A Vacation, On Vacation

My original plan for Croatia after spending two nights in Split was to head an hour and a half south to a little beach town called Brela. Spend one night there and continue about four more hours south to Dubrovnik. From Dubrovnik I would catch a ferry and island hop my way back to Split and then work my way up the coast, ultimately ending up in the capital, Zagreb, and then out of Croatia and on to Budapest. According to that plan, I should have already spent one night in Dubrovnik and have been on my way to one of the beautiful nearby Islands. Instead, there I was, Saturday morning, sitting on a couch, still in Split, figuring out my next move. The night before Rani had said that since she had a morning shift on Saturday and an afternoon shift on Sunday she would come with me to Brela, and then we could part ways as I continued on to Dubrovnik and she would return to Split. We had had a couple of drinks when she suggested this, so I wasn’t fully expecting her to follow through, but I had to keep moving regardless. She did say I could leave my big bag at her house and come pick it up once I had finished island hopping and was back the following week. Rani finished work at three and when I went in to visit her around 2, she said she just needed to run home and grab her bag and we could catch the four o’clock bus to Brela. I couldn’t believe it. She was coming.


The bus ride to Brela was awesome. Rani and I sat talking and getting to know each other better as the bus wound its way along the beautiful coastline. The ride took somewhere between an hour and a half to two hours as expected, but to be honest, you could have told me it had taken five minutes or five hours and I wouldn’t have known the difference. How could I? The conversation seemed to flow like a well written song, and all the breaks were filled with cliff-side ocean views that seemed could only exist in movies, or once they had been taken from the imagination of an artists’ mind and translated onto canvas.


Arriving in Brela, we quickly found our way to the hostel, dropped our things and raced down to the beach to jump in the crystal blue water that had been tempting us from the moment we boarded the bus. Somewhere between lying on the beach and swimming, a couple more hours had passed and the sun began its slow crawl towards the horizon. Not quite ready to go back to the hostel, but needing to warm up a bit, we decided to pop in to a nearby bar to have a drink and watch the sun go down. We both had been traveling for months, and were essentially “on vacation” for all of that time, but something about that day, about being together on this little beach in the middle of Croatia, made it truly FEEL like vacation, which somehow equates to needing to order a drink with an umbrella in it.


So there we were, clothes wet from the sea, salt lingering on our skin, stirring drinks with our umbrellas as we sat and watched the sky transform from the brightest blues, to shades of red, orange and purple, and slowly back to a darker blue and our cue to make our way back to the hostel and get ready for dinner.
After showering, the guy who ran the hostel gave us a ride to a nearby traditional Dalmatian restaurant and told us to give him a call when we were ready to be picked up. Needless to say, dinner was amazing, consisting of locally caught grilled whole fish, roast potatoes, greens, and of course locally made wine. As we finished the last sips of the wine, and beginning to feel a bit tired, we called for our ride and headed back to the hostel. Once there we had a drink at the bar and talked about how amazing our “vacation” had been and laughed when we realized we had only been out of Split less than ten hours. We stayed up late that night, even though we were quite tired, I guess just wanting to make the night last as long as possible, knowing that in the morning we would go our separate ways.
Eventually the night got the best of us and we fell asleep, only to awake in the morning and come to the decision that we should spend more time together. That was it. It was decided pretty much without discussion at all… we were heading back to Split, together.

