Day 24- Dubrovnik, Lopud etc. Croatia

 I started this morning with absolutely no plans for the day. I had no idea what to do in Dubrovnik but go to the beach so I met up with some new friends and headed out. Whitney, Amanda, Jon and I had heard of an island named Lokrum that we could get to by ferry from Old Town. We walked to where we thought the ferry would be and encountered several stands where people were advertising boat tours. No one was really interested at first but we walked over just to see what kinds of things they were offering. One man told us about going to three different islands and hanging out on the beaches. He said that one beach on Lopud was especially good for children and pointed to Amanda. She shot him a death glare and he quickly caught on that she was not a child. He tried to cover it up by saying that it makes you feel like a child again but the damage was already done. To make amends he gave us a family rate for the whole trip. Jon and Whitney were the parents and Amanda and I were the children. We spent about $35 USD for three islands, lunch, and unlimited drinks. There is no way we could get a better deal than that anywhere!

 

So we went on this little wooden boat that had a roof with a picnic table. A young boy served us drinks and we set off for our first island. It was a small island with a little beach and some shops. We spent about 40 minutes hanging out on the beach and testing out the water. There was a good deal of nudity there, mostly from some Spanish girls on our tour. After the first island we got back on the boat and had lunch. Amanda and I had chicken which was amazing with tomatoes and homemade bread. Jon had fish that came with the head, tail, and skin still on it. He was not as proficient at eating it as the British girls next to us. They threw their fish remains to the seaguls as the boat was still going and the seaguls tried to attack us. Whitney had a vegetarian dish with something that resembled eggplant but we aren’t sure. At the second island we couldn’t find a beach nearby so we took a stroll down a side street. We saw a ton of wild flowers, grapes, and a few farm animals. We spent some time sitting by the harbor and taking in the scenery. Our last island was a little bit bigger than the other two. We took a twenty minute walk to the other side of the island to what was called the most beautiful beach in Croatia. It was mostly rocks and set up with some restaurants and cabanas. Most of our time there was spent floating in the water or laying in the sun. We also spent a lot of time avoiding looking at the naked men who were frolicking on the beach and jumping off the boats.

 

After a brisk walk back to the harbor we grabbed some gelato and looked in some tourist shops. We had a nice boat ride back to Dubrovnik just in time to walk back to the ship for dinner. I spent the evening sitting in the park across from the port and talking to people. I tried to play Frisbee but as most people know I can’t throw a Frisbee to save my life. I called it a night earlier than the others to rest up for my kayaking trip tomorrow.

 

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I had a really good time traveling with new people today. It was nice to take it easy and just relax. It was a good experience branching out because everyone has a different traveling style and our group worked really well together.

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I got an awkward burn on my back today. Just a stripe down the middle. But its only pink, not red, so I should be fine.