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Utila!
Friday, February 10th, 2012 /

Utila, one of three Bay Islands and former Pirate/British Colony (but not at the same time) and now popular Honduran tourist destination, is today most known for their cheap and wonderful scuba diving; this duo’s next destination!

 

Out home for the next week!

Our journey to Utila was broken up into two parts, the first of which was a 12 hour multi-bus haul from San Pedro, Guatemala to Copan Ruinas, Hondurus. From there it took another 12 hours on buses and a floating fortress to get to Utila. Exhausting as it was, we were pumped to be on an island again and got there just in time to watch the sunset over the Carribean.

Marta came to meet us YAY!!

Our goal while on Utila was to become PADI certified – open water divers, which means we can scuba dive anywhere in the world up to 18m/60feet. We had arranged with a CS, Talon, who is working as an instructor, to recieve our certification via Deep Blue Divers.

The course requires you to read 5 chapters in the textbook which you are later tested on; watch the corresponding 5 videos; put your knowledge to action with 5 confined water dives (off the dock) and give those skills a try in 4 open water dives at depth. All dive shops also throw in two free “fun dives” once you have completed the course. All this, plus free accomodation while you are becoming certified for $250 USD! Thanks to a steady supply of backpackers and numerous dive shops, it’s a deal that can be found at any dive shop on the island.

Brad studying! :)

Our instuctor Henry was amazing. Any uncertainty we had about this potentially life-threatening activity going in, was erased because of his patient and confident teaching style. 

With out instructor Henry at Deep Blue Divers!

We took it slow at first, wanting to make sure we were prepared. As we progressed, we naturally gained more confidence up to our first open water dive. This is a very exciting point in the course because, for the first time, you enter the water from a boat and explore the reef. Lucky for us, 10 minutes into the dive we saw a Spotted Eagle Ray, one of the most graceful looking swimmers you could ever hope to see!

First boat ride...SO NERVOUS!

Brad's Backroll... Bond style!

Eagle Rays!

Being a good diver requires you to achieve neutral boyancy where you are literally weightless like a floating astronaut. A sensation unlike any other… on top of breathing underwater. Pretty soon Chelsea and I had the skills down pat, clearing our masks, buddy breathing, learning the signals, preparing gear, ect.

Practicing out skills on the ocean floor!

After our fourth and final open water dive, Chelsea and I were announced to the crowd of scuba divers on the boat that we were officially Open Water Divers. After everyone finished clapping one of the dive masters on board spotted some dolphins swimming around a nearby boat. We quickly called the other divers that were still in the water to the surface and as soon as they got on the boat we took off to get a closer look.

I thought they might be scared by the boat but as we got closer, dolphins were breaching on all sides of us. Immediately we all slid into the water, snorkles only (by law) and started swimming towards the pod. It was a mad house, close to 20 swimmers in the water all dying for a chance to swim with wild dolphins.

Come PLAY!

We all swam and swam for what seemed like 10 minutes spotting one or two swimming beneath. It appeared that we might have scared them off and so I stopped swimming.(I didn’t!!!!) Looking around at the surface, some were still chasing them (me) but most seemed to have given up as well. But as I took another look in the water I saw two whiz by me. Then, another and another. Pretty soon there were dolphins everywhere, some spinning, circling around us, swimming within inches of my outstretched hand. At this point I remember relaxing in the water, not being able to move just in awe of the events unfolding around me. We were playing with wild dolphins! This is one of the most amazing things I have ever done. Seeing these incredible creatures that close and that playful was a moving experience!

YAY DOLPHINS!!

Our last day on the islands, we teamed up with Henry and another Couchsurfer, Vince for a shore dive. He led us through these caverns and tunnels through the reef spotting colorful and interesting marine life. It turned out to be the best dive we had. Huge cave crabs, Yellow Sting Rays buried in the sand, sea cucumbers that looked like giant slugs underwater – amazing things we didn’t even know existed.

Breathing underwater!

It’s certainly hard to top swimming with dolphins as the best part about Utila, but overall our time there was one of the most memorable on our entire trip. Breathing underwater is such a cool feeling and because of it, a whole new world has opened up for us to explore.. As if there wasn’t enough to explore already!