The Adventures of Rafting

Two other people were doing the rafting trip that day, an Aussie guy named Rowan and a Kiwi girl named Vanessa. We chatted on the patio of Booze and Snooze for a few as we waited for our driver to come pick us up. Once Dom,our driver, arrived, he showed us to his car and we were off for the 2 hour drive to the rafting site along the Cetina River, the most water rich river in all of coastal Croatia. The drive to the river was a good chance for the three of us to get to know each other a little, and it was apparent from the start that we were going to get along great. Dom was also very nice, spoke very good English and was more than happy to stop along the way for us to take pictures, to tell us a little bit about the area, and make sure at least twice to tell us that rafting in Croatia you have a 50-50 chance of survival. We laughed at his obvious joke and carried on without paying much notice. Arriving at the start area, he told us that he would leave us there and would be waiting for us 10 kilometers down the river at the spot where the rafting trip ends. So happily, we changed into our boardies and swimmers, were given our safety gear, and walked our raft down to the river. In our raft were the three of us, a German family, and our captain, Ante. Ante thanked us for joining the rafting trip and let us know that he was now going to go over the safety instructions.
“OK, first off I am happy to let you know that we have a 50% survival rate on our rafting trips, so you can be rest assured that at least half of you will make it. To make sure you survive, it is very important that you follow these instructions… keep you feet under the safety rope at all times, when I say forward, you row forward, when I say back, you row back, and most important, try not to fall out of the raft. Ok, let’s get going.”
That was it! No paperwork, no waivers, no signing our names twelve time for death/serious injury, just row and don’t fall out. Amazing. For the first time I thought maybe they were serious about the 50-50 chance of survival. The first part of the trip was very mellow, involving only two small rapids over about a two kilometer stretch of crystal clear water surrounded by lush forest. The second stretch was equally beautiful, but a little more exciting, before another calm stretch where we jumped out of the raft for a brief swim in the pure mountain spring water. After one more rapid run, we were told we had to get off the raft and walk to just after the next rapid, because 9 people had died there the previous season and so only the captains were allowed to go over that section. There are usually nine people in the raft at a time (eight, plus the captain) which sounded more like zero chance of survival, but I chose not to say anything and happily walked around. Once on the other side we boarded the raft again, hit one more good rapid which led to a spot to cliff jump and then another calm stretch before reaching the end of the trip at an outdoor restaurant and bar area.



















Once on land, we found Dom’s car which he was apparently taking a nap in. He woke up as we opened the doors, apologized for sleeping and told us we could go whenever we were ready. We told him we would like to grab a beer before heading out and asked if he would like to join us. He declined, saying that he had already had a couple while he was waiting for us and would just sleep a few more minutes and come find us, but for us to take our time. He found us at our table shortly thereafter and we again offered him a beer. Again, he declined saying, “Thank you very much but I have a problem with alcohol.” I jokingly said, “That’s okay, we all have a problem.” But then we found out that he truly did have a problem. Apparently, he has had two DUI’s in the last few months and did not have a license. Laughing to myself, all I could think was, maybe that is not something that you should tell people that you are getting paid to transport. Rowan, Vanessa, and I just looked at each other, and without words knew that we were all thinking the same thing. Okay, so our driver has a problem with drinking, lost his license for two DUI’s, and just told us that he was napping in the car because he had had a couple beers while waiting for us. We were starting to understand where the 50-50 chance of survival comes in. We decided it would be in our best interest to quickly finish our beers and get back to town. Climbing in to the back seat of the car I noticed an open, quarter drunk, bottle of liquor wedged under the seat that was not there on the way up. I looked over at Vanessa and pointed it out, and again we shared a look that said everything. We were on the same page, but there was nothing we could do, we were already underway. If we thought the rafting was fun, let me tell you, the real adventure was about to begin. Driving back Dom was all over the road. From time to time I would catch him looking out the window at pretty girls walking by and swerve into the next lane, and even at one point ran a red light! I certainly was glad that Rowan and Vanessa were able to laugh it off and just look at it as part of the adventure, ‘cause some people could have easily lost it. About a half hour outside of Split we hit really bad traffic, which Dom told us would easily take an hour to get through. He suggested that we stop at a nearby beach and wait for traffic to die down. Happy to get off the road, we agreed. Funny thing is, by “stop at the beach” he meant stop at a BAR on the beach. He said we should order another drink while we waited. Rowan, Vanessa, and I each ordered a beer, and our alcoholic, licenseless driver ordered himself a bottle of wine. No joke. Again, we all just looked at each other with eyes that simply said, “What the fuck?! Is this for real?” After finishing our beers, and he finished his bottle of wine, it was back to the car and back on the road. As we walked to the car, the three of us fell back a little bit from Dom to discuss what we should do. We thought about trying to see if he would let one of us drive, but in the end decided we were pretty close to town and that we didn’t want to offend him. After another half hour of swerving and not obeying all traffic lights we had made it to town, just after sun down. Now for the best part… we were supposed to be dropped off near the hostel, but as we pulled in to town, Dom pulled in to the first available parking spot he could find. We asked him where we were, and he said he wasn’t sure, but he thought we were close to the center. He told us to follow the music coming from the beach club and then we would now where we were. Happy to have made it “close” to town alive, and frankly just happy to be out of the car, we said ok, thanked Dom for everything, and followed the music. To make matters worse, my sandal blew out about two minutes in to the walk and I had to walk barefoot the remaining 20 minutes back to the Old Town. Since I was heading back to Rani’s for a shower, I split off from Rowan and Vanessa but told them I would meet up with them at the bar later that night. After a quick shower I headed to Charlie’s Bar, to meet up with the crew and Rowan and Vanessa for a drink and to recount the day, and the adventures of rafting in Croatia.

