cliaz.net

After docking in Makarska and leaving the crew to fill up the ships tanks (well over 1000 litres of petrol…), we headed to the local soccer pitch to play off against the another Busabout ship that was in at the same time.

Next up was one of Makarska’s attractions…cliff jumping. Various heights were available, ranging all the way up to 17m if one was daring enough to take a running jump off the security wall. Beyond that, the 15m jump was a fairly comfortable drop straight down, so cliff jumping we went. Lots of fun, check out the video of yours truly at the bottom of this page. Unfortunately the video from the one and only 17m jump (noone else was stupid enough to do it) wasn’t taken (damn you Steve, damn you), but the video gives a good enough indication.

That evening we had been booked into a quality traditional Croatian restaurant for a solid meal, and although pricey by Croatian standards it was well worth it. One seafood lasagna and 5 complimentary drinks later (for some reason a power outage meant free drinks, but whos complaining?), we headed off to a Makarska’s next famous attractions – a club in a cave.

Not just any cave though, it used to be an ammo dump during the war. Kind of difficult to the explain the evening in words, recommend checking out the pictures on facebook. Nevertheless, 7am the next day I stumbled back to the boat with some of the girls from the boat, passed out briefly on the deck, then woke up at 8 and kept drinking! Big, big night.

Cliff jump video – fullscreen

The day after our Hvar experience was thankfully a fairly relaxed one, with the major attraction being the Golden Horn on the island of Brac. What is unique about this beach, apart from the fact that is shaped like a giant horn sticking into the ocean, is that it changes shape daily as the tides move the pebbles around. This means that while it might curve to the left at the start of the day, by the end it could curve quite distinctly to the right.

While this is happening, adventurous kite surfers often jump over the very tip of the horn, as the winds allow them to get 7-8 seconds of airtime.

That evening we hit up the town of Bol, still on Brac, and enjoyed an open air cinema with the locals, watching The Boat That Rocked.

After the daily swim stop then a sumptuous lunch provided for us by the crew, we arrived in Hvar, party island of Croatia. We docked just off Carpe Diem, a satellite island consisting of pretty much a large beach bar, a beach and beach volleyball court. After having some drinks and kicking back (even more so than usual), we swam back to the ship and sailed into Hvar proper.

There, after seeing the sights, we went to the club Carpe Diem, a club for the high profile – Hugh Jackman had been seen there earlier that day. Of course, when we went it was still early enough that we could actually get in – much later than 11 and it becomes fairly exclusive.

So, before we were evicted we headed to Kiva Bar, reknowned for its Boom Boom Tequila shots – a shot where you are handed an old army helmet to wear, then are bashed around the head with your drink before shotting it. Minor concussion + alcohol: quite an experience.

I began the day with a cruisey 7am swim before the boat sailed off to our first proper swim stop of the day. Apart from crystal clear water and amazing shoreline, the highlight of this swim stop was a washing machine sunk about 4 meters down. Getting down there required some effort, but the small ecosystem inhabiting the washing machine made it worthwhile.

After a couple of hours there, we headed off to our next port of call, Korcula.

The birthplace of Marco Polo, the famous explorer, Korcula is a unique town due of its shape and layout. The old town juts out from the island in the oval shape of a fish, with the streets inside it forming the skeleton. What’s interesting about this is that the ocean breeze is channeled along the streets due to their shape, providing cooling throughout the town even in the hottest of weather.

That evening we had cocktails on the roof of an old turret before heading into town to a club. Sometime throughout the night all the players involved in the aforementioned game got tattooed with said word somewhere on their body…needless to say, many were caught out that night.

Today would be the day it all began, 8 days of rest and relaxation…and partying of course. Once we found the correct ship and chucked our gear into our cabins we met the crew and other passengers. Barring 1 Canadian and 2 Poms (one being the tour guide), the other passengers were interestingly enough all Australian. The crew on the other hand were full blown Croatians, and more than that, all  were ex military. The first mate, nicknamed ‘The General’, had that nickname not for some silly reason, but because in the Baltic War of 91 he was an actual bloody General!

After a few hours of sailing, which for the passengers involved lying around sunbathing and listening to music while imbibing some complementary drinks, we arrived in a town called Slano, a Croatian word meaning salty. After playing some water polo with the locals where we were soundly whipped, we pumped up the music and had our own little disco on the roof of the boat, partying till early in the morn.