Sunrise the morning we left!

Category: Central America, Chicken Bus, CouchSurfing, Dolphins, Honduras, Hostels, Islands, Scuba Diving, Utila  Tags: , , ,  3 Comments
Langkawi 2.0
Thursday, August 04th, 2011 /

I was super excited and anxiously waiting at the Langkawi airport for Ashley’s arrival…. The first of our friends to actually come to travel alongside Brad and I!!!!! She was easy to spot with her blonde hair and I ran up to give her a massive hug!! She was about to experience the life of a budget backpacker….couch surfing style!  Woo hoo… now all the fun adventures could begin!

Hugs at the airport!!

We started simple and went to the beach for what turned out to be a beautiful sunset, before hitting up the massive duty-free shop for some cheap vodka! We checked out a very little local bar/hostel where we ran into Deb, our new Canadian friend who used to live on the island, and taught her and Ash our new favorite drinking game…golf (Thanks Chris and Joe)! It was an easy chill island-style drinking night!

Sunset at Pantai Cenang Beach

They next day we rented a car to go check out the sights! First stop, the Telaga Tujuh, or “Seven Wells” waterfall! It was super nice, walking through the green jungle, seeing monkeys running around on the footpath. Ashley and I both LOVED seeing the monkeys, as most people can tell from my abundance on monkey photos! Then we rocked up to the waterfall and it was so pretty and relaxing. We dropped our stuff, stripped down and jumped in! Places like this are cool because you can actually climb and interact with the nature…it’s not all roped off to prevent unjustly suing.

Climbing around!

After a bit of a play in the water, we explored the bottom part of the falls. We heard you could slide down the rocks, and were sure we found the right ones. Ashley thought she’d give it a try no worries…. Hahah but as soon as she gave herself a little push, she was GONE….no stopping her! After a brief moment of panic, we all started cracking up after witnessing her fully slide, flip and fall down the rocks! Phew…maybe a bruise, but made for a funny memory!

We took off for a further hike to the top of the falls where there was a nice lookout and a bit of a scary drop down!

Brad looking out right at the waterfall dropoff!

The hike DOWN the waterfall however was the most memorable! We decided to eat a couple granola bars for an energy boost on our way down through the jungle, and I start telling Ashley about the monkey that semi-attacked me in Phi Phi when suddenly a MASS HOARD of monkeys is coming straight for us with greed in their eyes! Ashley and I start screaming and trying to hide behind Brad, but he takes off running down the hill and us girls are just freaking out with no idea what to do. We jump up on the bench, but of course, so do the monkeys…grabbing at our legs and arms! It was TERRIFYING!! Ashley then quickly realized she had half a granola bar in her hand and threw it which distracted them, so we took off running in the opposite direction, which happened to be back UP the hill. DANG! We were stuck and too scared to go down again. Some locals were walking up and gave us a few tips…glasses on, don’t look at them, NO food, and grab a stick. We finally worked up the courage to go down, and had no problems but our hearts were BEATING!

One of the NICE monkeys from earlier....

PHEW so we took off to a pretty white beach on the other end of the island to calm ourselves! It was beautiful with white sand, small rocky islands off the coast to admire, and overhanging cliffs in the distance! After a bit of a play in the water, we chowed down on some Malaysian flavored Twisties and headed home.  I took Ash to our new favorite dinner joint, “Tomato”, oddly enough an Indian restaurant … but it had the BEST (and cheapest) Roti around!!  We had a long girls chat and catch up, complete with Chai tea!

Time to calm down!

Brad was feeling sick and we thought he was having a reaction to the mold that was in Din’s house. It sounds gross, and it is gross, but it’s also kind of common living on a tropical island with crazy wet seasons. Anyway, he was feeling a bit queasy, so drove us to another waterfall the next morning, but opted to stay in the car! Ashley and I took the hike up, avoiding crazy spiders and insects along the way!  It was cool because we were the only ones around, and stumbled upon a broken bridge that we had to climb across! FUN! We didn’t take long though, knowing Brad was waiting, so hurried back to check out the famous Langkawi cable cars.

