One VERY Long Night (cont´d)...


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Published: August 1st 2008
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Here´s the scene: it´s 6:27 AM in Hvar and Dave and I are sprinting down the steep quarter-mile hill with all our belongings (including our left over groceries) in hand, attempting to catch the 6:30 AM ferry to Split. Dave is carrying both our big packs, one in the front and one in the back, as he insisted on being a gentlemen and sparing my back the extra stress as it had been out for a few days. So Dave is running with these two mamouth-size backpacks and I am trailing a few meters behind with the remainder of our items. A few things that should be noted about the situation: we are both in the same outfits we wore out the night before (although I switched out heels for flip flops), I have make-up running down my face, neither of us had gone to bed, and we may or may not have been completely wasted. It was about the time we passed the town donkey, who was looking at us like we were fucking crazy as we ran by him, that I realized this may not be the most brilliant idea I have ever had.

Perhaps I should rewind to a few hours earlier in order to clarify the situation:

The previous afternoon Dave and I had decided we were going to be leaving Hvar the next morning (the morning in question) to make our way to Plitvice. The plan was to catch an 11 AM ferry to Split where we would then catch a 6-hour bus to Plitvice, arriving in Plitvice that evening. Arriving in Plitvice in the evening was not completely ideal as we knew the bus would be dropping us off in the middle of the woods and we would somehow have to find our way to a guesthouse to stay in. Also, we would be spending the whole day travelling with no time left to see the lakes. However, we figured it was worth taking the 11 AM ferry and arriving in Plitvice on the later side, as our only other option would be taking the 6:30 AM ferry which didn´t seem so appealing at the time. Bottom line, we knew we were going out that night and didn´t want to wake up early. With me? Good.

That night, before we headed out, Dave and I (thankfully) packed up the majority of our things as we knew we would be leaving in the morning. Then we got dressed, had a cocktail in the apartment, and then headed down to Carpe Diem which is the so-called hotspot in Hvar Town. Almost every young person on the island goes to this place. I even ran into my childhood friend, Emily Sussman, and her little sister Carolyn, as I was walking into the club. The fun thing about Hvar Town is that it is a port town (not surprising as it is an island). What this means, however, is that when you walk out of the bars and clubs there are all these yatchs and sailboats parked right out front, most, hosting pretty fun after parties. When Dave and I left Carpe Diem, he told me he had to run to the bathroom and that while he was gone, it was my job to get us on one of those boats. So Dave walked away, I brushed off the rusty flirting skills, and approached a young guy tending the ramp to his boat. I was all ready to work my charm when before I could even say a word, the guy just said "Hey! Come on Board!"
"Wow, that was easy," I thought, and explained that I was with my boyfriend. That was right about when the old charm had to kick in, but Jonas (that was his name) was more than happy to host us both. I still smile when I think of the look of pride on Dave´s face when he saw me standing there waiting to board the beautiful sailboat. Mission accomplished, five minutes later we were on board with champagne in hand.

The boat was being rented by a group of eight Norwegian guys who had known each other since childhood. They tried their best to take a trip together every summer and this year they were sailing through the islands of Croatia. I liked it. Before I knew it the sun was starting to come up and Dave was sitting in the back of the boat free-style rapping with three of the other guys. At about 5:30 AM and ít dawned on me that Dave and I could try and catch the 6:30 AM ferry, getting us to Plitvice much earlier in the day. When I shared my idea with Dave, he thought it was brilliant. We said a quick goodbye to our new (not so bad looking) Norwegian friends, I kicked off my heels, and we sprinted the quarter-mile up hill to our apartment. Without sawing a word to each other (just a few giggles here and there) we just started grabbing and stuffing everything and anything into everywhere and anywhere it would fit. We slammed the door behind us, sprinted down the hill hysterically laughing, and made it to the ramp of the ferry just in time!!!! Dave looked at me and yelled "Amazing Race, baby, we´d fucking win that shit!" We triumpently walked up to the ticket-collector and with big grins asked for two tickets. Then, the earth shattered. The ferry was completely sold out. We were crushed. However, not all hope was lost as there was another ferry at 7:20 and we could catch that one! All we had to do was wait 30 minutes until the ferry ticket office opened and we could buy tickets then. So we plopped down on a nearby bench, still amused by and proud of our efforts, and had a little breakfast of ricecakes, cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs, and potato chips. It was delicious.

