Camp Curtis: Croatia

We took a base-sponsored trip to Croatia last weekend. While we were a little bit nervous of the 8 hour round trip bus ride and having to be around a bunch of people all day, it turned out to be the perfect mix of structure and free time. Most people we didn't see except for the bus ride. Anyway, the trip consisted of a boat tour of the Croatian coast along Istria. Our stops included Porec and Rovinj but we were also lucky enough to pass through Lim Canal Natural Park which included several nude beaches. We had lunch on the boat in Rovinj and then had some time to explore the town. It was gorgeous! The town is very old and centered around St. Euphemia Church, located on the top of a hill. The walk to the top was filled with tiny hotels, restaurants, and shops on very narrow cobblestone streets. Rovinj had an awesome market as well that featured lots of garlic, honey, and lavender.

After Rovinj, we took the boat back to another bay and got to go swimming in the Adriatic Sea. The "beach" is made of rocks and of course we didn't have any type of water shoes but we painfully crept down to the water. The water was very chilly but felt incredible after a day of being on a boat and walking around. We left at about 7:30pm to head back to Italy. Earlier in the day, I didn't think that there was any way that I would make it to 7:30pm since the bus left Aviano at 4:30am. However, both Kwame and I wanted to stay longer. So our next trip may be overnight:)

The funniest thing that happened on the trip was in Rovinj. There were many pushy street vendors trying to sell things. Kwame got trapped by this guy who cuts a piece of paper into your profile. Kwame said that he didn't want one but the guy insisted on making it anyway (hoping that Kwame would change his mind in the end). Keep in mind that this artwork was going to cost him 10 euro. So the artist finishes the picture and opens it up to show us. The top is a profile of a guy in a baseball hat. Okay, no big deal. We go onto look and notice that the guy included Kwame's "swimsuit region" in the profile as well and it was huge!!!!! Way bigger than the baseball cap. Maybe he thought we were fans of the nude beaches? Regardless, it still wasn't worth the 10 euro!