Friday 0620 - are they trying to KILL US???

Who knew when they told us we should wear sturdy shoes that they wanted us to actually tromp up a mountain???

Annette and Vincent and I left the house by 7:30 on Friday to get to the pier at Gruz by 8:15. Annette and I taxied; Vincent bravely took the bus. He LOVES public transportation. We arrived at almost the same time and were the first ones there. Soon the students started showing up, then Zoran and the art professor, Kate (KA-teh) Bagoje (I haven't mastered that yet. Luckily, she wants us to call her Kate like in America). Like every other event in Croatia, we all had a coffee first while we waited for the ticket office to open. Zoran had told the kids to be there at8:15 for a 9:15 arrival because they are habitually late. Naturally, they were all early yesterday.

The boat was the hydrofoil in the picture - very sleek and very fast. The photo inside shows that it was like being on an airplane. Annette took dramamine just in case; our student Jackie took one also, but it was not too rough a ride.

When we arrived at the national park on Mljet(Myet), Stasha, the environmental science professor, was at the dock to meet us. He led us up a little hill to some ruins and gave us a brief history of the site. I am thinking to myself "This will be so interesting. What a lovely day." I was still laboring under this misconception when he led us up another hill - the one in the photo with the red roofs. Still thinking "...how beautiful! Good thing Annette and I climb all those steps every day or we would really be hurting!"

It gets hotter and steeper and hotter and steeper and narrower and narrower and stonier and slipperier. The path winds up a #$%&/ mountainside, thru fallen trees and brush ("Be careful! Watch out so the branch doesn't whip you in the face!!")

It never seemed to end. Soon Annette and I were trailing behind and I was at the tail end. We, but mostly me, were getting tired and I started thinking "We can not let ourselves get hurt or we will not be able to work!" I know, lame excuse. I sat down on a rock and waited and soon some of the others trickled back down. There were six or seven of us who went down to where it was a bit flatter and chatted.

After ten or fifteen minutes, the main group came down and we all trooped down to the pier again where another little boat waited to take us to lunch on another island, Ovet Santa Maria. We ate at a beautiful cafe, under a rush canopy. Stasha had arranged for a special meal consisting of foods that the locals only serve at weddings or celebrations. We had a delicious soup with homemade, handcut noodles, a cabbage slaw and a pasta dish with little pieces of beef. For dessert, we had "Croatian apple pie" which was like a coffee cake. All delicious.

Stasha taught us that instead of saying "Hvala" or "Thank you" after a great meal, we say what sounds like "Old Leech Naw" which means something like "I was not feeling so great when I came, but after eating this my mood has really lifted!" We all tried it out and the waiters seemed pleased with our efforts.

After lunch, we all swam in the beautiful cool blue water. It is so salty that everyone except Gene was buoyant. He kept saying "How can you just float like that when I keep sinking!" We all had a fun time. Jackie took her hearing aids out to swim and the kids were so kind and made sure that she was looking at them when they spoke.

Jackie told me on the boat that she is so glad she stayed. It was a great life lesson for her to work thru her homesickness. She seems so relaxed and happy and enjoyed yesterday just as much as everyone else. Whew!

We all conked out on the way home. I slept for half an hour and then loud music blared to let everyone know that we had reached another stop on the island where people wanted to disembark. Annette went up to the top deck with some of the kids and shortly after, Jackie came down and insisted that I go up top to see how great it was. It was windy and sunny and gorgeous and I stayed until the ship came in to port.

The kids left to get ready to go out and party because Croatia played Turkey in soccer (football). Annette and Vincent and I all took the bus home. I posted a photo of the decal that was on the window of the bus. I since I didn't have a dog, I wasn't carrying an ice cream cone, and I sure didn't look like the chick in the bathing suit, it was OK for me to ride.

The bus dropped us at the Bikers Cafe near Upper Hell. Annette looked for her favorite biker that reminds her of Antonio Banderas, but he wasn't there. Darn. So, we trudged up the steps, up our street, up the 58 step front porch and crashed. Well, Annette and I crashed. Mr. Vincent got tidied up and went out to rub elbows with the locals and watch the game...which Croatia lost in double overtime. No fireworks, no sirens. Sigh.

All for now. We miss you and we are still having a wonderful time. The three of us are becoming a little family. I bought an ibrik which is a Turkish coffee maker. Look it up on Google. I bet some of you have family that make their coffee that way. I had brought a pound of Finger Lakes Coffee Roasters "Jamaica Me Nuts" coffee and I tried it today. It was very good and when I offered Vincent and Annette a sip, they all drank out of my cup. That is what I mean about being a little family. It is a comfort to have such great friends when you are so far away from home.

Annette will post our next adventures. I hope I didn't ramble on too long. Love to you all - CathyB