Orange? Why not purple?

**Note: Post date is July 7, 2009**

“Good morning voyagers,” is the greeting I awake with at about 7:00 am. Outside our window was Mt. Edna. We were sailing between Sicily and the Italy mainland and were on our way to Croatia.  After a day of classes and growing excitement for our next classes we all went to bed as we approached the Adriatic Sea.

The next morning I awake with the Captain tooting the ship’s horn in acknowledgment of  Dubrovnik, Croatia, his home town. As we pull in to dock you can see the layers and layers of mountains all surrounded by the beauteous blue water that I never thought existed. On these mountains were hundreds of similar houses that all had roofs made of orange, clay shingles. When I say I all, I mean ALL! Why orange? Why not blue or grey? I say, that if I was to move to this town, I would be the rebel with the purple roof!

But kidding aside the town was so pretty to look at. It reminds both me and Erika of the Sound of Music, even though that is another country entirely. We were off the boat for all of five minutes and already we were in amazement of this gorgeous town. I was in a state of relaxation from the hectic travels I had in Italy. Mostly everyone speaks English and navigation is quite simple.  So simple that A.B.A explored the town all on their own. We walked along the outer parameters of the city and nothing to find but the open waters. It was gorgeous blue and calling our names for a swim. Bo was the only brave one to jump off the cliff into the refreshing water. (I really need to stop being a wimp and just go for it!) But he did it and afterwards was a little out of it. It was funny. Kevin and I thought he was going to cry, but it was just another ear problem. You know, one similar to Kevin’s? He is ok now, but I have to admit: it was quite a jump.

A.B.A.’s first mission of the day was to book a kayaking and snorkeling tour for the group. After much scavenging and comparison of prices and tours we found a man in a yellow shirt with a paddle offering a friendly, flexible and fun deal for all of us to kayaking. Cameron (a.k.a. Kate) was in charge of navigation for a good chunk of the morning to give me rest from my normal duties, but I soon had to take charge when things became a little confusing. We are booked for Thursday afternoon and we can’t wait!

“This pizza is so good,” announces Erika. Looks like we won’t only be finding good pizza in Italy. The fun doesn’t stop. There is gelato here too. (don’t worry I got some) and it was just as good as Italian gelato. We made a stop for pizza about three times throughout the day. Erika is our Food Liaison. She scouts out all the locations of food, their prices and retains the information quite well. If we are ever at a lost of where to go she recommends a place from her countless sightings. “She loves food,” is an understatement.

After we finalized Kayaking the group split. Kate, Erika, Bo, Kevin and I all went to explore the City Walls. The City Walls are fort walls surrounding the Old City of Dubrovnik. Walking these strenuous walls (similar to the Great in China) provides you with a 360 degree view of the ocean and the quaint little city inside including the homes, the restaurants and the people who roam the narrow streets. The view of the ocean and the tops of the houses is just a view that makes everything calm for some reason. Even though it was basically a hike and I was sweating from head to toe after the hour long tour, I loved it very much.

It is unexpressed how much walking this trip entails. I don’t think I’ve ever walked so much in my life combined and I live in New York City. (ok that’s a bit exaggerated) BUT the walking isn’t strolling it is uphill, up volcano, strenuous, backpack walking! Our backs our sweaty, our faces dripping and our feet ready to be chopped off. I keep saying from time to time that I’m afraid we will never be this in-shape ever again. However then someone reminds me how many carbs they feed us on the boat and how much sitting around we do on the boat.

Speaking of food, Erika got a little sick on the City Walls today. She wasn’t feeling well all morning. Her stomach was uneasy after eating an apple and pear consecutively. I know how she feels. Sometimes natural fruit juices make me a little queasy, but it was legitimately hurting and finally reached a point where she had to head back to the boat.

“Hey! There is a mini MV Explorer…O wait! That’s our ship!,” Kevin confusingly points out. As we were walking back from our City Wall tour and had failed to find a close beach to cool off in, Kevin and I saw the port in the distance. He thought there was a mini boat that looked like our ship, however the large ship next to it just made our ship look mini. It was probably the funniest part of our day. (Look out for the picture in the future)

But, the heat had gotten to us so we gave up on looking for the beach but I still needed to cool off. I decided to go to the pool on the boat. After a quick refresher I decided to nap on the deck. There was grass-hopper on the deck with me as well. I told Bo to make sure it didn’t jump on me. I wasn’t in a deep sleep of course so I’d open my eyes now and then to make sure the insect wasn’t moving. I opened my eyes once and Erika (who was feeling better by the way) was moving both mine and hers laptops off the deck. I asked her why and she said so she could sit. Then a little while later I open my eyes and Bo is coming after me with the disgusting creature. (I can’t stand things that crawl, or hop for that matter…it was gross!) Well I naturally yelped and leaped from the deck screaming at the two culprits! I had a headache after this fiasco! It was NOT funny! Ugh!

“It isn’t funny,” Kevin whines as I make fun of him and call him a dork. Today he tripped or did some thing dorkish about 5-6 times. It all started this morning when he got his flip flop caught in the cabin door and subsequently fell to the ground in hysterics. I was hysterically laughing. He stepped in gum about 3 times today and tripped about twice on our walk back. Having someone to laugh at is so convenient.

