With the departure of Laura and Neka, I found myself a bit depressed. I returned to Split as they headed out on their road trip to Bosnia and Montenegro and realized that I was, once again, alone. After almost 72 hours of being holed up in my apartment, due both to being slightly depressed and feverishly trying to catch up on work from the TWO DAYS I took off, I finally put on my big girl pants and decided to make the most of my final couple weeks here.
Toe-tally missing my girl squad
One night, I found myself joining a bar crawl of mostly 18-24 year olds. It was mostly out of a “Screw it, what else am I gonna do tonight?” attitude, but I will say that it was an enlightening experience to say the least. Watching the youths live their best lives without a care in the world, with their biggest worry being what country they could move to next and impressing the guy/girl next to them, and hopping into the sea at 4 am (yes, I made it that long; no, my body did not appreciate it) really made me appreciate where I am in life. I was definitely one of them at one point, but I am perfectly happy doing all those dumb things during daylight - that’s what adulting is, right? Day drinking so you can go to bed at a reasonable hour and making drunken travel plans?
I did finally get a chance to explore my home base of Split more, which was fantastic. A very hungover morning later, I headed to a local farm for a tour and olive oil tasting, which was phenomenal. We picked ripe figs, plums, and almonds straight off the tree, then got to sit down to an amazing spread of homemade bread, charcuterie, wine, and liqueurs. I even became buddies with an awesome Irish couple on their honeymoon and had drinks with them afterward - and may have invited myself to visit the in Dublin in the future.
Pretty sure I ate my weight in figs.
Krka Falls was next on the list, and it did not disappoint. The vistas were awesome, but the highlight was swimming right under the falls. I earned my role as honeymoon crasher once more, befriending another awesome couple, and apparently earning myself an invite to Minnesota in the winter (Earned? Punished with? Time will tell…).
I swam in there!
The following weekend took me a bit further out of town. Saturday was a day trip to Plitvice Lakes, a hike with tons of lakes, waterfalls, and stunning vistas. The water color was seriously unreal, and was 100% worth the minimal amount of hiking I had to do for it. The one thing I could do without were the crowds around photo spots (my elbows became weapons), but overall, it is a definite higlight of my trip.
Still can’t get over this water.
Not to be outdone, Sunday brought a day trip to Bosnia & Herzegovina. At the prodding (or yelling) of my friend to explore more of the area, I booked this trip, and I did not regret it at all. It is crazy to see how much they’ve built up the town after the war, but there are still ruins and rubble next to fully rebuilt buildings. Stari Most, the famous bridge, was the star - we made it just in time to catch one of the divers jumping off the bridge (yay!), but it was crazy to watch and HEAR when he hit the water.
Watching that man jump was both awesome and terrifying.
My final ode to Croatia was one last island hopping adventure. We went to private beaches on Brac, Hvar, and Solta, and even got mojitos from a guy on a boat! It was all the relaxation I needed before I take off into my next few crazy weeks of work and travel. Hvala, Croatia - hope to be back soon!
One last dip in this crystal sea…