Talk about an amazing day!!! Let me just give you a quick sneak peak: city walls, kayaking, floating, cliff jumping. SUCH a fun day!! Michelle and I woke up early to walk to city walls since we were the stragglers who hadn’t yet. We ate a hearty breakfast, covered ourselves in sunscreen, and headed to the walls (Spanish fan in hand!). The bus ride was long and squished. I’m talking, REALLY squished. Finally we got to the walls and got off. We were ready for this! We’d heard terrible heat stories, but we had our ice water and fan and our game faces on. We entered the city walls, bought tickets, and were off! We knew it took about an hour if you walked the whole time, so I think it took us about an hour and a half with a couple stops we took. The walls were gorgeous! Not only could we see the walls and city inside, but we also could see the gorgeous water and a view of all of Dubrovnik because the walls were so high. It WAS hot, and there was very little shade, but we powered through. Uphill, downhill, up stairs, down stairs, it was amazing. It was crazy thinking about how people lived when they depended on the city walls for protection. We loved the laundry lines outside, and the bell tower was a favorite as well. After we finished walking the walls, we returned to the ship to hydrate, eat, and reapply more sunscreen. We met up with the girls and all left to go kayaking! Some of the other girls had signed us up for an hour while I was in Montenegro, but it sounded fun to me! We our kayaks and set out to sea! My kayak buddy was Michelle. :) We met two other people on SAS who had been kayaking earlier and were going again. They suggested Lokrum Island, and said there were some cool caves you could go in! They were headed that way again, so we tagged along (we were invited), and kayaked away. It was such a blast. Because it was a hot day, the cool water was so refreshing! We got to Lokrum Island and found the first cave. The other two we met went inside a little, then came out and let us go. The cave went a lot further in, but you it was really dark and tiny and you had to lay down in your kayak to get into those caves. We were hesitant at first, but then decided to be adventurous. Kristin, Katie, and Brittany went in first- they layed down and we helped steer them in from behind. They said it was dark and scary as expected, and it was really cool, but they didn’t want to go further unless they had a flashlight. Michelle and I went in next, and it was so cool! It was a little scary going in because the waves were lifting the kayak so high, and the opening was so little, our faces got sooo close to the rocky top of the opening! We got in and saw the same thing- it went further, but it was too dark to want to do it without a flashlight. We got out of the cave and all jumped into the water. Well, it started with someone falling in, but then we all decided to take a little dip! Now, many of you who know me well know that I can’t float. I just can’t. t doesn’t work. I’ve had lots of swim lessons and lots of people try to teach me and it doesn’t work. Well, while we were in the water someone suggested I try to float because it was SO salty and we were so much more buoyant. They taught me step by step and GUESS WHO FLOATED!?!?! ME! SO proud. :) I didn’t have to kick or swim at all, I just bounced to the surface! (Mom, you can skip the following paragraph!) :) We kayaked around some more, then had to turn them in. Now it was time for cliff jumping! The other girls did it while I was in Montenegro, and I insisted that they bring me there so I could do it! It wasn’t tooo high where they jumped from, and it was meant for cliff jumping. To make you feel better, we were completely sober. I say this, because when we got there, a bunch of drunk Semester at Sea kids were swan diving off of the cliff. I didn’t think this was THE greatest idea…Anyway, we got to where it was and Michelle told me I was only allowed to look once so I knew where to jump, but that was it. I walked to the edge, saw where to jump, and before I could even have time to freak out, Kristin and Michelle grabbed my hands on either side, counted down, and we jumped! It was so scary!! But sooo fun! It wasn’t even from THAT high, but the falling feeling of free-fall lasted for longer than I was expecting! It was a hard hit on the water, but I was ready. I got a little water in my ears and mouth and nose, but nothing major. Then when I was down in the water, the girls told me to float so I could have picture proof! I did, and I have picture proof, but the waves over here were really big so I kept getting tossed around. I haven’t decided if you get to see the picture yet (Mom and Dad get to see so they’ll believe me!) because I don’t look like I’m floating that well. I promise I did! I was just being tossed by the big waves, so I was failing this time around. As I swam to the ladder, I somehow swallowed a HUGE gulp of salt water- ewwww. Then we headed back to the ship to make sure we got back in time. On the way, I decided I NEEDED to get glasses that said they had UV protection. I brought 3 pairs of sunglasses and 2 have broken already. None of them are good quality (because I figured they might break), so my eyes have been bloodshot at the end of every single day in the sun. I know it’s sooo bad for them! I got some on the way home, but they were pretty cheap so I’m not sure if they actually have UV protection. We’ll see. I just need some good quality glasses so I don’t ruin my eyes!! At dinner on the ship, we had chocolate mousse for dessert! It was so yummy! After dinner we had another muster drill. It wasn’t as boring as the first one, because some SASers had come back to the ship after drinking and were having a hard time being serious and standing up. It made quite a show for us to watch. Some of the people were incredibly rude, and I couldn’t believe they were talking to the crew like that. But people will be people, I guess. We went out on deck for sunset, and it was gorgeous as always! As we were leaving port and passing the shores of Croatia, our ship started honking- a lot. We went to the edges of the ship and realized we were passing by the Captain’s house! His wife and family had joined our voyage in Spain and got off in Croatia. We found the house, and everyone there and in neighbor houses were out waves their hands and towels and banging pots and pans and taking pictures. We were all doing the same on the ship! It was so cute!!!! After that, we all worked on some homework on deck as the sun finished setting and the sky grew darker. Today was SUCH a good day! It was definitely one of the best so far. :) We found out later about the temperature while we were in Croatia. Before we got there, we were told to expect around 85 degrees Fahrenheit. PUH-lease, there was NO way it was 85! As it turns out, the days we were there were the hottest 5 days they’d had in over 100 years. Great, a heat wave followed us there! It was well over 15 degrees hotter than it was supposed to be!
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