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When backpacking you find the closet market and buy most of your meals fresh. Now that I knew how far 150 meters is away, I followed the chalk writing on the road with a big arrow leading me down the stairs to the market. I walked in and fresh croissants had just been pulled from the oven. The clerk dropped a steaming chocolate croissant in a paper bag and I grabbed some fresh fruit.
I sat up on the patio of Dinks, ate my breakfast and planned out my next destination. My favorite meal in the world is Chicken Paprikosh. Being this close to the source, I thought I should make Hungary my next stop. Mornings are when backpackers usually map out their next hostels and travel arrangements. Several people in my hostel sat around the patio table on their phones and iPads asking each other for suggestions and advice. Two brothers from New York City Bryce and Nick, suggested I hire the company they used to get to Budapest. A private van picked them up door to door. They drive them from the bus station right to their hostel door. Looking at flights, it seemed nearly impossible to get there any other option so decided to go with the private van. Nick ran back inside and grabbed the email to Eurobus Ways and I shot them an email. Within ten minutes, I received an email back. They said they could accommodate but pick up from Split was only every other week. I would need to get to Zagreb and then they would transport me to Budapest for 90 Euros. This was much cheaper than the $650 flight I found. I pulled up the bus schedule from Split and there was one that left every hour. The bus was only 120 Kuna and was 4 1/2 hours drive. I emailed back the driver booked a spot, found a hostel in Budapest and shut down my iPad. All my booking were completed for the day.
I was eager to explore Hvar for one more day. I walked past the kitchen and passed the guys from Scotland and the UK. David, Sebastian and Nick were headed to rent scooters today. I told them that was on my Croatia bucket list and asked if they minded if I joined. Thinking they would be mad I crashed their party, they enthusiastically welcomed me to join. I climbed upstairs to ask Dink if he could add one more scooter rental. "You want to rent a scooter?!" he asked as if I was crazy. "Are you experienced?" I told him I grew up four wheeling and he said, "It is nothing like four wheeling, you ride with the boys. I only have three scooters anyhow."
I walked back up to the boys, Nick held his head down on the table hungover, David and Sebastian seemed a little tired as well. I asked them which of them was least likely to kill me and that they only had three scooters. Nick went to go lay down for a minute so I vetoed him from the decision. Dink took us down to the garage to teach us how to operate the scooters. In his strong Croatian accent he walked us through the proper steps of releasing the kickstand, starting the engine, giving a little gas and the breaks. "Julie, you try- follow the steps." After an epic fail, he grew frustrated and yelled "No, you're not listening." I tried to follow his steps again but he turned to the boys and told me I was not allowed to drive. The boys went to wake up Nick and Dink turned back to me feeling a little bad he had yelled at me. "Julie, I show you once more. You pay attention this time." He took me for a practice run and sat behind me. He drove first and showed me how to drive and then let me take over once we cleared the hill. Driving a scooter in Croatia was exactly how I imagined. It was so invigorating zipping around the windy roads. We took the main road back in to pick up the boys. Nick now awake, joined us for the ride. Dink walked him through a quick lesson and then I hopped on the back of Sebastian's scooter.
We didn't know exactly where to go but I told the boys a girl in my hostel back in Dubrovnik told me they rented scooters and followed the main road to Stari Grad. Along the coast there are several beaches to take a break and swim. Being that we all had to leave for Split tomorrow, we decided we would take the scooters into town first and buy our ferry tickets then head out in the direction of Stari Grad.
We wandered down the streets on the scooter and got lost several times into dead ends and wrong turns. I saw the path that we took into town the night before so pointed for us to turn in that direction. The path became narrower and narrower until finally we were riding through the tiny stone alleyways of shops and patios. Our loud engines echoed in the alleys and local restaurant servers shook their heads at us and yelled that no scooters were allowed in the city. Now in to deep, we had no clue what to do. A local stopped us and told us that if the police caught us we would be fined. We pulled the key from the ignition and walked the scooter out of the alleys until we reached the harbor. We lost David but Nick and Sebastian parked their scooters on the street and we went to search for David and the ferry tickets.
