So in case you didn't know, yes, part of my family was from Croatia. Not sure which part, but I was very excited to be there. Strangely, a lot of the Croatian men looked like they could belong in that part of my family... or perhaps my family looked like they belonged there. Either way, it was very interesting.
Upon our arrival at the airport, we caught a bus to Split so we could take the ferry to Hvar. The bus ride was about 30mins, and we stood the entire time, haha. Then we waited around in a line for ferry tickets. CROATIA IS HOTTTT!!! And cheap!! A huge bottle of water for only about $1!!! What a hugely exciting shock after spending a week and a half in expensive-as-all-get-out Denmark! After a nice nap on the hour-long ferry ride to Hvar, we found ourselves in paradise. The island has no cars, so it's all pedestrians all the time. What a charming place... very old world looking. I fell in loved immediately. And it was exactly what AJ was hoping for in a vacation spot after his year in Copenhagen, and before his trek through Africa. The couple running our hostel were AMAZING! Lemme tell ya--Croatians might have just invented what we call "customer service"... they have it down pat! Before the rooms were ready, we did a bit of exploring and laid around at a pebble beach, had a late lunch, and then got upgraded to a nicer room at the hostel! Hooray! We went to a place called Ferria Garden for dinner, as our hostel guy suggested, where I had the absolute 100% perfect and best calamari I have ever had in my entire life. (And I eat a lot of calamari, so I would know!) I think I took a picture of my meal, because it was just that good.
The next day, we strolled down to the harbor for breakfast and a quick internet fix. We noticed lots of people along the water advertising day-long boat tours, so we checked some of them out and settled on one we both liked. BEST DECISION EVER. For about $55, we would cruise around the islands of Croatia from 10am-5pm with 3 stops and lunch was included. Sign me up!!! We toured the Pakleni Islands!! The water everywhere was unbelievably crystal clear, which I am still not over! AJ had goggles for us to use, too! Buuuuut, like a champ, I lost them at our first stop. HAHA! We befriended two British girls that were also on the boat on our way to the 2nd stop, Ella and Frances, and they were just great. So much fun! We walked a long way around the island at the second stop... the rocks were weird and volcanic looking and we got some good pictures out there. After that, it was back to the boat for lunch. Chicken and fresh fish on the grill, salad, bread, drinks! Mmm... At the 3rd stop, we could swim around more and walk around this little island. We had to be careful of the sea urchins on the ocean floor--eek!! Like a dork, AJ climbed a tree and made me take a picture of him in it, haha. But it gave him an idea... let's go jump off the very top of the boat! ANOTHER best decision ever!!! :) Mildly frightening, but what a blast. Ella and Frances got in on the fun and we took some absolutely hilarious pictures of all of us jumping in and making dumb poses. What an amazing day!!!!!
That evening, we decided to take the hostel guy up on another suggestion: walking up the Spanish Fortress on top of the island for the best sunset imaginable. The Fortress itself was interesting and full of history, and the views just made it incredible. We sat up there for a while, enjoyed a cappuccino, and tried to get some cool pictures of the sunset over the harbor. We managed to do alright, too.
For dinner, we found Pizzeria Lavender, tucked up on the top of the hill at one end of the harbor. It was a truly fantastic meal! On the walk back, we decided to stop for some crepes for dessert and then called it a night. Exhausting yet totally fabulous day!!!
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