Climbing over the collapsed bridge!

We arrived at Oriental Village, hoping the weather was calm enough to take the 1 and a half mile long … steep…cable car ride to the top of the mountain! We were lucky! Once we started the ascend, we were able to see beautiful panoramic views of the island, jungle and waterfall on one side, ocean and rocky islands on the other! Once at the top, you get to walk across this incredible sky bridge. You can feel in shake slightly as you walk over it!

Amazing view!

On the sky bridge!

After lots of walking and an increasing appetite, we decided we HAD to take Ashley to a local Malay buffet, and made her eat with her hands! She took to the hands thing well, but don’t think she was a huge fan of the buffet… I’m usually not a buffet girl either! Actually, we were warned to stay away from buffets as travelers. But oh well…do as the locals do!

Ashleys turn!

Come night, Brad was REALLY HOT, so after forcing lots of water and fruit upon him, Ashley and I left him home to sleep while we again went to Sunba with Din and his crew. Same band, same drink coupons….lots of dancing…just as much fun! There were a few funny characters around that gave us lots of laughs throughout the night!

Love her!

We had time for one last relaxing swim on the beach the next morning, with Brad feeling surprisingly better,  before heading to the other side of town to catch a ferry to Penang!  

Love him!

Category: Beaches, CouchSurfing, Islands, Langkawi, Malaysia  Tags: , ,  Leave a Comment
Langkawi 1.0
Wednesday, August 03rd, 2011 /

The road out of Thailand was hectic and a tad bit stressful. The reason being….our visa was running out in a couple days and if we didn’t get out of there, we might have been paying a hefty fine!! The reason we COULDN’T get out of there was because there was MASSIVE flooding on all the roads leading OUT! Ahhhh  the buses weren’t running,  the trains were blocked. We even went to an immigration office, but they basically told us either way…we were paying! GREAT! We waited it out in beautiful, yet wet Krabi, and LUCKILY on the very last day, the bus was running! So we bussed it to the border, where we jumped on a ferry to Langkawi!

Ferry ride...with rice sticks!

We arrived by ferry but cabbed it to the airport to meet our Couchsurfer Din! He works there, but also lives close by…so gave us a ride to his place! Just off the beach on a little back road was his humble abode! After we settled, Brad and I walked to the beach for sunset! We were in Langkawi for the next 2 weeks and they were spent relaxing and partying with Din and his friends!

Han

Hanging around at Yellow cafe!

Din had the morning off so took us to a waterfall nearby. It was a nice walk through the jungle full with humping monkeys J We were lucky because the waterfall was roaring! The night before we experienced a torrential downpour and tropical thunderstorm as we were having drinks under a little tin roof. It was scary as…. The thunderclap and lighting shut off the electricity and everyone was sitting in the dark drinking…barely able to hear each other over the pouring rain! But hey…it made for a pretty waterfall trip the next day!

Climbing around on the waterfall!

That night, Din took us to his friends pre-opening of his restaurant. Turns out it was Rizal…who we were couchsurfing with for the second part of our trip!! Haha..small island! He brought out tons of amazing food for us to try (for free!) before we all took off to Sunba, the only late-night bar on that side of the island. We had a BLAST!!! Drinks were cheap…plus we had a pile of free-drink coupons, the band was rocking with Pink Floyd and Bob Marley covers, and we were all dancing as if nobody was watching (especially me ahhh!) We didn’t go home until 3 or 4am … and somehow Din does this almost EVERY night before taking off for work early the next morning!!

Partying with Din!

One of the coolest things about Malaysia, seeming as Brad and I are food lovers, is that they eat with their hands!!! It’s a very skilled art, but it doesn’t matter how sloppy the curry…you’re eating with your hands. Din took us to a super local buffet and everyone was extremely impressed that Brad and I not only tried eating with our hands….but knew the correct technique (thanks Aunty Suhaima!!)

Brad eating...Malaysian style!

