sailing the adriatic

When I told my well-travelled friends that I was going to Europe for summer, they all raved about the sailing trips in Croatia. And why the hell not?! Travelling is exhausting (yes, I said it!) and to spend a week on the water sailing through some of the most beautiful islands in the world with your whole itinerary planned for you is just a brilliant break from the "train-hostel-cathedral-pubcrawl" scene.

When Mai and I were living in London we went to the London TNT Travel Show to snag some deals, and boy did we get lucky! We bought a 2 for 1 sail Croatia trip that is usually about 800 quid for 399 each. Plus we also bought a 3 day La Tomatina festival pass with festivals all round for 150. We were all set for some good times! If you’re in London, go to the travel show (held in March) and get yourself a bargain!

After sleeping in Belgrade airport, we arrived in Dubrovnik and hopped on a bus to Split where our boat was departing from the next day.  Early Saturday morning we packed our bags and headed to the port where there must have been at least 200 vessels of all sizes waiting to set sail. It was all a bit crazy but we ended up finding our vessel in the end, Rojac.

The best thing about little Rojac was that it was way smaller than the rest of the boats, with only 16 people compared to the usual 30-40. Our new sailing family included two Swedish girls, an Australian couple, an Aussie girl and her English boyfriend, two English guys, two Colombian girls and two Croatian couples (plus Mai and I). It was a nice mix and surprisingly, there were only 4 Aussies! Awesome! I was afraid Sail Croatia would be a massive Aussie Fest.

I love living on boat. It's so simple. Eat, swim, lie in the sun, eat, drink beer, repeat. During the day, we sailed from one island to the next, with swim stops, snorkeling and chillaxing under the sun. In the evenings we explored the town, went out for dinner and hit the famous Croatian bars and clubs. I would totally recommend the company, Katarina Lines. We did the ‘Young and Fun Southern Island Hopping’ and the whole trip was very well organised.

The itinerary from Split included:

• Makarska -  there was an optional river rafting experience on the Cetina River, we stopped for our first dip in the deep blue sea, the town itself was absolutely stunning with backdrop mountains but unfortunately the famous outdoor cave club, ‘Deep’ was closed (we ended up finding some great places anyway!)

• Mljet - with the beautiful lake National Park, a group of us had a picnic dinner over sunset and we met some people who were trying to convince us to swim out to their big boat for a party. Not likely.

• Dubrovnik – we went walking around the old town exploring the hidden gems, I went for a run in the afternoon and we had a free walking tour which was really interesting, covering the history of the town, at night we had a random last minute dinner with our table set up in the street and went to a massive MASSIVE club in a castle

  

• Trstenik - my favourite stop, a beautiful tiny Island covered in vinyards, I went for a run up a hill in the heat, we did a wine tasting tour and played a game of football with a French football player

• Korčula - believed to be the birth place of Marco Polo, I did a backflip off the top of the boat and flipped too many times. The back slap was painful as f*ck!

• Hvar: I’ve heard so many things about the nightlife in Hvar, but it was pretty damn expensive to get into a club. We played a few drinking games on the boat and some of the others went out. Definitely a place I’d like to come back to with more time!

• Split: The last night on our cruise, it was one of the Swedish girls’ birthday so we all went out in style (that is, drinking 1L beer out of plastic bottles in the park and going clubbing). I ended up playing guitar with a small group of people until 4am! We had people leaving the club join us in sing-a-longs. It was a brilliant end to a brilliant trip!

 

I promised everyone I’d write a song to sing on the last day and I did. Although it was a cover, I wrote the lyrics which included everyone one the boat and some of the hilarious things that happened over the trip. 


Some of the highlights of the trip were: the food (the most delicious boat food I’ve had and probably the healthiest we’d eaten in a while!), The Mine game (a rule of the boat where if someone said ‘mine’ they had to do 10 pushups anywhere, anytime – including shops, restaurants, bars etc., it was comedy!), the endless amount of card games we played on deck, the sing-alongs (the two Colombian girls had amazing voices and we sung together a few times) and of course, the friends we made (it was such as small group that we got to know each other well and had a lot of fun).

I would totally recommend a Croatia Sailing trip if you want to have a nice balance of relaxing and partying and it’s definitely the best way to see the stunning Croatian Islands. You’re only challenge is to the dodge the Aussies!

six hours in belgrade

Since our first attempt at sleeping in an airport in Norway turned into a lovely couch surfing experience, we decided to give it another go. This time we were flying from Athens to Dubrovnik with a horrendous 20 hours stop- over in Belgrade, the capital Serbia. The actual flight itself was only 2 hours! It seemed a little ridiculous, but we were prepared anyway.

Like good little backpackers, we decided to get our luggage transferred and spend the night checking out Belgrade city. We met a pretty cool Aussie guy, Jason at the airport in Athens who had the same stop-over, so we ended up hanging out with him. Luckily the bus was pretty easy and cheap from the airport. It dropped us right in town.

