With that said, three weeks ago, I got back from a fantastic trip to Croatia. It was the second of the four day weekends (and the Royal Wedding) here in the UK, and I had decided a while back that going on a sailing trip would be a great idea. Initially I had tried to drag along some friends but for one reason or another, each plan fell through. No matter though, I quite like traveling solo =)
I searched long and hard for a deal (for those who know me, you know I'm a deal hunter) and came across a random link on a random forum suggesting a random small sailing company in Croatia that offered weekend trips as well as the more normal 7 day adventures. By searching long and hard, what I really mean is that I clicked the first link I found that looked cheap haha! Anyways, the site seemed legit and I inquired about a spot on a boat. A day later, I get a response indicating that a spot has been reserved for me but I would need to fully pay within one or two days in order to hold the reservation. Additionally, the email says that I've been offered an additional 20% off since the boat is close to full. Hmmm, +1 point to my deal hunting abilities! However now the bad news, they only accept wire transfers. Who in this day and age only accepts wires? What about paypal, or any other of the million established online payment systems. I don't know about you, but this sounds as legitimate as those Craigslist ads that require Western Union money transfers. Now I'm in a pickle because the deal seems really too good to be true, but there also seems to be a 36.2% (I always just make up arbitrary probabilities to sound more scientific) chance that this is all a scam.
Guess what I do?! (PS - this is so anticlimactic since I've told you in the very beginning that I had a fantastic trip...but just play along and keep reading and pretend it is suspenseful). I'm a bit worried, but I follow along and set up a wire transfer and send money to some unknown bank account in Croatia! I warn my co-workers before I leave that if I don't return to work, they should send help since I've most likely been kidnapped. If I do return, and I have ice bags on my lower back and I look like death, its most likely because I spent a weekend in an ice bath and am missing at least a kidney that has now traveled halfway around the world thanks to the black market.
A week before the trip, I'm freaking out a bit because I have not received any itinerary information except that the boat will leave from the town of Split. I email them and keep getting a general 'we are working on it and will send it to you shortly' response. -1 point for my deal hunting abilities now if I did in fact get ripped off. However, I reason out that if worst comes to worst, I still have a legitimate flight in and out of Croatia, and I can spend a weekend exploring Split and the surrounding area.
A day before the trip, and I finally receive my itinerary which states the name of the boat, where to find it, and final instructions before boarding. PHEW. +1 point back.
Fast forward to my arrival in Split: it is around 11pm at night, and as I get off the bus from the airport, I have to navigate myself to the hostel. Luckily, I have the instructions printed out and my blackberry with Google maps in my back pocket. PS - I DO not know how I was able to move around Europe for three months last time around without Google maps. The first step is to take a right turn and walk under a passage through Diocletian's Palace which I find without too much trouble. As I make the turn though, its quickly apparent that the route is blocked off and has been gated off. 'No worries', I say in my mind, I'll just fall back on the trusty blackberry. Needless to say, the winding streets and confusing street names make this quite a journey. Oh by the way, my blackberry does not have GPS but only the 'you are approximately here' icon which in a small town is WORTHLESS. At one point, I know I'm close to the hostel since I've somehow crossed a bookstore which is one of the last steps on the instructions page. However, I cannot figure out what to do next and realize I'm at the end of a very dimly lit alley, and two very drunk guys have just spotted me and start to approach. Fast forward: one black eye, one missing wallet, and a loose tooth later, I shriek like a little school girl and someone from the hostel comes running down. JUST KIDDING, I had two black eyes. JUST KIDDING!! None of that happened. I was in a dimly lit alley trying to navigate the last two instruction steps, and two very drunk guys did spot me and started to approach. I will admit that for one brief moment I thought something bad was going to happen. However, the two guys turned out to be very friendly and knew I was lost and just wanted to make sure I was okay! Lesson learned, Croatian people are very friendly.
Fast forward again: I walk to the marina and everyone is already on board. A quick round of introductions later, and I realize I'm the ONLY non-Croatian person. For whatever reason, in my mind, I had just assumed that the trip would be Americans, Canadians, Brits, etc since the website was completely designed in English. However, now I found myself on a boat with all Croatians. Also in my mind, I worry that it's going to be a 'long' weekend since everyone will become friends and I will be the outsider who can't understand anything they are saying. However, once again, I learn a lesson. NOT only are Croatian people extremely nice, but they also learn English all through school and probably speak better than half of my friends back in North Carolina (*Sorry to any friends reading this from North Carolina). A weekend later, I've made 5 new Croatian friends who all extend there homes if I ever visit again. We talked about beer, politics, local foods to try, New York, traveling, and everything else that you'd converse about with friends. Through the trip, I also remember what I love about traveling. Yes it's always great to see the sights and take pictures to post up on facebook, but the real joy of traveling is when you get exposed to a different culture through the people you meet. Sadly, most of my travels don't live up to this, but when it does, it just makes me smile gratefully.
Final lesson learned: check the weather forecast and pack appropriately. I did not check the weather and just assumed it was going to be extremely warm the whole time. I even bought some suntan lotion because I was SURE it would be hot and I would get a golden brown tan in one weekend. I won't say I FROZE, but there were times when I definitely wished I brought some warmer clothes. Just in case you are wondering, all I packed were a few t-shirts, one long sleeve shirt, and one light sweater. Again, I was saved by my new friend Alen who lent me a jacket on the second day when it was really windy out!
Okay so I know I didn't actually talk too much about the actual sailing part of the trip, but sometimes, you just never know what is going to be the most exciting part! I expected it to be the actual sailing but instead it quickly became the people I met along the way.
I say this all the time, but I really mean it. Life is good. I am blessed to be able to do all these wonderful things. I wouldn't change it for the world.