Getting to Know the Crew

After heading to the hostel for a shower and to gather my things I headed back to Rani’s to drop off my bags and hang out for a bit before she had to head off to work. I spent the rest of the day back and forth between hanging with Rani at work and Kyle at Charlie’s Bar. In case you don’t remember Kyle, he is the Canadian guy from the night with the whiney little French guy. Kyle also lived with Rani, which means that he would also end up being my roommate and eventually my best friend that I had made on this trip. Kyle and I got along pretty much instantly, so it was easy to hang at the bar with him and just talk story. I decided to book a rafting trip for the next day, figuring that if I was not going to head off to other places in Croatia right away I should at least take advantage of the things that Split had to offer. That night we hung out at the bar after Rani got off work and got to know some of the other crew that was working in Split that summer, before going back to the house to prepare for the big rafting trip, and what a trip it turned out to be.

What’s Your Name Again?

I woke up at Rani’s in a panic. I had planned on only being in Split for two nights and therefore was supposed to be checking out from the hostel that morning at 10am. It was almost 11. Rani asked me what was wrong and I informed her of the situation and she said not to worry she would call the hostel and let whoever was working know that I would be checking out late. Perfect. So Rani, picked up her phone and called Kosta, who was working that morning, and this was the conversation:

Rani: Hey Kosta, it’s Rani. There is a guy staying in 42 that is meant to check out today, but he’s gonna be late. Just don’t sell his bed till he comes and gets his stuff.
Kosta: Ok. Why’s he gonna be late?
Rani: Cause he’s at my house.
Kosta: Ok. What’s his name?
Rani: Ummm. Ummm. NICK. His name’s Nick.
Kosta: (laughter) Ok, I’ll make sure to wait for him.

Next conversation, this time me and Rani:

Me: You totally forgot my name!
Rani: No I didn’t it just took me a second.
Me: You totally forgot my name!
Rani: It just took me a second. I just woke up! At least I didn’t have to ask you, “Hey, what’s your name again?”
Me: True. That woulda sucked.

We both just started laughing and moved right passed it. Plus, we had bigger things to worry about. We both wanted to spend more time together, but as I said, I was only supposed to be in Split for the two nights, and had planned on only being in Croatia for twelve days. I decided, screw it. I would stay another couple nights in Split, and we would take it from there… after all, in the words of the wise Mike Tyson, “Everyone has a plan…. Till they get hit.”

The Chase

That night at the bar, I had a great time. I had met a group of people from England and was having a couple of beers with them, and Harry and David, when, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Rani. I excitedly approached her telling her that I was with the two guys from Byron, which she simply responded, “Yeah, I met them a little bit ago and I don’t know them. They’re a bit younger than me.” Ok. Regroup. Casual conversation….. go.
“So would you like to have a drink?” I asked. “Nah, a couple of us are actually heading to another bar, called the Ghetto Bar.”
Ok. Don’t panic. Recovery….. go.
“Oh, cool. Where’s that? Maybe we’ll head down there in a bit, since they’re doing last call here.”
“Ahhh, well… it’s down this alley, make a right. Down that alley, just on the left. Cool, see ya later!”
And she was off.
And, begin emergency evacuation plan… Turning to the group, I told them to finish their drinks ‘cause we were off to the Ghetto Bar. As soon as we entered the bar, Rani passed me. Shouting out to her, I asked where she was going and she said, “To Baci. The beach club”, as Ghetto had already closed as well. I let her know that we didn’t know where that was and she said she would walk with us. So as we walked we chatted and somehow found ourselves separated from the group, which I didn’t mind at all. As we turned along the waterfront, now with my arm around her, we caught a glimpse of one of the most beautiful moons I had ever seen. Rani made a comment on how nice it was and how its reflection was amazing coming off the water.
Use most cheesy line ever, in 3….2…..1. “Yeah, you like it? I made it just for you. Not bad, huh?”. Somehow she didn’t run.
The walk to the beach club is about fifteen to twenty minutes from Ghetto Bar, that night it took about thirty, but we didn’t seem to mind. Just enjoying the scenery, and getting to know each other a bit. Once at the club, we didn’t see our friends that we came with, and neither of us seemed to take notice anyway.
Execute plan, “lean in for a kiss”.
We were having such a great time, just talking, laughing, and dancing, I knew the moment was right, so I leaned in for a kiss. It was perfect. Just as I leaned in, she executed plan “lean out to avoid kiss”. All was fine though, we just continued dancing and laughing and the chase continued. Yeah, I actually tried the lean in two more times, and on the third attempt she failed to execute the lean out. It was magic. We sat on the rocks near the beach till about four in the morning, just talking about life and enjoying the connection between us, until it became time to go home. As we were walking back to the Old Town we reached the point where I had to turn off to go back to the hostel and Rani had to continue on to her house. I half-jokingly said she could come stay with me at the hostel, to which she seriously replied, “You can come stay at mine”. The chase was over, but the rest of the story was just beginning.