Mai and I only took the equivalent of 20 euro with us and we didn’t even manage to spend it all! I did my research on a website called Spotted By Locals (another one of my favourite travel resources) and found some places to go. We had a few beers at the Federal Association of Globe Trotters, an almost secret downstairs atrium club concealed in a patio with a skylight window, worshipped by the Belgrade artistic community. We also went to a pace called Little Bay and although it wasn’t traditionally Serbian, it was still fantastic. We had a starter, main and a few drinks for less than 10 euro. The place inside was stunning  like a theatre with traditional balconies that overlooked the restaurant and we were lucky enough to have live music playing that night with a pianist an amazing opera style singer.

We headed back to the airport after midnight and found a comfy booth/couch that was part of one of the cafes. Mind you, we got kicked off early in the morning but at least we had a decent amount of sleep! It was the best ‘sleeping in airports’ experience, ever.

Belgrade was a gem of a place and little did we know that it is so famous for its teeming nightlife! If I had known how many funky bars and clubs there were and how cheap Serbia was in general, we would have made it a proper stop on our itinerary. I would totally recommend checking it out before it becomes a part of the tourist trail.

check out belgradeatnight.com and stillinbelgrade.com

Apologies for the text-only post!

broken in athens

I’m not a big fan of long travel times, but if you’re going to be stuck somewhere for 12 hours, a ferry is my transport of choice. If you nab a booth (or some where you can lie horizontally) you’re all set for a good ride. You can sleep, watch movies, read, and walk around, whatever you like. I got that bored one time I decided get some exercise and walk up and down the stairs and powerwalk across the hall of the cabin deck. Just make sure you take some food, because not only are meals expensive they are also crap. The great thing is that they also have showers, and after being through the Greek Islands, a shower was much needed.

In Athens, we couch surfed with Takis and his girlfriend. They were super-friendly and very accommodating. After a great night’s sleep, the next day we walked into the centre to the Acropolis and the new museum. It was the first time we had experienced the overwhelming wave of tourists. Plus it was hot, really hot. I actually preferred the museum, a little more comfortable and you can read about the preserved pieces. Later in the day we met up with Takis who took us through the Monaatraki shopping area and to his favourite café called Bliss. It was here in the heat of Athens where I discovered the joys of a double espresso over ice (called a Freddocino); a popular drink with the locals. Absolutely genius!

That evening, a lovely traditional Greek meal of roasted potatoes, onion and assorted peppers was cooked for us and we had a quiet night in. Takis and I played a bit of guitar and he taught me a beautiful song called Romance.  Mai and I felt bad for not being as energetic as we usually are. In our defence, we’d just got back from Ios; party central of the Greek Islands and were completely broken. I needed a good alcohol free week to recover from the messed up things I consumed on that island. But try explaining that to a person who doesn’t speak much English and the message is lost. To them you just seem like a pussy!

Despite the uncomfortably hot and sweaty experience with thousands of strangers on top of the acropolis Athens was nice and we enjoyed our short stay there. It certainly wasn’t ‘the arsehole of the earth’ (a harsh description from a friend of mine). But then again, it’s the people you meet the interaction with them rather than the place itself that makes a trip memorable.

scotland on steroids

It seemed a little pricey hiring a car to road trip around Scotland by myself, but with the initial plan I had in mind it would have turned out for the best. But as always, travel plans change! So it may have been cheaper getting a bus, but my justification was having the freedom to stop wherever I wanted to take photos, as well as the 'mental health' time I get when driving alone!

The next day after café hunting in Glasgow, I drove through the heaviest thunderstorm while passing Loch Lamond. It would have been absolutely stunning if I could see past 10 metres, but within an hour the clouds opened up for me and the sun lit up the cute little fishing town of Oban where I stopped for a local smoked salmon sandwich.

My next mission was to drive north passed Loch Ness to a little town called Findhorn (north of Inverness) where my friend Pippa lived. Pippa was another volunteer on the whale project and after spending years in Sydney, she landed a sweet job as a wildlife guide in her home town. I was pretty exhausted after driving all day, but since no Sagittarian would miss an offer of a beer, we hopped on a boat and zipped across the bay to Cromarty for campfire beers at her mate’s party. 


After returning to the mainland we went to the sailing club to meet her cousin Craig, and as any good cousin would do he encouraged us to stay up drinking. I sampled some nice local Scottish whiskey and chatted to the locals. After about an hour I had about four offers for activities the next day (as Pippa was working). Either horse riding along the beach (with the wife of the whiskey brewer), white water rafting with one of Craig’s friends or mountain biking with the man himself. Since I haven’t’ rode a horse since I was about 14 and I didn’t particularly want to go rafting by myself, I chose riding along the coast! Good fun :) 

After the ride, Craig and I started drinking Guinness in the afternoon while we waited for Pippa, and I took some pretty spectacular photos (if I must say so myself). The evening was so still on the water and the reflections of all the little boats dotted over the bay were unreal. We ended up doing a mini Findhorn pub crawl, consisting of all three pubs. 

