda dan nyatakan kepadanya ‘Saya kasihan awak tersinggung’. Kemudian diamlah, biarkan dia dapat merasakan bahawa anda memahami yang dia tersinggung.

16. Jangan cuba jelaskan pula kenapa rasa tersinggungnya itu bukan salah anda.

17. Bila anda perlukan masa untuk bersendirian akibat gusar,katakan padanya anda akan pulang dan anda perlukan sedikit masa untuk berfikir mengenai sesuatu.

18. Sekiranya perasaan anda telah reda dan anda pulang ke rumah,bercakaplah dengannya apakah dia yang menggusarkan anda dengan cara yang hormat dan tidak menyalahkan dia. Dia perlu tahu agar dia tidak menyangka yang bukan-bukan.

19. Bila cuaca sejuk, eloklah rapatkan diri anda kepadanya dan biarkan kehangatan tubuh anda dapat menghangatkan jiwanya.

20. Pada masa dia mahu berbincang dengan anda, letakkan buku,majalah atau akhbar yang sedang anda baca, dan tutup TV. Berikan perhatian sepenuhnya.

21. Sekiranya selalunya dia yang membasuh pinggan, sesekali bantu dia untuk membasuh pinggan pula, terutamanya jika dia letih.Bantulah dia menggosok bekas yang sukar atau kerja membasuh yang sukar.

22. Pastikan bila dia letih atau marah, tanya dia apa yang dia hendak buat dan tawarkan bantuan anda dengan melakukan beberapa kerja yang akan dilakukannya.

23. Bila anda hendak keluar rumah, tanya dia adakah barang yang patut dibeli, dan jangan lupa pula membelinya.

24. Beritahu padanya bila anda mahu tidur atau mahu keluar.

25. Berikan dia lima kali pelukan setiap hari. Satu waktu subuh, satu zohor, asar, maghrib dan isya’. Jika tidak berkesempatan,himpunkan dua atau tiga pelukan pada waktu yang terluang.

26. Telefon dia semasa anda bekerja dan bertanya khabar atau kongsikan sesuatu yang menarik, atau hanya katakan ‘Aku cinta padamu’.

27. Katakan ‘Aku cinta padamu’ sekurang-kurangnya sekali sehari.

28. Bantu dia untuk mengemaskan katil dan membersihkan bilik tidur.

29. Letakkan pakaian yang sudah patut di basuh ke bakul yang dikhaskan.

30. Selalulah periksa sama ada tong sampah sudah penuh dan tolong buang sampah. Kemudian tolong letakkan plastik sampah dalam tong tu.

31. Bila anda hendak berjalan jauh, telefon dia, biar dia tahu anda selamat sampai dan berikan nombor telefon tempat itu.

32. Basuhkan kereta yang dipakainya.

33. Bersihkan diri anda dan pakai wangi-wangian sebelum jima’ jika itu yang dia suka.

34. Bila dia merasa marah kepada seseorang, eloklah anda menyebelahi isteri anda. Kalau anda tidak bersetuju dengan caranya, itu boleh diselesaikan kemudian.

35. Selalulah tawarkan diri anda untuk mengurut belakang,tengkuk dan kakinya.

36. Jadikan tabiat merangkulnya dan mengasihinya yang bukan bertujuan untuk jima’.

37. Sabarlah bila dia mahu berkongsi pendapat dengan anda. Jangan mengalihkan pandangan anda pada benda lain, atau melihat jam.

38. Tunjukkan kasih sayang anda ketika bersamanya walau di khalayak ramai.

39. Bila anda memegang tangannya, jangan pula jadikan tangan anda kaku dan lumpuh.

40. Ambil tahu apakah makanan atau minuman yang dia suka agar anda boleh suruh dia memilih apa yang dia memang gemar.

41. Sarankan beberapa restoran yang baik, jangan bebankan padanya untuk menentukan di mana hendak makan.

42. Luangkan masa anda untuk pergi bersamanya ke tempat yang dia suka pergi, selama mana tempat itu adalah tempat yang baik atau diharuskan.

