Day 1; Omis Pax for dinner; 22 (BBQ onboard) Everyone was thoroughly bonded by the time we even reached our first swimming stop, and I knew this would be a great group. When we arrived in Omis, I decided to postpone the fort walk until the next morning in order to bring Monica's group up too (they were late arriving in Omis, and Monica couldn't bring them herself with her hurt leg). So we all went to my favourite coffee shop for a drink, used the Internet, then came back to the boat for bbq and beers (and a Michael Jackson/Farrah [View Full Entry]

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Day 1; Baska Voda (???) Number of pax for dinner; ??? So there we were, en route to good old Hvar, when the waves picked up and re-routed us. Captain Zvone said not to worry, we'd head to Makarska instead, but the clouds started moving in even more and we had to make an emergency landing (docking) in Nowheresville Baska Voda. The rain was torrential and after 20 seconds of being out in it, we were as soaking wet as though we'd just jumped into the sea, which a few pax did, despite the thunder and lightning ('grom y munja' in [View Full Entry]

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Day 1; Sipan Number of pax for dinner; 24 (bbq on boat) The crew had not planned a bbq that night but I asked them to do one as I think it's a nice thing to do in little Sipan. The crew on the Javorak are great, and not money-grubbers at all so they rarely ever offer anything that involves money unless asked. We had just dropped anchor for our swim stop, about 10 minutes away from the lovely little island Sipan. Shannon dove into the water from the middle deck of the boat (which is allowed by the captain) for [View Full Entry]

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Day 1; Split Number of pax for dinner; 12 (free dinner on boat) The waves were so strong that we couldn't leave Split today. But we had a good day nonetheless; we walked up to Marjan hill and had about a 3-hr hike. That night, Rato at Red Room was absolutely fantastic; his bar was booked for a private function, so he went to the other bars nearby to organize deals and make sure we were taken care of. Great guy! Day 2; Makarska Number of pax for dinner; 12 (at Susvid) We decided to skip Omis so we could get [View Full Entry]

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I know it's only until June 16 that we're doing the free dinner on the first night, but it was a shame to miss out on the picnic in Hvar. Pax love it, it allows us to do something special for them, and it's a good money-maker for us. If it's possible to get some leeway on when the boat does the free dinner so that we can still do the picnic, that would be great. But we made do anyway; we brought bottles of wine down to the beach and watched the sunset from there after dinner (both mine and [View Full Entry]

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Check-in; Pax checked in: 13 Two pax didn't show up. We waited until about 2:30 for them, and I left a message with my mobile number on their phone. Dan Toebosch sent me an email saying they had missed their flight from London and would call me when they got to Croatia, but I never heard from them. Which is a real shame because they were 19-year old American boys and I wanted to see them go crazy in Croatia since they are allowed to drink here! Day 1; Sipan Pax for dinner: 13 (bbq) Sipan is possibly the greatest island [View Full Entry]

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Day 1: Omis Pax for dinner: 19 (bbq) (If we ever start selling rafting again) ... It's important to collect rafting money the night we arrive in Omis, (before Neno arrives) because I didn't collect it until the morning before we were about to leave and four girls backed out at the last minute, which was a problem for Neno because he had hired an extra boat and skipper and we didn't end up needing them. If we collect money first, the pax probably won't back out. Just a quick word about rafting: I hope we can sort out the issues [View Full Entry]

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This is a video I took while working for Busabout and travelling around Canada. (It's my first little movie ever, so please excuse shakiness and bluriness!) [View Full Entry]

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Read this article on EuropeUpClose at http://www.europeupclose.com/europes-spas-getting-naked-with-the-locals Europeans are nothing if not total hedonists. They love good food, good wine, and at the end of the day, they love a good spa. From Iceland to Estonia, spas are an integral part of life and often one of a city’s major tourist attractions. But these aren’t new-age, luxury spas where you have chocolate massages and drink matcha tea. These European spas are hot and sweaty, in centuries-old buildings, where you might beat yourself with a birch stick, or have someone e [View Full Entry]

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Read this article on Roadjunky at http://www.roadjunky.com/article/1789/travelling-in-lithuania The cold, dark bus hurtled through the Lithuanian countryside. I was heading to Kaunas and not looking forward to my impending homelessness when I arrived at midnight. I’d arrived in the city of Siauliai earlier that evening, hoping to stay for the night. After searching in vain for a hotel or anything else that was open, I was forced to get back on the bus without dinner or a drink. I regretted ever leaving lovely Estonia to come to this country full of boring landscapes, unp [View Full Entry]

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