   

Craig managed to convince both Pippa and I to join him rafting at Randalls Leap the next day, a bit of a challenge hung over but well worth getting out of bed for. Along the rafting trip, we stopped for lunch, jumped off some rocks into the freezing cold water, and at the end of the trip we saw two baby deer try desperately to run across the river. It was pretty amusing.

If you didn’t think I could squeeze anymore more action packed into this little getaway, think again. The next day Pippa and I drove to the Isle of Skye, which was on my must-do list in Scotland. We ended up hiking a track with beautiful views called Ben Yianavaig. Although the walk itself was relatively easy, it was bloody difficult to find the start of the track! How hard is it to put up a sign?!  I would love to come back here for a camping/hiking, it’s just stunning but I’d definitely take more time.

With an early morning rise the next day, we had a relatively early night after a nice feed at one of the locals of course! The next day, I drove all the way through Aviemore and the Cairngorms to Edinburgh. I would recommend Findhorn to anyone who wants to experience a true Scottish town. But then again, they always say it’s the company that counts :) Thanks Pippa and Craig! I had a brilliant time and reckon that these kinds of active adventures are what travel should be about! 

the backpackers pantry

Cooking some meals while travelling can be a great way to save money and meet people. But saying ‘yes’ to that budget pasta with the tomato sauce that’s been in the hostel fridge for who knows how long and yet another slice of bread isn’t exactly good for your health either. 

When you’re a long-term traveller, you need to get your source of nutrition from somewhere (coz it’s certainly not from the cheap street food you’ve been living off for a week). So I try to make sure the meals I cook are somewhat healthy. To make things easier, I carry a few food items in my backpack so that I can cook nutritional meals and don't have to live on a diet of bread and two-minute-noodles. It’s also great for inspiration and less wasteful. Some say it's pedantic, others say its genius!

The backpackers pantry:

• Miso soup: The health benefits of the stuff are endless. Miso soup (in sachets) is such a valuable addition to your backpack, especially on those late nights when you get off the train absolutely ravenous but you have to spend a good hour looking for a your hostel with your bags in the dark before you can even think about food. All you need is boiling water and you have a nice healthy late night snack. You can even make more hearty meals out of it by adding spinach, mushrooms, chicken or noodles.

• Spices: anyone who loves cooking loves spices. My collection has grown over time, but staples include paprika, salt and pepper, chili flakes, Italian herbs, ground cumin and curry powder. Out of these you can make simple Turkish, Mexican, Italian, Indian, Hungarian meals, just to name a few. 

• Stock cubes: another great staple for cooking things like curries and soups.

• Muesli: great for those early mornings when you don’t have time to go out for breakfast (and way better for you than a restaurant meal anyway)

• Vegemite: Yes, it’s the staple of any Aussie diet, but its bloody good for you with all that vitamin B! To reduce the weight and space I always have vegemite in a tube (which I believe you can only get in Australia). 

• Corn thins /rivitas/vita wheats/wraps/or that awesome Swedish bread: these are great when you’re on the move, you can get yourself a fresh tomato from the local market and some sandwich meat and have a picnic! It’s better for you than bread plus it lasts longer

• Muesli bars/granola bars: I carry one on me when we go out for the day. When you’re stuck in that afternoon walking tour, or you’re so busy seeing the sights that all of a sudden, hunger hits you and you can’t find anywhere cheap to get a little snack, muesli bar it up my friend!

• Single serve sachets: If you are really poor (like we were at one stage), try swiping an extra serving of honey or jam at your hostel breakfast, or a sugar sachet at a café. You didn’t hear that from me!

• Yoghurt: we didn’t exactly have this in our bags but sometimes if we knew we were at a hostel we’d buy some yoghurt for our muesli in the mornings, or we would get a single serve tub for the day.

• Tuna/salmon tins: Ok, I admit I don’t exactly support eating unsustainable seafood but when you’re on a budget, canned tuna can be our only affordable source of protein!

• Rice: we carried a small packet of rice with us, mainly because we couldn’t fathom buying it for one meal and throwing it away. Who does that?! Plus you can make so make meals with rice and it doesn’t crumble in your bag like pasta.

• Cous cous: another great travel friend. The best thing is that it takes up so little room, but a little goes a long way! It’s a great source of energy and you can really get creative with it.

• Cutlery: get yourself a reusable set of cutlery! It can seriously be your best travel friend; I carry mine around in my day bag and avoid getting plastic crap that’s not good for the environment. I also have a sharp pocket knife (coz the knives in hostels are always blunt!)

• Shopping bag: another reusable item that is useful! Personally, I like the ones that scrunch up into nothing so I can carry it around with me all day. 

So there you have it. My backpacker pantry secrets are out there for you all to enjoy! Now all you have to do is experiment with cooking, or watch this space for recipes to come.