43. Wujudkan masa bila mana anda boleh memakai pakaian bersama-sama.

44. Cuba memahami bila dia lewat atau tiba-tiba mahu menukar pakaiannya.

45. Berikan perhatian yang lebih kepadanya daripada orang lain ketika anda berada di khalayak ramai.

46. Jadikan dia lebih penting dari anak-anak anda. Biarkan anak-anak anda menyaksikan bahawa isteri mendapat perhatian anda yang lebih utama dan lebih awal sebagai contoh kepada mereka.

47. Belikan dia hadiah-hadiah kecil dan comel.

48. Belikan untuknya pakaian. Pastikan anda tahu saiz tubuhnya serta warna, fesyen dan corak yang lebih digemarinya. Atau anda boleh belikan kain untuk dijahit kemudiannya.

49. Ambillah gambarnya pada waktu-waktu keramaian atau di tempat-tempat yang mahu dijadikan kenangan.

50. Luangkan masa bersendirian dengannya untuk melakukan sesuatu yang romantik.

51. Biar dia tahu bahawa anda bawa gambarya dalam dompet anda dan menggantikan ia dengan gambar terbaru bila sudah sampai masanya.

52. Biarlah anda yang memandu ketika berjalan jauh. Pandulah dengan selamat, tidak terlalu laju hingga mengecutkan hatinya dan tidak pula terlalu perlahan sedangkan anda boleh laju.

53. Perhatikan bagaimanakah perasaannya dan berikan komen yang menunjukkan anda ambil berat seperti ‘Awak nampaknya gembira hari ini’ atau ‘Awak nampak letih’ dan kalau boleh tanya sebabnya agar anda tahu apa yang mengembirakannya dan sebaliknya.

54. Bila anda keluar bersamanya, anda sendiri perlulah tahu arah tujuan anda agar dia tidak terasa tertekan memandu arah kepada anda.

55. Solat bersama dan berdoa bersama.

56. Kejutkan dia dengan puisi atau nota cinta.

57. Layanilah dia sebagaimana anda melayani semasa awal-awal dahulu.

58. Tawarkan diri untuk membaiki sesuatu di rumah. nyatakan anda ada masa untuk itu. Tapi jangan pula tawarkan diri melakukan perkara yang tidak mampu anda lakukan dengan baik. Tolong asah pisau. Gunakan gam yang baik untuk melekatkan sesuatu yang telah pecah. Tolong gantikan lampu yang telah terbakar.

59. Bacakan dengan kuat sesuatu ruangan akhbar yang menarik minatnya.

60. Tuliskan dengan kemas apa-apa pesanan untuknya yang anda terima melalui telefon.

61. Pastikan bilik mandi bersih dan kering bila anda sudah mandi.

62. Bukakan pintu untuknya. Tawarkan diri untuk membawa barangan yang dibawanya. Tawarkan untuk bawakan barangan yang berat. Jika hendak berjalan, letak dan barangan yang hendak dibawa di kereta.

63. Bila dia memasak, pujilah masakannya.

64. Sewaktu anda mendengar dia berkata, pandanglah ke matanya. Tunjukkan bahawa anda berminat dengan menyatakan ‘Betul kata awak’. Di masa yang sesuai, pegang dia dengan tangan anda bila anda berkata kepadanya.

65. Tunjukkan minat anda pada apa yang dia buat hari ini, pada buku yang dia baca, dan pada orang lain yang dia hubungi.

66. Bersedialah untuk masuk tidur bersama dan masuklah ke kamar seiring dengannya.

67. Berikan dia ciuman dan berikan salam atau kata selamat tinggal bila anda mahu keluar rumah.

68. Ketawalah pada jenaka dan senda guraunya.

69. Katakan terima kasih bila dia buat sesuatu untuk anda.

70. Rancanglah untuk makan angin bersamanya.

71. Berbincanglah dengan cara yang menunjukkan kepadanya bahawa anda mahu dia dapat apa yang dia kehendaki dan anda juga mahu apa yang anda kehendaki. Ambil berat, tapi jangan berat sebelah.

72. Bila anda berjauhan darinya, beritahu padanya bahawa anda rindu padanya.

73. Belikan untuknya makanan yang dia gemari.

74. Minta pandangannya tentang sesuatu dan hargai pandangannya.

75. Ramai lelaki menganggap yang penting bila bersama wanita ialah melakukan perkara-perkara besar saja tetapi sebenarnya yang akan memenangi hati wanita ialah bila lelaki melakukan hal-hal kecil untuk membantunya dan menunjukkan anda ambil berat padanya. Dengan cara ini wanita akan merasa dirinya dicintai. Bila dia merasa dicintai, dia akan cinta pada anda tanpa berdolak-dalik.