We passed David walking and he asked what happened to us. We filled him in on how we winded up in the touristy alley ways and he laughed at us that we were idiots. Once we reached the ferry booth, a sign on the door read that it was closed for another hour. The ferry's book up fast so we decided to grab lunch on the harbor and wait. They were leaving for Dubrovnik tomorrow and I was leaving for Budapest so we needed to ensure we got off this island.
We stopped for pizza at a patio overlooking the water. We ordered cappuccinos and got to know each other better. The boys were really funny and I was enjoying their company. David and Nick's Scottish accents took some adjusting. I felt like I was in a movie in every word they spoke. They make everything seem so much elegant than it really is. Sebastian was from Romania but has lived in the States and now London so had a blend of several accents. We talked about our jobs back home. Nick is an attorney and Sebastian works in Investments. They were really easy to get to know and welcomed me into their inside jokes pretty quickly. One thing I found different was anytime they said beach, they would say it twice and in a higher tone. "We're going to the Beach Beach." And then continue with whatever they were saying. I never asked but they said it all day.
After lunch, we walked back to get our ferry tickets and then headed on the road out to Stari Grad. Once we pulled out of the busy streets, we drove along the rocky cliffs and could see nothing but open sea and the surrounding islands. Riding through Croatia on a scooter was now my new favorite memory. We winded along the coast, zipping through the mountains and every turn I was in awe. It was a little scary at times, in some areas there were no guard rails and Sebastian was still getting used to the scooter. I loved the views and cannot imagine coming to Hvar without seeing it from this angle. The ride to Stari Grad was truly breathtaking.
I signaled the boys to pull off to the first beach stop, Dubovica. We parked our scooters and took the dirt path down through the fields until we reached a cove with a few old stone buildings and a beautiful pebble beach. The water here was the most clear water I had yet to see in Croatia. Dripping from the hike down, we stripped down to our suits and ran into the water right away. Swimming around the cove, I looked up at the sky and did not want this moment to end. Croatia was literally such a surprise on a daily basis. I guess because I didn't know what to expect, I was finding myself speechless. Even Stari Grad, I didn't truly know what that was but knew that was our end destination today.
We climbed out of the water and dried off on the pebble beach. Sebastian was talking about the beaches in Croatia and then did the double beach thing again so asked why they do that. He paused and gave me a look as if I should already know, "Nicki Minaj, of course." I broke into laughter. "This whole day you've been quoting a Nicki Minaj song??" These boys were so silly but I was having a blast and found them hilarious.
We laid out on the beach for another hour talking, I asked them them a million questions and found myself really comfortable around them. Finding it difficult to peel ourselves off the beach, we decided it was time to head to Stari Grad, whatever that was. I climbed in the back if David's scooter because Sebastian was taking the turns a little too quickly. The road winded us around and around the mountains and through a tunnel. After a thirty minute ride, we arrived to signs pointing left to Stari Grad. I didn't know if I should picture another beach, market or view point. Instead, we pulled up to an isolated old stone village. Walking through the stone alleys, it was very uncommon to pass other tourists. I felt like we were in an abandoned town. Beautiful patios lay along the alleys of restaurants. Servers and hosts asked if we would like to join them for supper. We took a few pictures, walked in a cathedral and then grew hungry for dinner.
We found a cool little restaurant that had stairs leading up to a patio draped with greenery. There were only two tables on the intimate restaurant patio so we put our name down and walked down the alley for a pivo. As we relaxed on the patio, our server took a seat near us and began to talk to us. We asked what there was to do in Stari Grad and he looked around at the abandoned patio shrugging and told us nothing. It's very desolate in Stari Grad. He asked where we were from and grew excited. It was as if we were the only customers all day. I made a comment about a band and he told us he plays the guitar. I told him that was cool and he asked "Would you like me to play?!" I looked at the boys confused and then back at our server, "oh, now?" Excited, He nodded his head and put his hand in the air motioning he would be right back. He ran inside the stone building and returned with a guitar. He strung the guitar and began to sing "Don't worry" Bob Marley. The boys and I clapped and sang along on the empty patio. Moments like this you can't dream up. Here I was in some historic village in Croatia as a local gave us a private show. He took requests and we sat there and sang along to all his songs. He had a really soft voice and played every song so well. Once our table was ready, we headed upstairs to dinner. I ordered fresh seabass stuffed with sage and capers. The boys ordered tuna and seafood risotto. The meals in Croatia are so fresh, my fish was served fully intact with the head still on. Another crazy thing is that you are served these magnificent feast dinners for only 90 Kuna. We toasted to an unbelievable day in Hvar. The boys were just as impressed with how our day unfolded as I was. I told them I was glad I met them and that they let me tag along with them.
