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Published: July 21st 2008
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Some of the crew had signed up to do rafting early in the morning. Nic and I were quite glad that we had made the decision not to as we were a tad seedy. We had a bit of a sleep in and strolled down to the beach and munched on crisps for breakfast. Shawn and Ami were there too and had opted for an ice-cream breakfast. When everyone was back we set off for Split our final destination. We stopped off for a swim and jumped off the roof a fair bit seeing as it was to be our last swim whilst onboard the Mlini. When back on board someone started talking about the Australian movie ‘The Castle’ this prompted quote upon quote, of course including ‘How’s the serenity’ (You must watch this movie if you haven’t already).
On the final stretch into Split a few were playing cards. At one stage they had to swap playing positions. Shawn stood up and accidentally bumped his head on the TV which caused a stream of salt water to pour from his nose. It was a funny and bizarre sight but what made it funnier was Scott’s reaction. He was sitting
next to Shawn and leapt out of the way, completely baffled by how this could happen.
Nic and I hadn’t had a chance to look around Split when we first arrived because we had to get straight to the port from the airport. This turned out to be a good thing as Grant gave us a guided tour. It is very picturesque and the central city is located in the world heritage listed Diocletian’s palace. It has a Venetian feel to it with narrow alleys and the sense that getting lost would be easy. Before dinner we visited the statue of Gregory of Nin, it is said that rubbing the statues big toe brings good luck and has been worn smooth as a result. For our last dinner as a group we found a restaurant within the palace walls which served a good selection of pizza and pasta. Scott decided he was hungry and ordered the Jumbo pizza. It probably could have feed us all, it was humongous. Grant got recognised by the bar man and received a huge shot of Croatian firewater, I’m not sure if he was happy about that or not.
It would be rude
to not go out with a bang so we found a funky little bar nearby with comfy big chairs and started getting stuck in. Grant started off the process by buying us all a shot, Zivjeli/Cheers Grant. I remember playing a game of 'what animal are you?', where we would look at someone’s facial features and tell them what animal they looked closest too. I’m glad we still have friends after that game because no one was happy with what they were, I think everyone wants to be a lion. We continued to party the night away at a nightclub which was a bit of a hike. I remember Josh showing me a few boxing manoeuvres on the way, can’t remember why, but I think Josh almost used them when we were in the club. He was walking through the bar when he got grabbed by the collar by a bouncer, Josh had no idea what was going on, thankfully that’s when he realised that randomly they were having a fashion show cat walk in the middle of the nightclub. Weird. Rishi was loving it and got the party started by busting out his moves on the dance floor. Josh,
Maria, Nic and I left a group of them too it and strolled back, they are a great couple and hopefully we’ll catch up with them while we’re in Canada.
The following morning it was time for a few goodbyes, Nic and I had booked another night in a hostel in Split as had a bunch of others. Jordan was first to go and swore that he was going to name his first born son Joseph after our trusty Crew member. Everyone gave Grant email addresses so hopefully people will stay in touch.
Nic and I couldn’t check into our hostel until 11 so went for a stroll around the city. There are a lot of nice stalls, but even more tacky ones in the market area. We watched a small choir singing amazing Croatian songs, they were performing in a domed area which made the sound resonate (check out the video). Afterwards we found a park and sat in that for a while before heading back to check in. Once ready we donned our swim suits and hit the beach for the rest of the day. It was once again great weather and the beaches were brimming
with activity. Groups of people all over were playing a game where they slap a soft tennis ball in a circle and dive all over the show in the aim of keeping the tennis ball in the air. There were far too many old sweaty guys in speedos for my liking. But I suppose it’s a European thing.
All of the people remaining in Split met up and we went to the same restaurant as the night before, once again getting a great feed. Chris couldn’t wait to order the lasagne again for a second night in a row. We also hit the same nightclub again as it had a good atmosphere. Soon it was time for more goodbyes so we said farewells to all bar Leah and Belly who were on our flight the following morning, we turned in a bit before them, and am glad we did because I’m not sure Belly loved the flight home! As soon as I touched down it was action stations as I had a football semi final to play. But that’s a different story. Thanks heaps to Grant for everything and to everyone else aboard the Mlini, keep in touch and
hopefully we’ll catch up with you somewhere along the line.
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