Croatia, Montenegro!

7/11/12

 

We slept in nice and late and then rallied down to the old city for our kayak trip. It was beautiful on the water and we went around the entire island. What they don't tell you is how far that actually is, really really far! Anyways we laughed all the way along even though our arms were pretty beat. After rounding the island we crossed the channel again to a small rocky beach where we did some snorkeling and ate a quick lunch. Finally we made it back to our starting spot and returned to the MV for a nap. We ate a mellow dinner on board and then watched a movie and got to bed early because of our plans for the next day, white water rafting in Montenegro!

 

7/12/12

 

We rose at the crack of dawn and were off the ship by 615am to begin our journey to Montenegro. We met up with some parents and off we went. On the 3.5 hr drive we left Croatia, passed through parts of Bosnia, and finally to Montenegro. The scenery was unbelievable and the river was an oasis blue color. We finally made it there after a while and suited up in farmer john wetsuits, booties, and helmets. Quite the look! We then climbed into safari style jeeps and drove up a really sketchy dirt road a ways up into the cliffs to reach the launch point. We unloaded our rubber boats and off we went down the rapids. Everyone was cracking up the whole time and our guide was pretty entertaining. He was big on busting out into American songs right after or a before a rapid! We stopped halfway down at a treehouse type place and grabbed some water and a cold one before continuing on. We were also able to swim in the cold (55 fh) FRESH water. Felt so good considering Montenegro was easily in the high 90's. After the trip down the river we went back to the outpost deal for some lunch and then packed it up to return to Croatia. We technically weren't supposed to leave the country but many SAS kids did and so far no troubles with the passports. Later in the evening around 1030 we met up in the old city to explore the nightlife a bit since it was our last night in port and we ended up having a great time, especially at the SkyBar where you order buckets instead of glasses for drinks. Kind of a touristy spot but a good time was had by all.

 

7/13/12

 

We were at it again early this morning and took on the city walls around 10am. You pay a small fare to walk around the entire city from the top but the views are gorgeous. Everyone was laughing at how hot it was but we made a full lap before grabbing one last meal in the city and doing a bit of shopping. We are now getting ready to head out for Greece, where we will arrive in two days time. Croatia was an absolute blast and most of our time was spent in and around the beautiful Adriatic. We are departing after numerous cab fares, bus stops, large water bottles, gallons of sweat and a few passport stamps to boot. A huge thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Schwartzman as well as Mr. and Mrs. Strauss for their extremely generous hospitality while we were here. It was so great getting to know you all and we can't thank you enough! Hope everyone is enjoying summer back home or wherever you may be while reading this.

 

As Jimmy Buffett once sang, " Shells sink, dreams float, life's good on our boat."

 

Another great country,

Jeff