After dinner, we drove through sunset along the cliff back into Hvar. Sebastian drove past the main city exit and toward the forest. I asked David where he was taking us and he shrugged his shoulders. He guided us up to the top of a mountain to a restaurant on the cliff called Panorama. We parked our bikes and I went inside to use the restroom. When I came out, the boys were no where to be found. I followed a stone wall that led to a look out point and saw the three of them gazing out a the most unbelievable view my eyes have ever seen. The full view of all the surrounding islands lay in front of us under a neon pink sky. All the islands with tall mountains lining the pink sky made it appear we were in some sort of country in Southeast Asia. The view at Panorama was a remarkable, I don't think a picture would ever even capture this. As the sky slowly transitioned from neon pink, to a soft pink the four of us sat there in awe. Sebastian tapped Nick asking if they could play the song and the three of them grew excited as Nick walked back to the scooter to grab his phone. Curious about their ritual, I waited to hear instead if asking. Nick sat back down and played a song I had never heard of. "Flaws"' by Bombay Bicycle Club. I have my own rituals I do when I first arrive back to San Diego from any trip. Upon returning home no matter if it is for a day or a week, I drive to Coronado Island and sit in the very same sand dune. It was interesting to be a part of their world, their day and their ritual. It was kind of a cool sight to see grown men have an innocent side where they appreciated a good moment.
After all our marveling, we drove back in the dark to the hostel. They had to change hostels today so dropped me off back at Dink's. I had a room transfer so met all my new roommates when I got home. Girls from England introduced themselves and asked how my scooter ride was. They saw us driving away as they were checking in so filled them in on our adventure. The boys from New York City were also in my dorm. There was another pub crawl tonight so the six of us shared one bathroom and got ready for a big night out. I asked the girls if they wanted me to play the Croatia Playlist I made for my trip on my iPod. They loved it and we danced together while putting on our make up and curling our hair. The boys would come in and ask if their shirt needed ironed and I couldn't help but laugh at this scenario. I had just met all these people and we were all sharing this tiny space, getting ready to go out together. At home, it can take a lot longer to get on this level together but when you're backpacking you're kind of thrown in to having to get comfortable really fast. With only one sink, you're going to be brushing your teeth together. With only one bedroom, you're going to be changing in front of each other. It's so bizarre but became really easy to adjust to it quickly. At 10pm, Dink rounded us up and a larger group now walked through the streets toward town. Once we reached the harbor, Dink led us to a boat and signaled us to board. I turned to him in shock, "I thought we were doing a pub crawl?" He smiled and said "This is the first stop." I shook my head and boarded the boat. Marcos, another host at the hostel pulled down the boarded up bar, music blaring and began a line for free flow. He literally just told us to say stop when as he poured our cocktails. I got a rum and coke and then walked to the bow of the boat as we headed out to sea. I could not comprehend how this day could continue to keep getting better. A scooter ride along the coast today and now a booze cruise.
I climbed the ladder to the roof of the boat which was now packed with people. I talked to the New York Boys for a while and found we had a lot in common. They were originally from Pittsburgh and we talked about how surprised we have been with Croatia.
After the boat docked, we head back to the alleys to Kiva and got our big Mojito goblets with the tall straws. We had another night of dancing followed by late night margarita pizzas.
Another night down in Hvar and I was off to my next adventure tomorrow. I would be sad to leave my new friends but I guess that's the nature of travel. Bonding with all new friends and being a part of each others favorite moments will be a memory I save forever.
- comments
Dwayne " I This sounds like quite the fun time! I think its hilarious you tried to relate riding a scooter like riding a 4-wheeler. I guess anything with wheels/tires should run the same huh? You're cute. I bet the sites were amazing. Seeing a city on a scooter, I'm guessing, allows for you to see a lot more. And regardless of transportation, each sight is breathtaking regardless. I now feel like visiting one of my favorite homes on St. Petersburg Beach Beach.