76. Anda juga akan dapati bahawa melakukan kerja-kerja kecil untuk wanita akan mengubati hati anda. Bila dia gembira anda akan turut gembira. Anda akan merasa lebih berguna dan berjasa kerana isteri anda telah memperolehi perhatian yang dia perlukan.

Diposkan oleh semua tentang kita di 11:40 0 komen

Loch Ness "monster"

The Loch Ness "monster" — affectionately known as "Nessie" — is an alleged plesiosaur-like creature living in Loch Ness, a long, deep lake near Inverness, Scotland. Many sightings of the "monster" have been recorded, going back at least as far as St. Columba, the Irish monk who converted most of Scotland to Christianity in the 6th century. Columba apparently converted Nessie, too; for it is said that until he went out on the waters and soothed the beast, she had been a murderess.

The modern legend of Nessie begins in 1934 with Dr. Robert Kenneth Wilson, a London physician, who allegedly photographed a plesiosaur-like beast with a long neck emerging out of the murky waters. That photo created quite a fuss. Before the photo, Loch Ness was the stuff of legend and myth. The locals knew the ancient history of the sea serpent. But people came to the lake more to relax than to go on expeditions looking for mythical beasts. After the photo, the scientific experts were called in. First, they examined the photo itself. Could be a plesiosaur. Yes, but it could be a tree trunk, too. Or an otter. Later, there would be explorations by a submarine with high tech sensing devices. Today, we have a full-blown tourist industry said to have generated an estimated $37 million in 1993, complete with submarine rides (about one hundred bucks an hour in 1994) and a multi-media tourist center. Unfortunately, business has slowed down in recent years. In 2007, it was estimated that Nessie tourism brought in an estimated £6 million ($12.2 million) to the Highlands. Some are blaming skepticism and the fact that there have been only two sightings in the first nine months of 2007. There were only three sightings in 2006. A decade ago, ten to twenty sightings a year was common.* The decline in sightings should concern the true believers, given the ubiquity of digital cameras, camera-phones, and the presence of webcams at various places around the lake. Adrian Shine, head of the Loch Ness Project, believes that one reason for the decline in sightings is that people are more skeptical about what they see. “I think we live in a more pragmatic age, and that people are becoming more aware of the sort of illusions that can occur on water,” he said.* If so, there may be hope for our species, after all.

photos and tabloids

There have been other photographs of Nessie, as well. The tabloids will pay good money for a photo of Nessie, and some enterprising souls have camped out for years in hopes of capturing the elusive beast on film. One good photo and they can retire for life! The Smithsonian even has a WWW page on Nessie, where it advocates continued scientific investigation into the matter. According to the Smithsonian,

Even though most scientists believe the likelihood of a monster is small, they keep an open mind as scientists should and wait for concrete proof in the form of skeletal evidence or the actual capture of such a creature.

We suggest…that those individuals interested in such a phenomenon…join the International Society of Cryptozoology, a scientific organization that critically looks at issues involving unknown creatures of unexpected form and size, and subjects them to technical review.

Keep on looking! Of course, this is the same Smithsonian which, in the January 1996 issue of its monthly magazine, ran a highly uncritical article on dowsing. We have come to expect the disingenuous defense of open-mindedness from the tabloids as they exploit our love of mystery and wonder, but we thought the Smithsonian would take a higher road and present empirical studies instead of uncritical wishful thinking. It may be the case that the Smithsonian has found that in order to compete and survive it must cater to the tabloid mentality of the general public and elected officials. What’s next? Bigfoot T-shirts as part of their annual membership drive?

sightings and testimonials

In addition to the photographs of Nessie, there have been numerous sightings reported in the testimonials of unquestionably reliable witnesses. How could anyone look at all this "evidence" and dismiss Nessie as a figment of people’s imagination, as just another case of pareidolia (another Virgin Mary in the tortilla)? Easy. Let’s start with the photographs.

