Best Kept Secret

---

Blog Entry: I've Lost Count: CROATIA! (I don't want to leave)

This morning I lost my breakfast... the ship left at about 8 am from Croatia and right off the bat, it was rocky. There was a storm as we left Croatia so the seas weren't as calm as they usually are. I knew I wasn't going to feel good so I popped 2 Meclizines and headed up for breakfast. Oh and luckily I grabbed a handy dandy barf bag. Anyway I got up from the computer after breakfast and just lost it. I ran over to the corner... I don't think anyone saw me... if they did, oh well. I'm so used to it!
I made it to class long enough to tell him I just got sick in the hallway and he sent me to bed. I missed both of my classes 😞
I feel better now though especially because the weather is nicer. Next time, I will take it before bed so that I can keep it down and sleep whatever drowsiness it gives me. Better luck next time!

Croatia is the best kept secret in Europe. Not a lot of people know much about it, but in 10 years, they will. This country is full of tradition even through their efforts toward redevelopment after the war in 1992. We were ported in the town of Dubrovnik. The old part, or“Old Town, is about a 20 minute walk from the pier. Talk about an“old town. Yes, things were a bit touristy, but it was nothing compared to Rome. The atmosphere is much more relaxed and laid back... my kinda town. The first day, a group of us walked up to Old Town. I fell in love right then and there. The entire town is set up on giant cliffs along the Adriatic and the sidewalks are right up against them. Just plain gorgeous. Old Town itself is completely circled by huge city walls, setting it apart from the rest of the city. We walked around the entire wall which took us about 2 hours but it was so worth it. Every building is covered with terra cotta - orange/red shingles (terra cotta?? I could have completely pulled that out of my butt). The orange/rustic look up against the deep blue of the Adriatic makes things look like a postcard. After walking the walls, we strolled the streets for awhile, which included lots of souvenir shopping, pizza, ice cream, and the oldest pharmacy in the world. The currency here is so weird... it’s 5.18 Kuna for every $1 USD. So I was paying what seemed like $100 for a $20 item. We all felt rich! Multiple $200 bills lived in my wallet. At dusk, the Croatian men's choir came out and sang on the church steps. This was especially a treat for me being such a choir nerd!

The second day, my friends and I hopped on a ferry to Lopud, an island 50 minutes by ferry from the pier. Beach, beach, beach was one our minds! This beach was popular because it was one of the only sandy beaches near Dubrovnik. It was about a 30 minute hike through the forest and steep hills to the other side of the island where the beach was. The waves were rough and of course super salty! So we just spent the day hanging out on the beach... such hard work, I know. Half of our group left early, but Becca, Rachel and I weren't ready to leave yet so we stayed behind. Rachel, the culprit, suggested an adventurous detour to go off the path, and hike through the woods to the other side ... welp, that didn't work.... I like to think of it as a 20 minute nature walk, out and back ha ha. It's always a good time with those girls 😊 Thirty minutes, steep hills, and buckets of sweat later, we sat down for a nice dinner on the water. We reflected on our time so far on the trip and compared countries. For all of us, Croatia is ranked first.... we realized that Croatia is pretty much a vacation from our vacation ha ha. It's so much more relaxing and slower paced than Spain and Italy. Traveling in Italy was hard work! The environment of Croatia allows us to actually sit back, experience, and soak in the culture. We are so lucky to be experiencing all of these different places in the world. We've already seen so much in 3 countries and 13 days at port.... I can't imagine the comparisons we will have when we hit Northern Africa!

The next day, Rachel, Becca, Nina and I cabbed it to a quaint little town on the other side of the hill called Cavtat. We made friends with our cab driver as we drove on the edges of the giant hill sides over looking the Adriatic. The prime minister of Croatia just resigned for reasons nobody knows, so we were asking him what he thinks and how he feels about it. He seems to be a bit indifferent, but liked the prime minister a lot. He said it's hard to be a leader in times like these, especially while Croatia is trying to rebuild their country and get into the EU. He asked us if we liked Obama 😊 “Yea, Obama!” He likes him too and said he appreciates him even more for being a leader during the current economic times in the states. We really liked talking to this guy. It's amazing how some of the best moments aren't planned.... neat. So Cavtat was a favorite of ours for many reasons. First, the food was delicious... right on the water ahhh. So relaxing. Second, there wasn't much there. Just a rocky beach, resaurants, and a road that wound through town shaded by pine trees. Lastly, (do you like my 5th grade essay?), our the best thing about Cavtat, no Semester at Sea students!! We felt like we were in the real Croatia, not the one bombarded with crazy American teenagers. So we took advantage of this time and relaxed on the rocks, listening to the waves hitting right underneath us. On the way back to get a cab, we found a very climbable tree, took some cute pics, but almost died in the process.... Rachel's boney butt took out my shoulder on her way down.

