Day 39 – 46
Go out all night with new friends. Drink and dance in ancient towns until the early morning. Wake up on a boat and look out the door to see yourself skimming across the emerald green water by the Croatian coast (on the left). Then have some breakie before jumping off the boat and splashing about in the Adriatic Sea (best cure for a hangover – seriously, try it). Arrive at another small island and explore. Eat a whole heap of cheap and fresh seafood, hang out with those new friends again (Soon you’ll morph into a family) and relax on the beach. Now you can just tan, read a book or do nothing for the rest of the day. Go to dinner with the family, drink a lot of cheap booze on the boat, play some drinking games and take part in many a shenanigans before heading out for another big night. And so the cycle continues.
This is the Croatian sailing life. And it’s damn good!!
This was the first organised tour I had ever been on so I was a bit apprehensive. Some of my friends had told me of their Contiki trips around Europe and how fast paced these holidays were. Into one city one day and then on a bus early the next morning to drive elsewhere. Non-stop with little room to breathe and really take in your surroundings. But the main Contiki coach tour’s little sailing brother is altogether different.
For one, your accommodation is also your transport so no need to constantly pack and unpack all of your things. And even better, your boat does most of its travelling while you sleep soundly in your little bunk (and by little I really mean tiny so prepare yourself. You’ll be getting super close with your bunk buddy).
And to top it all off, our Contiki rep, Danielle, was a delightful surprise. Her laid back nature, coupled with a constant and genuine glee, made everything run smoothly. She even came out drinking and partying with us every night. It was so good to have someone telling me what I could do and how I could do it (being constantly switched on for 6 weeks had been exhausting and I needed to turn off my brain for a short while). We even had some control over the daily schedule. If we wanted to stop for a longer swim between ports, Dani would check in with the crew to see if it was possible (most of the time it was) and we’d stay as long as we wanted. We could join in with group activities, wander by ourselves or just tan on the boat while listening to music.
‘Care free’ seems to be the best way to describe how I felt throughout this part of my holiday.
But prepare to be surrounded by Aussies. We had 4 crew members who were local Croatians (Some of the friendliest, most helpful and hardworking people I have ever met), a South African Contiki rep and 25 passengers (all but two were Australians). This was unexpected and initially disappointing. I was hoping it would have a more international blend but I came to realise how this helped me feel at home on the boat.
The main problem was how my accent quickly deteriorated into a super bogan form of English. Everything good became ‘sick’, I was swearing all the time and that great Aussie twang just got thicker and thicker as the days went by. From the outside, we must have looked like an obnoxious group of tourists making a mess but, from the inside, everything was just as it should have been.
Now going on about the fellow passengers. I’d never come across such a large group of open, tolerant and fun people who were looking to make as many new friends as they could. The average age was about 24 with only two in their thirties but age was no obstacle here. While we had initially spread into a few small groups, we soon became one happy family (alcohol fuelled nights tend to help tear down those walls). This closeness culminated in the last night of the Contiki where we all went to a beach festival in Split. We spent the night dancing on the shore, laughing at each other’s foolish antics all the while ignoring the fact that we all had to say goodbye the next morning. Is it bad that I was sadder to see some of my new found friends leave than I was to say goodbye to some of my previous fellow travellers from home?
Now let’s move on to the country itself. Croatia. This place is a newly discovered (by us travellers) oasis amongst the overly modernised, full and noisy tourist spots in Europe. No one is trying to rip you off here. No one is going to be stealing your wallet or bags off the beach. It is a humble country. Small and unique but full of spectacular sights which speak for themselves.
I thought the water around islands of Thailand was clear but the Adriatic shat all over it (apologies for the language but the bogan within has been hard to get rid of since this trip). Standing on the top deck, we had never ending 360 degree views of this eternally beautiful and ever changing place. From sunrise to sunset I struggled to look away.
Out of the rich blue water sprung enormously steep and rocky mountains. The land was dry but still remained green. Any sight of civilisation only really appeared near the spots where we docked. Apart from that, this World Heritage Site was undisturbed.
My favourite place had to be Makarska where we spent much of the day swimming around the boat. The picturesque landscape behind the small town blew me away. I woke up to this view and had could not speak (this may also be due to the great hangover I had at the time). I lay in the water on my lilo and tried as hard as I could to not forget what was around me (I must burn this into my memory). This is another spot to add into the ever-growing list of my happy places.
We later ran about on a giant blow up jungle gym at the beach and exhausted ourselves (few of us looked classy when playing on this – no I was not one of the coordinated few). My muscles ached for days after this. My body really isn’t used to exercise.
The entire week I spent on the boat went far too fast. One moment we were getting on in Dubrovnik (a place worthy of an entire blog post if I had the time – on the left) and the next I was walking away from the sailing life in Split. I will definitely have to return here again. I didn’t know I could have such a good time and love a place so much.
Unfortunately, Croatia’s tourism is growing at a rapid pace. It won’t be this untouched for long. So get on board fast (please excuse the nautical pun). You’ll be shore to have a good time. Ok this is getting out of hand. Seariously.
Just book yourself a bed on a boat and go! Now! Do it!
#noregrets
Tales of an Aussie Traveller 