So with Din being the ultimate man…he then invited us to ANOTHER party with tons of free food, and this time free booze as well. It was a 75th birthday party of a local German man who was partnered with a Malaysian man.

Brad dancing with traditional....?

The party was AMAZING!! The most food Brad and I had seen on our whole trip….and ALL FREE! We were in heaven but absolutely stuffed out faces (in an elegant mannered way of course). The party was on the sand with nice tables and decorations, and full of entertainment from lady boys to a slideshow of Johnny’s life. Everyone was so friendly and towards the end everyone let off those floating lantern things…which turned out to be surprisingly difficult…but really nice!

Floating lights :)

Again the night ended with everyone off to Sunba…but I was mostly excited for the anticipated arrival of my bestie Ashley!

Category: Beaches, CouchSurfing, Islands, Langkawi, Malaysia, Uncategorized  Tags: , , , ,  One Comment
Ibiza!!
Monday, September 27th, 2010 /

” 0oo We’re going to Ibiza! Back to the island! We’re gonna have a party…in the Mediterranean Sea! ” I have LOVED that Vengaboys song since i was 12 but never knew in 10 years Brad and I would actually be going to party there! We lucked out and found a ferry getting in for half price if we leave on Friday instead of Thursday! It’s incredibly expensive to get there….and once you get there…just as expensive! We boarded with just our day pack…one outfit and our bathing suits, with no real plans to sleep!

Cool fountain!

We arrived around 9:30 and it was hopping in Ibiza town! The streets were packed with little markets and the clubs had merchandise stores EVERYWHERE! Brad and i were on a mission to find the only luggage storage place on the island, but nobody made it easy for us!! AHHH by the time we found it, payed 8 euros to check our tiny backpack,found the random bus stop and got to Sant Antoni.. the other side of the island, it was 11pm or so!

Hangover!

We went to the first supermarket we saw to grab some water when i saw these guys dressed in Hawaiian skirts with paint all over them…snapped a pic and we were on our way. It wasn’t long before I realized that those guys seemed normal compared to the freak-show we saw 5 minutes later in “the west end”! People dressed up and painted in alllll sorts of stuff! Some girls AND GUYS half naked, some dressed as cows (literally)! We were a little late in the game, and it was too late to buy Alky in the shops, but we did find a place with a 4 drinks for 6 euros special! But after splitting those and deciding to go check out somewhere else… we were feeling broke and tired! It was 3am and luckily we found a private accommodation for cheap….not quite what we had in mind when we thought Ibiza, but oh well…tomorrow is another day!!!

Having some drinks!

Enjoying life!

The next day we hit up a beach on the west side of the island, called Calla Varella! It was not in such a main area and we thought it would be cool to check out another part of the island! It was tucked away in this little bay, the water flat and as clear as anything! We relaxed for a few hours, swam some laps, and showered (with soap) in the beach showers haha before taking off to San Antoni to figure out the club of choice for the night.


Gorgeous view!

Back in Sant Antoni, we decided to search for the ever-famous Cafe Del Mar to watch the sunset! Couldn’t find it :( I wanted to go because Dave, my boss from Atlas in Santorini, always played there music in the restaurant and they are just famous for the chilled-out vibes! BOO!

Amazing sunset!

BUT we did find a really laid-back place the offered a perfect view of the sunset with beds and cushions and all that nice stuff!  We  took the opportunity to use their bathroom to change and get ready for the night! We were on our way to buy tickets to Eden, only 25 euros instead of the usual 40 each, some clubs even costing 60! Although i’m sure they were a blast, not really in our price range! We happened to walk past some reps and heard something about free entry to Eden, immediately turned around to see what that was all about, and scored ourselves some wrist bands!! WOOO hooo just saved ourselves 50 bucks!

Ibiza Rocks!

So now in a GREAT mood, we hit up a pre-party bar right on the beach called Ibiza Rocks that was fully open-aired! There was a DJ playing with a girl playing saxaphone …walking throughout the crowd on the dancefloor …over his tunes which sounded AMAZING! And all these attractive girls in Vegas-style outfits dancing around with the drunkedness that had already began! Really really cool place to kick off the night! At around 1:30am we decided it was time to experience Eden!