An interesting note about the trip is that our tour guide, Coops, introduced us to the game of life, a game consisting of removing the word m.i.n.e (without the .’s) from ones vocabulary. Anytime one says that, 10 pressups have to be done immediately. That means wherever you are, whatever you’re doing. 10 pressups. The question “who’s is this” suddenly became a very common question to ask someone. While drunk – such as this night – many, many people got caught.

I’ve been told my posts are becoming more essays than blog posts, so I’ll cut em down a bit – made easier by the cruise, as so much of it, while awesome, is difficult to convey in words. Nevertheless, for the best bits I’ll try.

I’ve been told my posts are becoming more essays than blog posts, so I’ll cut em down a bit – made easier by the cruise, as so much of it, while awesome, is difficult to convey in words. Nevertheless, for the best bits I’ll try.

So, the next couple of posts will be shorter posts for each day of the cruise, as each day we visited a different island/town along the Dalmatian Coast, each with its own unique attractions. Here goes!

Oh, and because the photos from the cruise are numerous and unorganised, here are the albums currently up – will update if I add any more

Croatia Cruise Album 1
Croatia Cruise Album 2

Thankfully, when we did stumble off the bloat, bleary eyed and weary, a random guy (amongst others) offered to rent us his apartment. Surprisingly enough, I managed to haggle him down to 20 euro a night from 25, sluggish as my mind was. His less than complete grasp on the english language probably helped, but I’ll claim credit where I can

After the massiveness that was our last night in Rome, we were hoping the 9 hour overnight ferry would give us some time to recovery. Sadly, that was not to be. Aircon set to 18 degrees, poor aural insulation and incredibly uncomfortable floors made for a lackluster nights rest.

Thankfully, when we did stumble off the bloat, bleary eyed and weary, a random guy (amongst others) offered to rent us his apartment. Surprisingly enough, I managed to haggle him down to 20 euro a night from 25, sluggish as my mind was. His less than complete grasp on the english language probably helped, but I’ll claim credit where I can

The next couple of days we made the most of, spending as much time as possible relaxing in the Adriatic sea, enjoying the culinary delights – especially fresh seafood, as well as a famous Croatian capsicum based sauce, had with pasta or rice.

Our last night before heading off on our cruise we decided to make a big one, so headed to a place called Fresh*, renowned for its cocktails served in buckets. Soon after, now with quite a crowd, we headed to the bar where Brit Lapthorn famously disappeared. Hours of revelry later, I’d manage to misplace David and Steve, who had the keys to our apartment. Undeterred, I decided to break in. To our 3rd story apartment. At 3:30am. Drunk. With a broken toe.

When the other two did get home, less than half an hour later, Steve crashed while Dave, high on Red Bull, decided to pull an all nighter, not crashing till nigh on 7.

Kicking him out of bed a scarce hour later, grabbing a quick ice cream for breakfast (Croatia has astounding ice cream for staggeringly cheap prices), we headed to the docks to begin our Nautical Adventure.

Dubrovnik Pictures

Unlike other hostels so far, our accommodation in Roma was classified as a Party Hostel (The Ivanhoe Hostel). It did not disappoint. Not even remotely. Located on the 1st floor, just below an Hostel run by Nuns, run by in turns a crazy Brazilian named Fabio or a guy claiming he was knocked unconscious fighting two tigers at once and woke up in the Colosseum, something was always going on.

Being a party hostel, there was partying…constantly. This was aided by the supply of 3 euro all you can drink cocktails. After the first night of pseudo-sleep, being woken up alternatively by the music, someone vomiting noisily out the window, and the 2 drunk dutch girls falling onto me before throwing various items of clothing around the room, I decided the only way to survive was to join in. From then on every night was a big one, some ending in disaster (read: broken toe, still not sure how that happened), others in disgrace…skulling a bowl of cocktail is never a good idea.

The first morning, after removing a discarded bra from my face, we headed out to see the sights. First stop was the Colosseum, and seeing the lines we realised we really should plan our sightseeing more throughly. A quick coffee break before stopping on the steps of the Santa Maria Balisca for a quick lunch, a plan was hatched and we continued sightseeing. An unfortunate game of hackey in a park resulted in a hole in my lip, 3 loose teeth and a minor concussion, but nonethless we soldiered on.

