Day 101/188: Gloating While Boating, Part 1

Some days are the days we dreamed of when we planned this trip. In the hope of seeing The Blue Cave, we booked a private half-day boat tour. The weather didn’t agree with our cave plans, and then our propeller snagged a rope, and then we towed this other stranded boat to a nearby town, and…it was such a fun day!

Our tour guide Ivica (who told Story to call him “John” since that’s easier - ha!) made sure of it. He showed us all around the Hvar area, took us to hidden spots, stole drinks for us from his friend’s beachside bar (closed for the season), and let the kids drive the boat as fast as they wanted over big, choppy waves.

In Iceland, Story was pretty sure she was going to grow up to run a dogsledding business there. Then in Santorini, she wanted to move there to guide tourists on horseback trail rides. Now, she’s definitely going to live in Croatia and drive boats. (I hope she does all of these things with her life!)

At one point, I shouted to her over the crashing waves and roaring engine, “Story, do you wish you were back home sitting in a classroom right now?”

“Noooo!”

This was one of some bigger number (I can’t remember if the number is known) of these amazing caves built into mountains in wartime, for hiding ships from the enemy. The metal shutters on top could close for protection and better camouflage. Today, fishermen still store stuff in there or duck in during bad weather.

We stopped by Golden Horn Beach/Bol. The kitesurfers were so fun to watch, and the water…I mean, come on. It’s ridiculous. How do they make it look like that?

No doubt this bar is great when it’s open and full, but exploring it all by ourselves was pretty cool, too.

All in all, it was a day full of smiles and laughs, maybe more than any other single day on the trip.

Story with her new buddy, Ivica.