The club was INCREDIBLE! It was a Mondo Loco party which means something like Crazy World i think! And it was! As soon as we walked in, they were offering Face Paintings…so naturally i got one :)

Loved him!

Then we saw the craziness of lights and people and dancers. Everything from men on stilts to cirque de solei sheet wrappers to crazy tall crossdressers to s&m bondage girls spanking each other! Even the stilt-men were in bondage. The DJ was good but nothing special… played really typical house music that sounded super repetitive! It was just background noise to the bizarre things going on around us really! At one point they brought out this massive cake and out popped a girl with a huge snaked wrapped around her….being all glamarous and exotic! A couple hours later, Brad and I were standing where they were setting up to use the snakes again and i got to touch them!!! Forgot how weird they feel!

Lasers!

Laser man!!

I dont know if any of you have seen the Akon and David Guetta video..”Sexy Bitch” but when they get to the club scene, it’s in Ibiza and there is this crazy laser guy with glow sticks all over him and Brad and I were so hoping we could see something like that!  And we did!!! We saw him covered in green glow sticks sneaking through the crowd with crazy lasers coming out of each of his fingers! It was sooooo cool and i was SOOOoo excited! Then later he came out again in bright white lights and a bicyce…got lifted up above us and started spinning and doing crazy tricks in the air!
SO this was basically non-stop  all night with laser shows and new surprises every few minutes! Brad and I danced the night away for HOURS….so proud of us :) Haha! It was the DJ’s birthday, so usually when the club closes at 6am…he kept going until 7:30 or so! When Brad and I walked out….It was light outside! We walked along the beach, got ourselves a cheap 1 euro water (14 euros in the club for a SMALL one)  and some brekkie, hopped on the ferry and left Ibiza with fond party memories fresh in our minds :) As SOON as our bums hit the seat in the ferry, we were out for 5 hours until we woke up in Valencia!

Leaving the club!


Category: Beaches, Ibiza, Islands, Spain, Western Europe  Tags: , , ,  One Comment
Gaining back momentum
Thursday, June 24th, 2010 /

It was definitely tough saying goodbye to our new friends in Perissa.  Traveling has  allowed us to meet wonderful people all over the place and  no one area has been better than Perissa Santorini!  Although we could have stayed an entire summer we have new and exciting places to go and more fantastic people to meet.

Dave´s shirt – lol

Before our nearly five week stint in Santorinı we had been feeling really confıdent about our traveling progression, thinking, yea now we´ve got the hang of this. So the 12am overnight ferry to Rodos  was how we decided to put ourselves back into traveler mode and get the ball rolling.  We bought deck class meaning no assigned or actual seat, but ended up crashing in some reserved area.  We didn´t even have to be sneaky about it since the ferry was so large and crew members can`t be bothered to check everyone’s tickets.  We played it cool and passed out with garments (jacket for me, tech blanket for chels) over our heads just in case, figuring no one would wake us with our invisible cloaks on.  Our theory proved correct and we both dozed off to la la land for about four and a half hours until the Ferry docked in Rodos.

A look at the castle

Rodos is one of the largest islands in Greece and its main attraction is the old mid-evil city.  A massive castle runs the length of the modern port and boasts some impressive sights.  The remains have been well preserved thanks to large donations from the EU for the restoration.  The old city is walkable and can be done within a few hours as long as you take a few breaks in the shade.  After we walked in and around the city we found a nice little cafe with free internet and chilled out till it was time for our ferry.

Ferry service from Rodos to Marmaris Turkey runs twice a day and the cost is alarmingly disproportional compared with the prices from island to island.  On top of that we payed a `Port Tax´ then had to buy a Turkish Visa.

Turkish Apple Tea

Any negative feelings we had towards the costs were quickly turned around by the positive energy flowing from Marmaris.  We had only planned on being here a few hours and catching the overnight bus to Antalya but decided we liked what we sawand checked into the Maltepe Pensyion.  The owner was super friendly and before even discussing if we needed a room he was bringing us in to see his walrus cat.    No exaggeration folks, the thing is bloody Massive!  After wowing us with jaba the cat he made us some delicious apple çay (tea) and encouraged our overuse of the free internet… needless to say we liked the guy and the place .. and orca cat.