And Then… I Met a Girl

I was woken up from my nap by a whiney little French guy complaining that there was no hot water in the shower. Now let me first make it clear, I do not think that the French are all whiney little people, it just so happened that this guy was little, very whiney, and French. As he was complaining about the water situation, I tried to get on the internet, but couldn’t connect. By this time the whiney, little (French) guy had gone down stairs to ask the friendly Canadian guy at reception, why there was no hot water. As they came back in the room, the now slightly perturbed Canadian guy, explained to our French friend that the water heater was empty from everyone else who had already showered and he would have to wait, which quickly transformed whiney little Frenchy into sulking-pouting Frenchy. As the now fully perturbed Canadian passed my bunk, trying my best not to be the annoying-obnoxious American guy, I politely asked if there was something wrong with the internet, cause I couldn’t connect, to which he responded, “The internet is fine, I was just on it. You should probably try it again.” and walked out. After a couple more tries, I headed downstairs to get some fresh air (have a cigarette) and see if I could talk the Canadian into resetting the modem for me, which he kindly did. As I was sitting on the patio, out walks the beautiful-friendly Australian girl who said hi to everyone on the patio, but only got a response from me, the now friendly-CHARMING American. We sat and chatted for a few minutes, finished our smokes and headed back in, casually saying, “Nice to meet you”, as I headed back to my room. Once in my room I quickly decided that I needed to find a reason to go back down and talk to that girl. Then it came to me… I hadn’t paid for my bed yet, and since she was hanging out in reception with the Canadian, I could go pay for my room and then ask if she’d like to join me for another cigarette. So, quick check in the mirror and I was off. In the office I talked to the Canadian for a minute, Kyle was his name by the way, settled my bill, and then I invited Rani, the Australian to join me on the patio again. She accepted and we headed out. It was all going to plan…
Turns out, she was also from Byron Bay, and so of course I had to tell her how much I loved it there, and that I had met two guys from there that afternoon. She was impressed that I knew the town, but told me she did not know Harry and David. After a nice little chat, I told her I was going to go shower, and asked what she was doing that night. She said she was going to Charlie’s Bar, and that I should head down there. I was excited at the invite, but later found out that since she too worked at the hostel, it was part of her job description to tell EVERYONE to go to Charlie’s. So, to the shower it was and then off to the bar to see the lovely Australian.

Krka National Park

One of the posters in reception of the hostel was advertising day trips to the nearby Krka National Park, which is a virtually untouched, protected park along the Krka river. The river and park are known to have numerous self sustaining ecosystems within them, and over eighteen species of fish, over half of which are endemic, and nearly 900 species and sub-species of plants, including several that are endemic as well. I, however knew I was going to go as soon as I saw a picture of the crystal clear water and seventeen waterfalls which cascade over 1,300 feet, top to bottom, and cover a width of over 100 yards. There were eleven of us in the shuttle bus making the trip that day and I quickly made friends with a couple of guys, Harry and David, who were from Byron Bay. The ride to the park from Split was just around two hours, giving us plenty of time to talk about our travels and for me to tell them how I fell in love with Byron Bay, in just the one day I had spent there. The trip to the park is not a quick one, but once you are there it is absolutely magical.