In a story not nearly as fascinating or obscure as the Piltdown hoax, but at least on par with the faked fairy photos that gulled Arthur Conan Doyle, the most famous photo of Nessie as a relative of the long-extinct plesiosaurs was reported to have been faked. David Martin, a zoologist, and Alastair Boyd were members of a scientific project to find Nessie. They are credited by the London Sunday Telegraph [March, 12, 1994] as having dug up the story of the faked photo, which was staged using a toy submarine. Christian Spurling, who died in the fall of 1993, was said to have made a deathbed confession of his role in the prank. The fake photo was not taken by Wilson–his name was used to give the photo stature and integrity–but by Spurling’s stepbrother, Ian Wetherell. Ian’s father, Marmaduke ("Duke") Wetherell, had been hired by the London Daily Mail to find the monster. Wetherell was a filmmaker who described himself as a "big game hunter." What bigger game could there be than Nessie? Except that the big game was actually a small model of a sea serpent made of plastic wood attached to a 14-inch toy submarine! Actually, the game did get big as the little prank created such a huge fuss that the pranksters decided that the best thing for them to do would be to keep quiet.

Alastair Boyd, mentioned above as one of the researchers who uncovered the photo hoax, claims he made a genuine sighting of Nessie in 1979. His Nessie didn’t look like a dinosaur, though. More like a whale, he said. It was at least 20 feet long and he says he saw it roll around in the water. Now, it’s not likely that there are any 20-foot otters, but there are 20-foot logs. There are also errors in guessing at the size of things seen in the distance for a few seconds under less than ideal conditions. No matter, Boyd is convinced there are 20-foot long creatures in the loch. One would think they’d be hard to miss.

Whatever Nessie turns out to be, it is very unlikely that she is a plesiosaur. That marine reptile lived about 160 million years ago and has been extinct for 65 million years. Furthermore, Leslie Noè of the Sedgwick Museum in Cambridge, UK, who has studied fossils of the long-necked creature, says that "the osteology of the neck makes it absolutely certain that the plesiosaur could not lift its head up swan-like out of the water," which is how Nessie has been described. Noè thinks that the plesiosaur used its long neck to feed on soft-bodied animals living on the sea floor.*

Is it a fish, a wake, a wave?

Since the Loch Ness monster story has been around for more than 1500 years, if there is a monster it is not likely that it is the same monster seen by St. Columba. Or, are we to believe that not only is Nessie very big, she is very old as well, a veritable Methuselah among beasts? In short, there must be more than one monster. I’ll leave it to the zoologists to calculate how many monsters are necessary to maintain the species over the years. One report I read claimed that a minimum population of ten creatures would be needed to sustain the population. The same report claims that Loch Ness is incapable of sustaining a predator weighing more than about 300 kg (about 660 pounds) [The Naturalist, winter 1993/94, reported in The Daily Telegraph]. Adrian Shine once said the monster could be a Baltic sturgeon, a primitive fish with a snout and spines (actually ridges of horn-like skin) which can grow up to nine feet long and weigh in at around 450 pounds (actually they can grow much longer and weigh much more than 450 lbs.). This may sound like just another fish story to some, but there is scientific evidence that Nessie is, at best, a big fish in a big lake, or a big wake in a big lake. Shine, who has been studying the Loch Ness story for some twenty-five years, now thinks that what people see when they think they see the "monster" is actually an underwater wave. A similar view has been presented by Luigi Piccardi, an Italian geologist "who is convinced that seismic rumblings far below the famous Scottish lake cause the roiling waves, deep groans and explosive blasts that have for centuries led people to believe that a giant beast lurks below the loch’s murky surface ("Mystery unlocked? A scientist says he’s solved a monster controversy — the ‘beast’ in Loch Ness is merely an illusion created by earthquakes," San Francisco Chronicle, June 27, 2001 by Chuck Squatriglia)."*