2nd Fattest Cat in Europe!

Category: Beaches, Greece, Islands, Santorini  Tags: , , ,  One Comment
Perissa…we’ll miss ya!
Friday, June 11th, 2010 /

So after 4 weeks…we were still at Perissa Beach in Santorini…couldn’t seem to get away because now we had made all these great friends to hang out with and have drinks with! He had our favorite hang-our spots…Yazz when we went to the beach – and then mostly Atlas to eat and drink….occasionally we would make it to Beach Bar late night! We were starting to feel like locals! :)

Our Quad!

With that said, we did finally get a chance to go out and explore the island…so some of the tourist things! On one of my mornings off, Brad and I rented a quad and went all the way to Oia at the other end of the island! It was really really nice, with a paved side walk where no cars (or quads) can drive, which makes it sooo much better!

The view in Oia!

It was filled with lots of little shops, which we did our best to avoid! But there were breathtaking views, and apparently Oia is famous for its sunset! Unfortunately, i had to get back to work, so we had to skip that! We headed to Fira, the capital, where we had a disappointing lunch, and were actually pretty disappointed with the town.

Red Beach!

We got out of there quick enough to find our way to the Red Beach! Some people said it wasn’t worth it, but Brad and I loved it. Maybe part of the reason for me was that there were lots of rocks to climb around and it felt adventurous! But i think it deserves the name! The sand itself it not actually red…it is black…but there are red pebbles everywhere and then of course, the red cliffs stand out so much! Apparently there is a white beach too that is only accessible by boat or by making an hour-plus swim! We really wanted to try it, but didn’t have time!

Relaxing at Red Beach!

Eventually the day came around for my last night of work, and we decided to make it a big party! The Raki was flowing, and everyone showed up to party with us so i was really excited…then these white t-shirts were broken out that everyone signed for us! It was the best souvenir i could have asked for! :) Love gestures like that! Eventually people started leaving, but it was hilarious….when brad and I left, we ran into 3 different groups of people at 3 different late-night food spots! They have these 24-hour bakeries here that serve little pizzas and ham-cheese pastries they warm up for you….the BEST after a night of drinking! But it was funny that we all had the same thoughts when we left without saying anything to each other!

Last Night Partying!

Our signed T-shirts!!

With 2 days left in Santorini and no work, Brad and I decided to rent a quad again and do the sunset thing in Oia! First we stopped in Kamari, which is similar to Perissa Beach….lots of restaurants and shops…very tourist driven. Dave (my boss at Atlas) has a t-shirt shop there, and we got Brad a shirt that says island boy. On the back its really cool though.

“…I guess its the sea…and the sun…you know when you can just hump in the water…dive in…and leave the streets and chaos of the city life behind…down there…just let is drown…the freedom of life…when you can do anything…climb the mountain…bump around the island…or just cruise in the caldera on a boat…yeah…that’s LIFE…that’s what REAL LIFE is all about!!!”

Love! After Kamari we drove to Oia to meet Hannah and Rachael aka “the Beach Bar girls” aka ” The flyhoes” at their parents AMAZING place on the cliffs with the most amazing view!! We had a couple drinks with them and chatted with Rachaels parents before heading out to see the sunset!

With Rachel and Hannah in Oia!

The sunset in Oia is a funny thing. EVERYBODY is lined up on the walls and house tops and stairs to see this sunset that may or may not be extraordinary! It happened to be a clear night and very beautiful…but honestly i don’t know if its the best i will ever see. I think with a few clouds it would be nice as it would turn them all different colors. Nevertheless, it was still a nice evening shared over a bottle of white and salt n vinegar pringles! hahah. As soon as the sun is below the horizon, everybody breaks out in applause! Its pretty funny!

Sunset in Ois!