When the ferry office finally opened, we were informed that the next ferry was also completely booked. However, we could take a bus to the nearby port of Starigrad and catch the 8:45 AM ferry from there. Also, that ferry was a much larger boat and would have no chance of selling out. Still in good spirits, we grabbed our things, headed to the other side of town to the bus station, and caught the bus to Starigrad. We arrived just in time to buy a ticket, buy a bottle of water, and find a suitable spot on deck to lay our beach towels out and sleep. Alas, we were on our way to Split still in time to catch an early bus to Plitvice. When I woke up from the ferry horn sounding, announcing we had arrived in Split, I thought I was going to die. If I looked half as bad as I felt, I could have made a fairly decent scarecrow. It was not pretty. But again, we grabbed out things and headed into the town of Split to try and find the bus station. At least we can get some sleep on the bus, we thought. When we finally arrived at the bus station we were informed that the next bus was full and we would not be able to get on a bus until 2 PM...4 HOURS FROM NOW! Mind you, this is the same bus we would have originally been on had we just gotten on the 11 AM ferry. The look I must have given the woman at the ticket office...still I kept my composure.

So, four hours to kill in Split, I guess we could get some things done. First on the agenda was finding a pharmacy to get some medicine for Dave´s eyes, which pretty much looked like they were just filled up with blood. When we arrived at the Pharmacy, the woman at the counter explained that she didn´t have anything over-the-counter that would be strong enough to help Dave's eyes, so he would have to go see a doctor and get a prescription. Pretty much every other pharmacy we had been to in Europe was more than happy to just hand over drugs without a prescription, but apparently they are not so lenient in Croatia. So, okay, we needed to find a doctor. Where was a doctor? At the hospital. Of course. Where was the hospital? In the taxi. Right, okay. Getting the gist, Dave and I grabbed a cab a asked to be taken to the hospital. The driver of course gave us a once over as if to say, "You don't look sick, you stupid tourists", but obliged and took us to the hospital.

Our visit to the Split Emergency Room was only about 40 minutes long as Dave didn´t have to fill out any paper work, didn´t have to put on a gown, didn´t have to have his blood pressure taken, he didn´t even have to give his name. The doctor simply looked him up and down quickly and asked him what was wrong. He told her he thought he had pink eye, so she nodded, handed him a prescription, asked for 120 Kuna (Croatian currency), and out the door back to the pharmacy we went. Medicine in hand, we still had about an hour and a half to kill. So we found a shady little patch of grass under a tree, layed out on our beach towels, had another picknick of whatever food we had left. Dave thought this was extremely cute and romantic. I thought we looked like homeless people. Then he fell asleep for a little nap while I stayed off to ward off the stray cats that kept trying to pee on us, and the creeping old man that kept coming up to ask if we needed a place to stay. Come to think of it, perhaps he wasn´t so creepy. Had I seen the two of us lying there like that, I too, would have offered shelter.

Finally is was time to catch our bus. Luckily, the bus was not very full so Dave and I were able to spread otu a bit. Of course, he immediately fell asleep. I, on the other hand, fell into an almost-sleep several times, but would be shot awake by the bus jerking one way or the other. Croatian buses tend to not be the smoothest rides. About an hour into the journey I was actually slightly thankful that I was not able to sleep, as instead I looked out the window watching the beatiful Croatian scenery change from coastal, to country side, to mountains, to little towns with rivers flowing right through the middle of them, to finally the lush forrest. Finally, a nice woman sitting behind me who realized I was having trouble communicating with the bus driver, informed me that we would be in Plitvice in 20 minutes. This was music to my ears as it meant I was that much closer to being in a bed! Then the bus driver made an announcment. My nice Coratian lady-friend informed em that we would now be stopping for dinner before we reached Plitvice. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Dave and I crawled off the bus, realizing it may not be such a bad idea to grab some food as it had been a very long day and our supplies were out. We walked into the restaurant, ordered some lamb stew (which was surprisingly delicious), and ate our meal as we admired the stuffed bears, foxes, and boars that were arranged in little groups around the dining room and made to look like they were playing musical instruments. This day could not get any stranger.

Finally, we were dropped off in Plitvice. Accurately, we were, infact, dropped off in the middle of the woods. Luckily, there was a nice man there who asked us (and the three French Canadian girls who got off the bus with us) if we needed a place to stay. We all eagerly said yes, piled in his car, and shortly thereafter arrived at his house. The place was fantastic. Dave and I both kept saying we felt like we were in Northern Wisconsin. The air was chilly and smelled like a mixture of the forrest and a firepit. We had a great little room upstairs with a cute little balcony. After we setteled in, we were offered homemade whisky and liquore which were both fantastic.

Soon enough, I was snuggled up in bed with Dave and a big cozy blanket. I don´t think I have slept that hard in a long, long time.

Unfortunately, I don´t have time right now to tell you about the Plitvice Lakes or Salzburg as Dave and I are going to head out to dinner. However, there is much to tell about both and I will fill you in tomorrow.

Again, all the emails and messages have been so great! Talk soon!

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