The next day (Monday 20th July, if anyone’s keeping track), was stopped by St. Peters church nice and early, managing to avoid all the lines. With my broken toe and swollen lip, I’d set a bad precedent for sightseeing, but thankfully managed to avoid any further injuries walking through a church. Yay me. 3 hours and one Vatican later, I retired to the hostel to sleep off some of the culture.

That eve we headed to the Spanish steps, following the crowd to a Lunar Celebration which culminated in a free Moby Concert at the Piazo Po Polo, partying till the early hours of the morn.

After touring the Colosseum and surrounding ruins for the most of our next and last day in Rome, we decided to make this night a big one. As some of the pictures show, it was perhaps a bit too big.

Wednesday the 22nd,  7am. After 4 hours of sleep the 3 of us heading to Dubrovnik (James parted ways, heading north to Split) rolled out of bed, still drunk. Our aim: get to Bari, catch a ferry from there to Croatia. To be honest, most of the trip is a blur. Honestly cannot recall how we got to the station, let alone found the right train. One thing I do recall is a dodgy lock imprisoning me in the toilets on the train, and me kicking the door open. Turns out the lock wasn’t dodgy, I was just unable to operate it my inebriated state. Brilliant. Thankfully the train was a sleeper train, with individual compartments, so sleep came swiftly.

Bari, although a nice seaside town, isn’t that spectacular, and the 8 hours we spent waiting for the ferry were agonisingly boring. Finally the time came, and we boarded and started our crossing to Dubrovnik. Croatia, here we come.

Rome Photos, Moby Concert Photos

Florence, Florence, Florence. Where to begin.

We traveled from Cinque Terre, risking the rickety chaos that is Tren Italia, and made our way in relative comfort to Firenze Centrale. Following instructions emailed in fractured English we discovered our hostel for the evening and promptly went searching for dinner. The hostel owner had recommended a place slightly out of the mainstream for us to try, so we wandered past the Duomo to indulge ourselves in Italian gastronomy.

Once seated, this cozy restaurant wasn’t quite what we’d expected. Ordering was less a matter of choice and more of memory and reflex, as the waiter rapidly spoke out the menu from memory required immediate replies. There was an unlimited supply of bread and wine, but not water. The wide variety of desserts on the menu – the only thing actually ON a menu – looked delicious, but were unfortunately but a distraction; the only desserts actually available were, once again, off memory. Thankfully, the restaurant’s foibles didn’t detract from the experience, rather complementing the entire evening. The food was superb, and well priced – 10 Euro for a 3 course meal.

Throughout the 5 days we spent in Firenze we dabbled in many different foods, spending an afternoon grazing our way through the food market, trying all the cheeses, meats and wines available, not to mention the countless varieties of ice cream we indulged in. Many hours were spent in the various markets we found, most notably the leather markets, rife with pick-pockets and imitation goods, bargaining less an option and more a necessity for one to avoid being completely fleeced.

Not the cleanest of cities, the garbage trucks in Firenze seemed to empty dumpsters and bins into their trays, then drive around and redistribute the trash throughout the city, ensuring the level of scunge remained constant citywide. Wanting to see some other locales, Steve and I journeyed to Prato one evening to party with the Corona Promotional team. Drinking till well into the morn, we ran into a high school mate Ollie, also doing a euro-trip. On that note, on our last night in Firenze, partying on the roof of our hostel, we ran into Laura Baker, another Elthamite. Small world.

The classic trips to the Duomo, Ponte Veccio, Pisa, and many others, were made, but the atmosphere of Firenze was the selling point, not the sights.

While 5 days were plenty to see the sights, I could have spent many more enjoying the nightlife. Seeing how we are living off a (frequently broken) budget however, we packed our bags and headed to Rome, which is a entire different story.

And don’t forget to check out Florence Photos, Prato Photos and Pisa Photos

Now, I probably should be trying to finish up the backlog of posts and pictures from Italy, but as those who’re following me on Twitter (klaus_jones) can probably tell, I’m not in the best state to do so…6 cocktails in 10 minutes and counting.

I doubt I’ll be coherent enough (once they – plus the ongoing drinks – kick in) to get into this iPhone app, let alone post, which is probably a good thing.

In any case, i’ll update later…in the meantime, bring on the revelry!