We had the quads for 24 hours so the next morning went back to the Red Beach with Drew and Dan. We spent a lot more time in the water this time and swam out to some of the rocks in the middle of the water. The water seems to be significantly warmer at the red beach than the black beach and i had a much easier time getting in! We all took turns diving off the rock and chatting before we left to explore more of the island.

My dive!

That night our plan was to leave on the midnight ferry but we were invited to the outdoor cinema to see Robin Hood with Rachael and Hannah, who then offered to give us a ride to the port….but we found out we wouldn’t make it in time, so switched out our ticket for Thursday night! The American crew from Seattle (Drew, Dan, Ashley, Brooke) offered to let us crash in their extra room for the extra couple nights! THANK YOU! We seemed to just not be able t leave the island ahh!!

The outdoor cinema!

The outdoor cinema was really really cool! Very laid back vibe, surrounded by trees, with a bar and snacks! Drew and Dan met us all there so we had a good crew!  We also snuck in our own wine, and i am so embarrassed about this, but after 2 glasses…i FELL ASLEEP for the end of the movie!!! Im already turning into my Mum!! Ahh!! I’m positive it was me crashing after working day and night and going out afterwards…my usual reaction! I push it out til the end, but then i need to crash! Haha but the whole reason for staying was so we could “see the end of the movie”!! Oh well!

With Hanna and Rachael at the movies!

 Our next few days were spent relaxing on the beach, taking in our last moments at Perissa…the little town we have come to love so dearly! I gave in and finally got an AMAZING cocktail on the beach at Yazz (8 euros) but worth every penny!! We tried the food i have been dying to try at Atlas that i always served people….and had one more easy night out with the friends! It was a bittersweet goodbye, but we made sure to let everyone know how happy we were to meet them, so left some postcards with goodbyes on them! :) Confident though…that we will see each other again through out travels!

My tropical daiquiri!

Goooodbye Perissa….we will miss ya!! (and everyone we met there too!) :(

Category: Beaches, Greece, Islands, Santorini  Tags: , , ,  21 Comments
korcula… fail
Wednesday, May 05th, 2010 /

We hung out in the hostel and waited for our ferry to the island of Hvar. Well, turns out that we bought a ticket for the island further south of Hvar called Korčula istead. SO we rolled with it since we had read great things about Korcula in Lonely Planet and stayed on the boat after its brief stop in Hvar. The ferry dropped us off at Vella Luka, which is unfortunately on the other end of the island, 48 km away for the city of Korcula and since it was a national holiday, there was no bus. A decision needed to be made. Either walk 5 km to the nearest camp site in Vella Luka and catch the bus the next day, OR hoof it and press our luck hitch hiking. Fresh off the success of free transport and feeling confident, we chose the latter.

Chel’s and I headed out with our packs, and new friend Trina from Vancouver who we met on the ferry. Quick note to those who live in America not familiar with kilometers, 48km is approximately 30 miles and by about mile 3, or km 5, we were hurtin! No driver wanted anything to do with three foreigners with massive backpacks so as soon as we got to the next small town Trina dropped off. Not feeling like backtracking, we pushed on hoping to get to the next town before sunset. Travelers luck hit us right as we were about to give up as a bus came bombing around the corner. We jumped in front of it and flagged it down. Just happy to sit down we didn’t mind paying a few kuna to ride.

It was a good thing we caught this bus because we had to travel up and over the mountain to get to our destination. So instead of a multi hour trip, it took just 4o minutes. Although we were glad to have gotten a ride, those feelings changed when we realized that nearly all accommodation on the island was NOT OPEN yet (thanks for the heads up lonely planet). We used out traveler instincts and headed to the nearest watering hole. The owner of the wine shop ended hooking us up with guy who had a few rooms available.

We met some Aussie’s staying at the same place as us and we had a few drinks in the owners cellar/bar. He kept giving us pitchers of wine and the day seemed to be getting better and better. The owners name was Simon. We took Simon for the type of guy who just didn’t like to drink alone and shared his wine for a good time, and Scott, the Aussie we met, told us he had been giving out drinks the night before. We were all about it. However, when Simon called me outside and revealed that we owed him a good bit of money for the wine we had been drinking, I felt scammed and off to bed we went.