After the drive you must get on a boat which takes you a few kilometers up the Krka River, and to the entrance to the national park. From there, it is just a short walk to the last and most impressive of the waterfalls. After going for a swim near the falls and jumping off a nearby bridge we decided to head out on a hike that winds its’ way around the entire waterfall area, and it is possible to view not only the fish and plants of the area, but many species of birds, reptiles, and mammals, some of which are endangered or are near extinction and can only be found in and around the park. As we followed the loop around the falls we were treated to some of the most spectacular views of nature I have ever seen; Crystal clear water, raging waterfalls, bright emerald green plants and shrubs, and the sweet symphonies of nature’s sounds.






Definitely one of those places where you feel a connection the ground beneath you. As the loop came to a close, we were brought back to that first and most impressive waterfall and were quickly reminded that we were tourists visiting a park. So, naturally, along with the hundreds of other tourists, we jump back in the river for one last swim before returning to the hostel.



Back at the hostel, I laid on my bed for a bit of a rest and to recall what an amazing day I had had so far, and as I dosed off I was content, having no idea that my day was only about to get better.

Don't Talk About Politics, Religion, or Sex

That night I went to dinner with a Swiss girl who was staying in my room, who I had met while putting my bags down and getting situated. She was taking a nap, I could only guess to escape the mid-July heat after having been on some exciting adventure, or to recharge after having been on one of the booze cruises, or having just returned from one of the 1,100 beautiful islands just off the coast. Turns out she was just tired. After dinner, we cruised around the alleyways, looking for a bar to have a drink and chat. We stumbled upon Charlie’s Bar, which is also owned by the girls who ran Booze and Snooze and one other hostel in Split. As soon as we opened the door, we decided to go somewhere else as it was too loud, too crowded, and too smokey for what we were looking for. Again the irony here is amazing, as I ended up spending almost every night of the rest of the summer a in that bar. But once again, another story for another time. We decided upon a nice little place with a patio, and had a couple of beers and talked about politics, religion, and sex. Yep, the three things you never discuss while drinking, and absolutely never discuss with someone you have just met. Needless to say, we ended up quickly paying our check and heading back to the hostel and to our beds.

First Impressions

Places, just like people, give off a certain energy, a certain feeling, that can’t easily be explained but can definitely be felt. Sometimes it is our own projection of ourselves or what is going on in our own lives, sometimes it’s keen observation, and other times it just is, what it is. Every time I approached a new place, either by train, boat, bus, or plane, I found myself looking out the window and without fail, every time, some sort of emotion would begin stirring inside of me. Sometimes I would feel anxious or nervous. I would feel as though it was going to be difficult to find my accommodation, the people might not be friendly or helpful, or that it just simply was not my kind of place. Other times, as was the case with Croatia, I felt happy, at peace, and the only anxiousness was to hurry up and get off the boat so I could begin experiencing yet another amazing country. I had already booked a bed in a hostel called Booze and Snooze, and the directions sounded fairly simple, so with my bags on my shoulders, I decided I didn’t need to stop and get a map. I should have gotten a map. I don’t really know how to describe the Old Town in Split other than to call it a labyrinth of marble covered walkways, none of which go in a straight line, or even in one direction for that matter. So, needless to say, I got lost. Not to worry though, I was still too excited about this place to worry about being lost. Plus, getting lost walking around the only remaining Roman Palace that is still complete in the entire world is a pretty awesome experience all on its own.















Eventually I crossed a piazza that was noted on the directions for the hostel, and saw a local waiter smoking a cigarette on his break. I decided to ask if he knew the hostel or where I could find it. He didn’t know the hostel, but new the alleyway and kindly walked me to it. Sure enough, there it was, Booze and Snooze. I couldn’t be happier.

There was a group of girls ahead of me that were checking in to the hostel, so I found a seat in Reception and waited my turn. As I was waiting my eyes began wondering around the walls of the office and again I felt my intrigue and excitement growing for the adventures that were ahead of me. The walls were covered with posters and flyers for every activity and tour you could imagine; whitewater rafting, national parks, booze cruises, island hopping tours, day trips to this town, or that island, bus schedules and ferry timetables. I was quickly realizing that the 12 days I had anticipated spending in Croatia was not going to be enough. Writing this now, I can only laugh… if I only knew. Ironically enough, I ended up spending almost all of the rest of that summer in Croatia, and never really made it too far from Split, but we’ll get to that part of the story in a bit. For now I just needed to check in.