Ahhhhh....the joys of traveling!!

View of the Light House
From my bed!!

I am absolutely thrilled to have been on the road again (or water this time).... no matter HOW exhausted I was by the time I arrived!! It was a LONG, 27-hour journey to get 200 miles (mostly because I was on public transportation and spent quite a bit of that time waiting for the next train/bus/boat), but it reminded me of the "life mantra" I adopted 20 years ago...."life is a journey, not a destination" (although this destination is pretty much WORTH whatever time it took to get me here)!! I'm now feeling almost fully recovered after a quiet day looking out at the sea yesterday, followed by a lovely dinner with my host and his 85-year-old mother who run this place together!! We had the fresh fish he caught that afternoon less than 50 feet away, fresh homemade bread (dipped in his own personally-pressed olive oil), very interesting conversation (although the mom doesn't speak English so that made it a bit harder because I kept feeling like she might be being left out), and lots of good wine....it was DIVINE!! 

When I pulled out of the station from Fano at 3:00 on Tuesday afternoon (knowing I wouldn't arrive in Hvar until 3:00 the next day....or, as it turned out, much later!!), I was ready for something new and different! I was quite tired and felt my "joive de vivre" had faded. My energy had been sapped, and I was ready to reconnect with myself (and others) more deeply again!! The train ride was uneventful, and I even figured out the bus from the train station to the port within 5 minutes (taking the #1/4 bus instead of waiting an hour for the #20 bus....information I had gleaned from my copious research prior to departure because I didn't want another "deer in the headlights" moment like when I traveled a few weeks ago)!! 

My last yummy gelato for awhile!!

Following the Google Map street view I had carefully committed to memory, I easily found my way to the Port (with a lovely pit-stop for gelato because I was so much earlier than I had planned because of my knowledge of buses)!! I was quite pleased with myself, thinking, "I don't know what those people on the Internet were complaining about - this was actually quite easy and didn't require all THAT much walking!!"....only to find out once I arrived with bags and baggage at the Port that I needed to catch the #20 bus BACK to the terminal (near the train station) where I had to check in! Geesh.... so much for being so smart!! (Don't worry, Pam, I think I have it all figured out for our trip back to Italy when you arrive!!)

Apparently, they have a separate building where they check your passport (unofficially), check you in, and THEN you are allowed into the more secure area (back at the Port) where only ticketed passengers can get through the second layer of security to get onboard the ferry. Because it's an international ferry, they are much more careful about security - or at least that's what the lady at the ticket window told me when I asked....trying not to show my exasperation!! I had gone directly to the Port on my "tricky Bus #1/4 move" and bypassed the ticketing office completely!! Oh well - live and learn!! AND, I met a lovely young Korean woman traveling with her mom - so kind and helpful and spoke excellent English! 

Port of Ancona....bigger than I expected!!

Just this brief interaction reminded once again how much I LOVE traveling because it creates a kind of intimacy you wouldn't normally get with strangers! I'm sure it has something to do with ME being more open (excited about new things, being taken out of my comfort zone, like a "kid in a candy store" with all sorts of new things to see, smell and experience, etc.), but there's just something about the whole experience that strips me of my usual "ego boundaries" and opens me up more FULLY to the world around me! I wonder if there's a way to incorporate this "openness" into my day-to-day life (or do I just keep traveling and experiencing new things)?!?! Either way is fine with me, but traveling sure is a lot more fun!!

So....I got my paper ticket and reserved a 4-person cabin since it was the cheapest option (other than finding "deck space" to try and catch a short nap)!! I had decided sleeping on the deck wasn't an option, especially since I wanted to be well-rested for my day of sight-seeing in Split before catching the boat to Hvar! Happily, I ended up having the cabin to myself because it's low season and there aren't as many travelers, so no sharing required!! 

I dragged my bags back to the port terminal (thank you #20 bus!!) and sat down when.... RRRIPPPP.... there was a sharp edge on the chair that somehow ripped a 6-inch hole in my jeans.... yikes!! (A side note to my shopping assistant/guru sister, Carol....it's a good thing I didn't buy myself any fancy NEW jeans because these were ruined beyond wearing in public, so I just threw them in the bathroom garbage without much thought - so mission accomplished - got rid of my "comfy old jeans" that had probably seen their better days but were too comfortable and familiar to get rid of before my trip!!) Fortunately I had my whole wardrobe with me, so I quickly changed and other than a scratch on my behind (which hasn't turned gangrenous yet so I think I'm good) - crisis averted!

There were so many travelers from so many places, and I think we all felt like we had just been invited to a big party - not a stranger in the room - just all one big happy group who were off on an adventure together (or at least that's how I perceived it)!! I met another nice mother-daughter duo from Brazil while waiting in line to get through Customs (while the officials intensely scanned our bags and passports)! The mom had never traveled outside Brazil, and the daughter was worried she'd planned a bit too much activity for their one-month trip, but the mom was handling it like a trooper!! 

Other side of Ancona Port as we pulled away!!

I kept getting distracted in the official "checking your passport" line - the guards kept having to wave me forward - because I was chatting away with people all around me! (Trust me....this is NOT why I got detained in the UK - in case you were worried that I might get detained again for being irreverent in the passport line!!) In front of me was the loveliest family from Oman! They were focused on getting through customs without being "profiled" but later they introduced themselves and we hit it off very quickly!! I spent most of the evening chatting with them, then headed back to my cabin for a good night's sleep.

But NOPE....no sleep for Judi!! After FINALLY falling asleep at midnight, I woke up at 2:00 am and was a sleepless "rotisserie chicken" the rest of the night - you know - side, front, back, other side - side, front, back.....etc. on a tiny, less-than-twin-sized berth in the cabin while thinking to myself, "Ooops!! I probably shouldn't have had that cappuccino after dinner, but it seemed like the perfect night cap after a lovely evening with my new friends from Oman!!" 

Sunrise over the bow of the ferry....
Welcome to Croatia!!

Oh well.... it was worth it!! Come to find out, one advantage of being awake at 5:00 am is being out on deck just in time to see the beautiful sunrise peeking over the Croatian mountains as the ferry navigates through the channel of islands with tiny villages perched on the edge! At that time of the morning with the mist hovering over the center of each island, it felt very "other-worldly" and mystical!! I finally got to see what all those morning people are "waxing poetically" about when they describe the magic of watching the sunrise!! 

We pulled into the harbor of Split after a bit of breakfast and the journey continued!! I have a whole bunch of pictures from my sight-seeing in Split, but I'll save those for another post so I don't wear you out!! If you've made it to the bottom of this post, you probably needed a coffee or bathroom break in-between....sorry!! I never MEAN to write so much, but as you will see when I post the rest, this trip was quite eventful so I had more than my usual amount of details to share!

Finally made it through security!!

I always feel a bit self-conscious about writing too much..... I don't want anyone to think "oh my goodness.... she's one of THOSE people....a narcissistic blog poster")!! So....my apologies for being so verbose - I write the same way I talk - "just chatting with a good friend (or stranger) over a cup of coffee" (and we all know how chatty I can be)!! My original "means of communication" when I went to Guatemala in 2003 were group emails because I got tired of cutting and pasting the same information to multiple people who were interested - which later morphed  into my travel blog on subsequent trips. As most of you know, there's a place to input your email address if you want to receive it via email so you don't miss out on any posts!

Sending my love to all who are reading and have made it to the end - and all the rest who only have time to look at the pictures!! I'll write more soon to finish the stories about this "leg" of my journey to Croatia!!