We took a super-sketchy cab ride home... if this were Italy, we would have never gotten in that car! The guy at the boat station said he could get a cab for us. What we didn't know was that he called his friend who came in his BMW to drive us... Okay now that I think about it, that was probably really dumb, but hey, we're all still alive! I mean, the guy looked legit and he had a nicer car... Plus, we are some tough girls. They know not to mess with us. In actuality, we probably shouldn't be alive right now more so because they drive like maniacs!!! Here we are at the edge of cliffs and they're passing each other left and right doing 80.... Maybe I've said too much. Ha ha

We must have been in a political mood because we also talked about Obama and the prime minister with him. He pretty much said the same things about both of them. When we got to Old Town, we met up right away with 10 of our friends and headed to our Kayaking/Snorkeling adventure! There were about 40 people in the entire tour, 2 to a kayak. I paired up with a friend, Bailey from Virginia. She's in my Poly Theory class which every one dreads... instant bond. I was of course in the back because I'm so ripped. We kayaked for about an hour and a half. They took us around the island of Lokrum... And on this island resided a nudist colony... just kidding... but you would think so if you saw how many old, naked Croatians were out on those rocks jumping and swimming... and they all stopped and stared at us like we were some sort of parade, like we were the interesting ones... I think one naked lady even took a picture of us.

We took a break in a pebble beach cave for food, and snorkeling. Becca, unfortunately got sick from the exhaustion and heat. I think she's a bit hypoglycemic as well. We were all feeling the stress from paddling for 2 hours! Kind of a nice break from sour walking legs, though.... I think God messed up with the Adriatic Sea... You know when you salt your soup too much and your mom still makes you eat it?? I think God flat our dumped the salt shaker into his Adriatic soup and said,“"Oh well."” I was literally dusting it off of my cheeks. It was pooling up in the crevices of my friend Anthony who's black (but not technically). It made for easy treading though! That kayak trip will be a definite highlight of our time here!

Germans. We hung out with 4 mountain-hiker Germans last night, who were just as eager as we were to have a good time on our last night in Croatia. The group of us ran into them outside the grocery store on our way out. So we got to talking, drank a bit with them, then headed up to Old Town. The four of them, 2 sets of brothers, were on a 10-day mountain hiking trip and this was their last night before heading back to Munich. Blonde, beards, grungy looking, hiking boots, and trousers. They all spoke good English. I learned a lot from Axel. He has been an English teacher in Germany for a while and studied for a year in the US in high school. We talked a lot about the similarities and differences of the German and American education systems. He also is an emcee... his album comes out in 2 weeks ha ha. He free-styled for us in German... we couldn't understand any of it, but it was great! They are all in fact singers. They sang for a us a couple of German drinking songs a capella with 4 part harmony 😊 The four of them were the classic German bunch. We never expected to make friends with Germans in Croatia.

Today was a very sad day: our last day in port. Rachel and I decided to hit up the internet café to try to find some hostels in Santorini, Greece. We were unsuccessful so decided to do some last minute shopping in Old Town to get rid of our Kuna. On the way we picked up some delicious watermelon from the market.... 8 kuna, juicy, goodness. At Old Town, I used up the rest of my Kuna on some sweet Croatian souvenirs. This whole time, Rachel and I made sure we had 10 Kuna left for the bus ride home... then we passed an ice cream shop.... needless to say, we walked home. This is typical for us. Rachel and I are eating machines. It's comforting to know there's another girl here who eats like a man just as much as I do.... 😊

So now, I'm sitting here in my bed, listening to my roommate, Candace, sing“"Super Freak" in the shower (ha ha. I have awesome roommates), and thinking about how I don't want this ship to pull away. So long, Croatia.... I will miss you. You very pleasantly surprised me. You have the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen, great traditions, hospitable people, and a very salty sea. See you again in the future, and next time, with people from home!!

We have today and then tomorrow at sea, before Greece! Today is classes then tomorrow is SEA OLYMPICS! We are teamed up by "Sea". I'm the Baltic Sea which is the hallway that I'm in, or the third level even bedrooms 😊 I think there are 4 or 5 seas all together and probably a faculty team. We have events like Pictionary, Relay Race, Pool Treasure Hunt, Mashed Potato Sculpting, Boat Race, and Synchronized Swimming. I signed up for the Relay Race and Pictionary... hopefully all of our Swinney/Schnelker Pictionary nights will pay off... Hat Dan! The winning Sea gets to be the first ones off the ship in Virginia.... such a great prize!! We all have a meeting tonight to get pumped and have ice cream cake 😊

My friends Rachel and Becca, and I are in the process of planning Greece 😊 2 of my trips through SAS got canceled so I'm using the $ that was refunded back to my account and time that it freed up to go to the island of Santorini for 3 days!! This is the island where "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" was filmed! Apparently it's the most beautiful island in Europe. There is a 4-hour ferry there and back and we are looking for hostels. Rachel, Becca, and I can't wait!! The first day in Greece, I will be touring Athens and the Acropolis with Semester at Sea and for an FDP for my Poly Theory class. Greece should be a treat 😊

Well I'm off to study for an open book Geology class! I can't wait... more later about Sea Olympics and who wins!

Ps. I met the girl whose room I vomited in front of the first couple of days at sea while she opened up the door... I knew she looked familiar and put two and two together.. I apologized after she told me she got sick later that day... Sorry Lauren!


END BLOG

XOXOXO

---

Photos

5535 696150447028 26723151 40125374 1797802 n
us at our port in Dubrovnik Croatia

5535 696150437048 26723151 40125372 1396905 n
on the beach in Croatia on the island of Lopud

tree time
in a tree in Cavtat!

Group Snorkeling
our Kayak/Snorkel adventure off of Dubrovnik

dorks
dorks