Halfway home and another year closer to death

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Geo: 42.9743, 17.0393

Today it's official - I am starting the second half of my trip. Strange coincidence - it happens on the day that I turn 29. Yikes!!! 30 is just around the corner ... noooooooooo!!!!!!!! But for the first time in many years, I actually feel my age and not 20 years older. Well, maybe I am exaggerating ... I feel only 10 years older than my age!

Said goodbye to the girls (sniff ... sniff ... ). We made plans to meet in Dubrovnik in a few days. I went off to the ferry and grabbed a great ham/cheese/pepperoni panini on the way. Also had a sausage roll. Met a nice German couple on the boat - they drove all night to get to Split but you could not tell as they were both full of energy (and probably caffeine ...).

Croatia has been good for my soul - very therapeutic and relaxing. There are many days that I cannot remember where I was or where I was going. It is nice to take a vacation from my vacation.

Ferry stopped at Hvar Island to pick up some passengers on the way to Korcula. Very beautiful - I will have to visit Hvar one day. But still, its beaches looked fairly mediocre but the ocean vistas were stunning.

On the ferry ... I saw the most bizarre-looking bug I have ever seen in my life! It had to have been some kind of new species or the result of experiments gone horribly awry! It looked like a cyborg but w/ a jet pack strapped to its back. I could not get my camera out for a picture as I was paralyzed with fear (and afraid that the bug might eat my camera). Everybody that saw it was completely creeped out and feared for their lives. Nasty, nasty stuff.

Got to the port of Vela Luka and hopped on a bus for Korcula town. The driver lied and said it was the same price as the regular bus (1.5 euro more) but I had hoped that it would get me to town faster and hopefully get a hostel bed. But when I showed up at the hostel there was nobody working there. Stood outside with Jenny and Sean - both students; Jenny is doing her master's in documentary research and Sean is studying psych. We were all worried that the owner was at the bus station giving away all of our beds!

Finally the guy showed up. After getting settled we went to the beach. Crappy ... pretty much a rock shelf and concrete but the water was incredibly clear. After, we walked around town ... Korcula is fairly dull but it is quite beautiful. One day is enough for me. We stopped for a snack - had a seafood pasta that was fairly crappy. There were ants crawling around in the parmesan cheese that they had brought out. Yech ... Funny story - as we were eating Sean said "Hey, did you see that creepy bug on the ferry????".

Back to the hostel where I repaired my shorts (the button fell off). It will probably disintegrate after one wash. Down to the bar after ... lively but it felt a little too "plastic" for me. Some people have stayed here over a week just so that they could hang out at the hostel and party. Many people I have met go to cities and towns simply because they heard there was a good party hostel there. I will never understand that, but to each his own, I guess. No matter how good a hostel was I would never go there unless the destination interested me.

The owner of the hostel has a cool story. He is Croatian but born in South Africa. When I met him, I knew something was off about him. He showed up wearing nothing but Speedos and a cowboy hat. Turns out he was a contestant on Big Brother and came in 2nd. I knew it!!!! He is the stereotypical Big Brother contestant! He used his winnings to open the hostel - he runs it during the summer and then shuts it down for 8 months so that he can travel the world. Apparently he is opening up more hostels in Croatia - he will do well for himself as there is a dearth of hostels.

Met 2 nice Aussie dudes in the dorm, Alex and Zane. Very mature for their ages, good blokes! Told Alex that I have met so many nice Aussies while traveling. He had a hard time believing me and said that most Aussies he has met were complete jackasses. "Wait until you meet the ones in our dorm room." Off to bed after a short time in the bar. Very uneventful birthday ... I prefer to remember last night's picnic on the beach with the girls as my birthday celebration instead.

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Photos

a
View from the ferry. This might have been Hvar town on Hvar Island.

b
b

c
View from one of Korcula's beaches.

d
Mmm mmmm ... yummy ... ants in the parmesan. We certainly picked a high-class place to dine!

e
Another more secluded beach.

f
Sean and Jenny.