We woke up the next morning wanting to get out of there asap. Simon didn´t put up a fight when we refused to pay..maybe he knew he was in the wrong and we went our seperate ways. The highlight of the day was that we got to enjoy some bacon and eggs for the first time since we left, and it was delicous. We read some of our book as we waited for the bus and arrived in Dubrovnik around 7pm.

Category: Croatia, Eastern Europe, Hostels, Islands, Korcula  Tags: , , ,  2 Comments
Rab!! … and a fun night in Senj
Saturday, May 01st, 2010 /

This morning, we took a catamaran to an island called Rab, as recommended by the receptionist at the hostel! It was looking like a promising day, but the second we arrived, a crazy storm started brewing, and before we knew it, it was pouring down rain! It was our first time having to use our trash bags over our packs! The campsite was a Looonnnggg walk away, and in the rain with crazy wind…it was not fun! We went into a hotel and were told its only 500 meters more….then walked FOREVER and asked a random little hut on the side of the beach and were told…only 500 meters more! WHAT?! that wasn’t the first time we heard 500 meters either!

BUT when we arrived, the campsite was very very cool! It had everything…tons of restaurants, cafes, a market, a bakery, a playground, mini golf, ping pong tables and it was right on the beach with beautiful sunsets!! People definitely lived there permanently! But it actually reminded me of the caravan park i would go to with Oma and Grandad! So brought back good nostalgic memories! Too bad though…a lot of the things were still closed…apparently the whole island opens up on May 1st…so we were a few day shy!

So it was pretty miserable as it did NOT stop raining for a day and a half straight! We pretty much hung out in the tent and at one of the cafes all day..played cards, did a lot of sewing, read our lonely planet book…luckily, on the 3rd day we were there, it was nice enough to walk around the town. The Romans had some old establishments there, and they actually let u walk in them and explore. We climbed to the top of an old lookout point, and had a beautiful view of the city! Then we stumbled upon this amazing trail that winds through the woods, and it was so nice! And we had been so good the last few days with not eating out, so we decided to go out for some cevap…mmmhhm Meat again!

Of course, on the day we leave, it is absolutely gorgeous outside with not a cloud in the sky!! Luckily our bus wasn’t leaving until 4, so we found ourselves a big rock on the coast and soaked up the sun! It was sooo nice! I loved that rock…i think it was just because it wasn’t raining…but we made a nice lunch on it…und a really comfortable groove to lay on! Didn’t want to leave, but we had made a firm decision to go to Plitvice lakes national park…even though it was going to cost us some money!! So we caught our bus to a town called Senj! It was cool because the bus had to go on the ferry, and i had never really done that before…0o the things that excite me!

When we got to our campsite in Senj, it was straight rocks!! AND we found out a bus wasnt leaving to go to Plitvice for 4 more days!! Ahhhh we did not want to stay in Senj for 4 days….so we were planning on making the walk (we later found out…yeah right…we could NOT have done it!) and camping along the way! As we enjoyed the sunset, we suddenly head music and looked behind us to see an older man playing the accordion! How cool! Before we knew it, everyone from the campsite was gathered around and we were being force-fed (although we were not objecting) homemade Italian wine, champagne, Italian cake!! Everyone was singing or humming along..It was Great!! It was hilarious trying to communicate with everyone…we even broke out our language book as this Italian man was trying to speak French to us! Phew…that was hard! The accordion player, Klaus, spoke English too and when we said USA everyone immediately thought California!! It was awesome…everyone was so nice! Then these two younger kids who were backpacking from northern Germany joined us, and luckily spoke wonderful English! It was nice to be able to communicate again, and they brought up in conversation that we were trying to head to Plitvice to Klaus, and he offered us a ride with them!!!! It was the best news ever!! It was a pretty late night for everyone, but eventually we go to bed…excited for what was ahead of us!

Category: Beaches, Camping, Croatia, Eastern Europe, Islands, Rab  Tags: , , , ,  Leave a Comment