Croatia: Day 2

We slept in! Well… until about 10 a.m. (but was interrupted various times by announcements). It still felt amazing to wake up feeling pretty well rested with 7 hours of sleep. And I had time to leisurely get ready for the day, as we could not disembark the ship until about 12. This is because our ship could not obtain a dock at the port today. Therefore, our ship had to move and anchor out in the sea until about 8 tonight.  Because of this, we had to tender. This was a new experience for me. We basically had to take our lifeboats into the port. It was interesting, and the ride lasted about ten minutes. I hope that is the only time I will have to get into a lifeboat!

Today we took the ferry over to Lupod, a small island off of Dubrovnik, which took about 50 minutes and cost 35 Kuna round trip. Anthony and I sang most of the ride over, which was very enjoyable. Our group is dying to find a karaoke bar! When we arrived on the island, at around 2:30, the sun was shining and we headed right for the beach. I was more than ready to finally spend a day relaxing by the water. All we do on this trip is walk, so I was anticipating a day off! I pictured the ferry dropping us off right on a beach. And that was the case… there was a nice beach right by the drop-off point, but did we choose to go to that one? NO. Instead, we chose to venture to a further beach (we had heard good things about it). Well… this beach was not just around the corner… it was a HIKE to get to. It was basically on the other side of the island! It gets better… not only did we sweat our behinds off… but when we finally got to the small, secluded beach… it clouded up and it was no longer sunny! I was ticked! It was like the first day of our whole trip where we planned a beach day and the first day of the trip where it got cloudy! But really I shouldn’t complain… the hike was really pretty, and the sun ended up coming back out. The walk, although intense and mostly uphill, was quiet and peaceful. Being surrounded by nature, with the smells and the sounds and the trees, it all reminded me of camping. The beach we walked to had waves, which surprised me because most beaches I have seen in the Mediterranean have been calm water. We all went swimming for a little while, but because of the waves, the clouds, and seldom places to lay on the sand, Anthony, Bo and I decided to leave Becca, Kate and Racheal to head back to the other side of the island. This was much better, and we parked ourselves on the beach that we had first passed earlier. The sun came out again, and stayed out. It was so nice… I swam in tranquil waters; fell asleep for about ten minutes in the sand, and of course got Ice Cream (cookie flavor). It was a much better afternoon.

6:50 was the last ferry back to the mainland. There were a ton of people, and we had to push our way through to make sure we got seats on the upper outside deck because it smelled something awful on the lower one. And there was this older woman who was behind Anthony and I in line who was like glue… we could not stop laughing. Whenever we moved in line… so did she. It was very awkward…and I guess its one of those things where you probably had to be there.

When we got back we rushed to the ship to try and grab dinner, which ended at 8:30 due to the tendering situation. I should have taken my time, because dinner was everything I disliked. Oh well… I finished off my last balance bar. Tear. And then grabbed a slice of pizza out later.

I don’t know how we missed a happening corner of Old Town the first night we headed out…but we did. Because Bo, Anthony, Kevin, Nico and I met up with 2 other SASer’s in an awesome area, which appeared to be dominated by locals. It was crowded, and everyone looked to be having a good time. It was all outdoor seating, and in the vicinity was about five or six different bars. Anthony, Bo and I splurged and bought this XXL Long Island Kamikaze that came in a vase with super long and bright straws. It was delicious, fun… and we sucked it down in about 2 minutes. We’re American…what can I say? After that we all just talked, laughed, and enjoyed the night and each other’s company… and on the walk home Anthony and I were tempted to dance… which in turn led to us busting out some moves in the middle of the Old City. It was lots of fun… and a night to remember.

I guess that’s all… I must rest up for tomorrow’s activities! Hope all is well back home! XOXO

I love and miss everyone dearly,
Erika