After dinner and an exhausting day I was a bit grouchy and tired. I napped for a bit before it was time to go out! There were a couple of clubs that we heard talk about ( but so did everyone else on the boat) there is nothing appealing to hanging out with all the same people that we see everyday. I’m not saying they aren’t nice people (even though some aren’t) I’m just saying I want to experience life outside the boat and just moving the location of the party doesn’t really instill that. We chilled at a bar for a few and had a few drinks. It was a fun night of laughing, taking pictures and meeting new people. We met Debra who ironically knows one of my friends from NYU, Gil Zabarsky. It was a crazy coincidence because everyone else on the boat has asked me if I know who they know at NYU and I have to let them down gently in notifying them that it is a large school and that I don‘t. So when Debra started “Do you happen to know…?” I automatically was ready to reject her but then she said Gil Zabarsky and I flipped with an ecstatic, “YES!” It was pretty exciting….you had to be there!

The Old City of Dubrovnik was so magical at night. It was so alive, so colorful and it just all seemed to good to be true. It was maculate and lighted to with so many lights. The entire day I thought I was in Disney World. It just all seems fake and that they created this for the likes of tourists but in actuality it is all authentic. Croatia recently won its Independence 20 years ago. The establishment of there nation is so new that the area is touristy but not to the point that you can’t enjoy the actual culture.

Most of the gang headed back to the boat, but I needed to dance! Nico, Rachel, Mercedes and I were ready to boogie and so we went to a club called Fuego. It was fun. A little rough around the edges but everyone was safe and having a good time. It was getting late and I decided to leave with Jess (from Capri) and her friend Charlie (who is a girl). We split a cab. Ok. So in Italy the traffic was just plain awful. Imagine, if you will, limited traffic lights, no stop signs and children as young as 14 on mopeds riding throughout the cobbled streets of Italy. Death was in the air. That seems like a sweet playground compared to the horrible taxi ride we got back to the ship in Croatia. He was going almost 100 miles per hour, mind you once again I live in New York and am used to crazy drivers, but this one needs to be leashed and put in a cell. It was not a safe ride and I will never take a taxi again in Dubrovnik. Bus and Foot it is!

Today marks three weeks into the journey, yet it seems like its been so much more. Here is a recap of the week with the weekly play list.

Together, Wherever We Go from Gypsy

Where ever we go
What ever we do
We’re gonna go through it together.

Where ever we sleep
If prices are steep
We’ll always sleep cheaper together

If I start to dance
Then we both start to dance
Then sometimes by chance we’re together.

What ever the trick we can do it
With team work we are bound to get through it
There really isn’t anything to it
You do it!

Together, Where ever we go!

With the A.B.A. (American Backpackers Association ) we truly function as a family. From the very beginning we have been witty, sarcastic and genuine with each other. With each and everyone of them (Kate, Becca, Kevin, Bo, Rachel and of course Erika) I can be myself around them no matter what. We can share embarrassing stories, share a laugh, a cry and even vocalize our complaints. The air is free range and we accepting of all. We get so much accomplished by working together and getting through any situation. Traveling with this crazy group has ended up in some amazing times such as our lovely time in Sevilla, some funny times such as our outrageous fun for the train in Rome, and overall a memorable time! I look forward to the road ahead (or stream I should say) and the years to come for I’m sure these friendships will last longer than this voyage. It has been a blast thus far!

Lesson Learned by Carrie Underwood

There some things that I regret
Some words I wish had gone unsaid
Some starts that had some better endings
Been some bad times I’ve been through
Damage I could not undo
Some things I wish I could do all over again
But it don’t really matter
When life gets that much harder
It makes you that much stronger
Some pages turned, some bridges burned
But there were Lessons Learned

My time in Italy taught me some valuable unforgettable lessons. One being to follow your heart. This advice can be at a large or small token but whatever it be it will prove valuable. We only have one chance at this thing called life, we can’t worry whether we get it right or we get it wrong but we must worry whether we are doing something that makes us happy. We can’t get everything, I know that, but we must take risks, and we must do! Don’t edit your dreams or your aspirations, let them edit themselves. I also hope to roam these countries with a less critical eye and a more accepting one. It is time to stop passing judgment and simply co-exist. Yes people will annoy me and I will find fault, but I have to put aside my prejudices to people I may never meet and just know that they have a purpose too. I run with my own advice in hopes to find a truly prosperous living, right now within this journey and then past it.

Almost Paradise from Footloose Soundtrack

Almost Paradise
We’re knocking on heaven’s Door
Almost Paradise
How could we ask for more!?

Nothing could have been more prosperous than my time in Capri. It was breathtaking both literally from driving up the mountain and figuratively from the amazing view from the top. I hope to return one day through my travels and I hope to spend more than just one afternoon. I wish there were words to describe this ever so wonderful place but Almost Paradise seems to do it.

It’s a Kind of Magic by Queen

One Dream
One Song
One Prize
One Goal
One Golden Glass
Of what should be!

One shard of light
That shows the way
No normal man
Can win this day!

Even though bad days come and go, it is quite amazing how many things turn out good in the end. I was having a deep conversation with Rachel about how overly fortunate I am. I have a loving family, a great group of friends, an indescribable education and now this voyage. I can sit down for hours and try to think of how the stars must be aligned, how the lord watches over me, or just how lucky I am to be blessed with such wonders. But then I result to say that it is Magic! It is magic that I saw fireworks on the fourth of July, it is magic that I found such a safe and warm group of friends aboard this ship, it is magic that I’m still alive after that cab ride and its magic that I’m in Croatia.

Today's Expenses:

.................Kuna..........Dollars
Gelato..........15.00..........3.00
Pizza...........10.00..........2.00
City Walls......20.00..........4.00
Drinks..........25.00..........5.00
Club Feugo......40.00..........8.00
Cab.............20.00..........4.00

Total...........130.00.........26.00

It has already been an amazing start to Croatia. Sleep tight.

Explore. Dream. Discover.

~Michael-Anthony

P.S. I wish my Mom was here. She’d love it.