Croatia, A Day in the Life...

Dobar Dan friends!

Gordon and I have climbed off of the Vrgada, our homely ship and porter for the week, and climbed aboard the ship next door, climbed aboard the ship next to that one, climbed aboard another, and finally a last ship to walk through in order to reach land. It's our new evening custom when we come in to a port to rinse the day's residue of salt off of our bodies and traverse the ships that are sandwiched beside us until our feet are settled on the ground in a new town. They stack us up like sardines! For the next few hours, we wonder the white marbled streets and watch local families swimming with their families in the clear waters of the Mediterranean Sea. As we amble we glance at menus that are laid out on tables in outdoor restaurants. The hardest choice we make during the day is where we'll have our evening meal. Lately our dinners have been easy to choose once we've picked a location...SEAFOOD! Every night we've had whole grilled fish with olive oil and garlic or seafood pasta. We share a tiramisu icecream cone as we stroll around the port, consumed by the water lapping the pebbled shore, the night sky, the weathered fishing boats, the clear air, the men plazing boccia ball under the orange glow of a streetlight, and groups of children throwing rocks at a buoy. Drained from a day in the sun, we make our way back to the Vrgada, climb the stairs to the upper deck, pass through the lace curtain that covers our door, and stowaway for the night in our bunks. We drift to sleep with a sea breeze and the lull of gentle waves that rocks our ship. Often when we wake, we are already sailing (motoring) along and I watch as the Croatian cliffs on the shoreline stream by before I even lift my head off the pillow. Gordon and I are usually up before our shipmates, so we'll lounge on the bow in the soft morning light until the morning breakfast bell beckons us downstairs.

We lead a charmed life, don't we?

Our days are just as laid back. We've spent the night in Makarska, one in Hvar, and one in Trstenek (a small town of 20 houses where we watched the men play Boccia ball). During the day, we stop in quiet coves to swim and one day we stopped at a pebble beach called Bol. It was beautiful. I collected several smooth stones that are firey orange and white because they match the houses in every town; white siding and terra cotta tiled roofs. Tonight we'll be in Dubrovnik. As you enter the walls of Dubrovnik, there is a giant white map that locates the places where bombs destroyed houses and sidewalks in 1991-1992 under the Yugoslav army of Serbia and Montenegro. Now as we walk along, it's hard to imagine the violence that devastated this country so recently. As a visitor, it's hard to understand the cultural divides that still scar this land and the memories of the people who call it home.

Gordon and I have found some great friends in the other deck loungers that share our boat. Everyone aboard is Australian, except for a few Kiwis (New Zealanders) and our Croatian crew. Our captain has stark white hair and has spent his life on the sea, this is our guess anyway. He has the far-away eyes of one who has spent his life gazing at the horizon. When we first met him, I noticed a small communion-sized glass beside him that he was sipping. Everyday, a crew member brings him a glass of pivo (beer) as we arrive at port. He's calmer than the water we're sailing. And he can dock that boat like magic.

Yesterday, Gordon and I bought goggles so that we can watch the fish swim below. Even when we're all treading above 25 meters of water, you can still see the bottom. We also bought a teal raft with a clear plastic window in it and bright yellow suns. The Aussies call it a "lilo," but we know that its a raft. Sometimes we swim to shore and Gordon does (a version of) elementary backstroke. He doesn't always go straight, so I'll call to him, "Come on Flounder!"

Life is good.

Time for dinner...