Sunday 13 September 2015

Bled, Slovenia ǀ 2015

We stopped here after Ljubijana on the way back from Croatia and on our way to Munich. I didn't want to blog about either of those places twice in one year though because I felt that would feel a bit too repetitive and they would be almost identical to the last ones I wrote (click HERE and HERE). 

I think the very first thing I noticed about Bled was how beautiful it was. There was a huge blue lake with little rowing boats and with an island with a church on in the middle. There were mountains in the distance and green trees everywhere. I really want to know what it looks like in winter too because I think that would also be beautiful when there's snow everywhere and the lake is frozen over.

Whilst we were here it seemed so peaceful. I doubt anyone would be allowed to wakeboard or waterskii here. The only activities were sunbathing, swimming, visiting the island or getting a drink at the multiple cafes dotted around.


I like to take photos of other people when they aren't aware; I  think it is the only way to capture a natural moment like this. I always notice that babies are so much more photogenic because they aren't self-conscious at all so, I reckon that when I take photos from a distance, or without people noticing me, then they turn out a lot better.

I took this photo because I thought it was incredible that I could drive for a little bit and then open the car door to such a new and spectacular view.

Hey Fishy


Monday 7 September 2015

Climbing Sveti Ilija, Croatia ǀ 2015

After experiencing last year what its like to run out of water when you're stuck on a mountain in the sun, we decided to carry a lot more supplies with us this year. In comparison to our friend Jamie who came with us, we seemed to be a little over-prepared; he went with only three hours sleep, a hangover and a stale doughnut.

To avoid the sun we had to wake up at five o'clock and set off at six. We reached the top of the mountain by about half past nine. The view was a lot better last year though. It was too misty to make out that much this time but before the sky was so blue and clear that we could see over the top of surrounding islands to even more places. If I can find any pictures of that from last time, I'll add them.




Saturday 5 September 2015

Korčula, Croatia ǀ 2015

During our stay in Croatia we came here twice: the first time in the evening which was when I took photos on my camera and then once for breakfast. The first visit was fairly uneventful but we were able to see all of the markets along the sea and see the yachts all lit up. The breakfast visit was more fun in my opinion because we did more. We came as a spur of the moment idea and thought we could just get the ferry across to Korčula. After maybe last year or the year before, I've learnt not to stick my head out of the boat window if you want to stay dry... but that is a whole other story.

When looking around I came across a jewel encrusted hat saying BOY across the front and took a picture in it for a joke but I actually wish I'd bought it. Backward, shiny hats aren't something you can ever wear in England however in Croatia  quite a few windsurfers have them but, then again, maybe you have to actually be good at windsurfing to look cool in one. I should probably save that idea until at least next year. 

Another thing that happened was it being so hot that I couldn't bear to keep my tights on, Iona had already reported back to me that the toilet queue was really long, so I just had to strip them off on the side of the road. Yolo I guess? Almost instantly after successfully accomplishing that, it started to rain heavily. We had to shelter with our ice creams under a roof before making a dash back to the ferry again.



Thursday 3 September 2015

Rafting in Neretva, Bosnia ǀ 2015

It specified on the website "do not do this if you are seeking excitement" so naturally I expected this to be a relatively chilled experience where we would just drift amongst the scenery, enjoying the view. If you read a lot of my travel posts you will see that often my expectations and reality do not match to say the least and yeah... this time is no different.

Straight after a day out in Mostar, we arrived later on in the day to discover that tea wouldn't be until ten so, we sat down stairs in the bar which I found out in the morning had a view of the river. I was almost dozing off when we hear this piercing scream of horror coming from the toilets which later transpired to be Iona spotting the first of many spiders. She emerged shaking and sat down with us. We had nearly managed to relax and regain calm when she said "Holy crap, its a freaking scorpion!" and, by this stage, I really didn't know whether or not to laugh or cry.

That night we checked the room twice for insects ("a double bugs bust"). Once we had finally gotten ourselves together and gone to bed we hear this cricket noise. In unison we all slowly raised our heads and turned towards the culprit.

Our group was due to leave for the rafting at ten in the morning which was at the same time breakfast was going to be. We couldn't wait that long so we got some teeny tiny plastic spoons used for stirring coffee or something and tried to hack away at the remains of dad's birthday cake. It wasn't long before we had to get kitted up. My wetsuit was okay, Iona was handed a full-length blue one which was secured over each shoulder, when the blue plastic helmets were handed out she looked so funny. But we all drew breath when the guy held up this florescent yellow and pink suit (when this happened I held my own wetsuit almost protectively toward me) and as predicted, it was handed to Pia. I could just imagine her cruising down the river like an extra member of ABBA and suppressed a desperate urge to laugh. Instead she said it was to small and consequently ended up with a huge one with holes in er... many places.

So off we traipsed, past the mildly amused people having breakfast and, towards the minibus. It was a lot later that we actually got into the water; we waited around for the other groups to get together before actually going.

Everyone else there was Bosnian. There were two other groups: one girls boat and one boys boat which was, I'm guessing, the source of all of the beer. The water was so blue yet so transparent that even the deep parts appeared shallow. Rocks and trees towered over us on either side. It was so beautiful. At the first break people climbed the rocks and dived and did flips into the water.

It was fairly calm for the majority of the journey but the difficult parts were fun. I always seemed to end up as the one thrown to the floor as we skimmed past rocks and through currents, even waterfalls at times. After about three hours of rafting we finished of where we started.