some bare bone facts

The Naturalist reported on extensive studies of the lake’s ecology that indicate that the lake is capable of supporting no more than 30 metric tons of fish. (The food chain of the lake is driven by bacteria, which break down vegetation, rather than algae like most lakes.) Estimating that a group of predators would weigh no more than 10 percent of the total weight of the fish available for them to consume, researchers arrived at the 300-kg (660-lb.) statistic. It strikes me as extremely odd that with all the sophisticated technology, the submarines, and the thousands of voyeurs that after all these years we still don’t have a single specimen. We don’t have a carcass; we don’t even have a bone to examine. With at least ten of these huge monsters swimming around in the lake at any given time, you’d think that there would be at least one unambiguous sighting by now. You would think so, that is, unless you want to keep the hoax/myth/legend alive. I can’t deny that there are good economic reasons for keeping the Loch Ness monster myth alive. It’s good for tourism. And there are all those "scientific" investigations to be paid for with government funds and private donations: full employment for cryptozoologists. Then, of course, there is all that film sold to photographers in search of The Big One. But tourism grew out of the myth, not the other way around. This story would be told with or without multi-media centers and gift shops full of Nessie mementos.

Besides the photo which Mr. Boyd and others have exposed as a fake, there are many other photos of Nessie to consider. Not all photos of Nessie are fakes. Some are genuine photos of the lake. These photos are always very gray and grainy, taken of murky waters with lots of shadows and outlines. There is no question that in some of these there does appear to be a form which could be taken for a sea serpent. The form could also be taken for a log, a shadow on a wave, a wave itself, driftwood, or flotsam. Anyone who has traveled around Loch Ness will not be disappointed in the variety of forms which one will see when looking out upon the waters. The lake is very long, and on the day I was there it was very turbulent, even though the day was a rather pleasant one as far as Scottish summer days go. Obviously, since I was there for only one day, I had not come to Loch Ness to do any serious research into the monster. I’ll confess that I didn’t even bother to stop in Drumnadrochit to take in the Loch Ness Monster Exhibit, which, according to Fodor’s guide book to Scotland, "presents the facts and the fakes."

I was on vacation, traveling with my wife, daughter, future son-in-law, and a dear friend. We headed down the B862, which affords intermittent views of the lake from the east side. It was a pleasant drive among moors and conifer spikes, but nothing spectacular in a land of glorious spectacles. The drive northward on the west bank along the A82 takes you right along the lake in many places and past the famous Urquhart castle, a "favorite monster-watching spot" (Fodor’s).

Urquhart is on the tourist bus trail and gets more than its share of visitors. I had wanted to stop there and take advantage of its excellent location for monster watching but I couldn’t get into the parking lot. I drove north past the castle, looking for a place to turn around, and after many miles finally found one. I drove south, past the castle again, as the parking lot guard waved me on by the castle: the lot was still full. I drove for miles looking for a place to turn around again, finally found one, and made a third pass with the same result. Was it a sign from Nessie? We had to do most of our viewing of Loch Ness from the road. While we didn’t see any monsters that day, I still have a vivid memory of one of Scotland’s longest (24 miles) and deepest lakes (750, 800, or 900 ft. in places, depending on which source you pick). I have no doubt that anyone who stared across those murky, wavy, shadowy waters would see many things that could be Nessie. I don’t doubt that many, if not most, of the thousands of witnesses who testify to having seen Nessie are honest, decent folk who have interpreted their perceptions according to their wishes. They have come to the lakeside and they have been blessed with a visitation! They are truly special and their lives are now marked forever as unique. Best of all: they have a story to tell for the rest of their lives. In many ways they are like the young lady who declared that the highlight of her life was when she saw music icon Michael Jackson being whisked through a department store: "it was like seeing a UFO," she declared! I’ll bet she’ll be telling the story of her Michael Jackson sighting for years to come. Who knows to what epic proportions the young lady’s tale might grow? Perhaps it will grow as big as Loch Ness itself, like the legend of Nessie.

postscript July 31, 2003

The BBC claims it has proved that Nessie the plesiosaur (a marine reptile) does not exist. What they did was use satellite navigation technology to aim 600 separate sonar beams through Loch Ness to ensure that none of the loch was missed and found no trace of the monster. The research team hoped their instruments would pick up the air in Nessie’s lungs as it reflected a distorted signal back to the sonar sensors. The only signal they got was from their test buoy moored several meters below the surface.

"We went from shoreline to shoreline, top to bottom on this one, we have covered everything in this loch and we saw no signs of any large living animal in the loch," said Ian Florence, one of the specialists who carried out the survey for the BBC.* The show, called Searching For The Loch Ness Monster, was made for BBC One.

Will this end the belief in Nessie? Don’t bet on it.

rock