Happy Kids!

There was never any doubt that the kids would love the daily swim breaks.

I love this shot of Ashlynn jumping off the lower deck.

This one of Max from Florida is pretty cool, too.

Jump!

On Monday, the Nikola headed towards the national park. Along the way, we stopped for a swim break in a beautiful cove. Jimmy was able to convince a bunch of guys to join him jumping off the side of the ship.

No idea when the videos will be edited and uploaded, so in the meantime these photos will have to suffice. Sorry, missed getting photos of the girls jumping as well. Sure that it’s no surprise that I wimped out and used the ladder to get in the water.

Our Upside Down Cruise...

Unlike traditional cruises which sail overnight, we only sailed during the day, making ours an upside down cruise. A group of die-hard athletes got up early each morning to go on runs or swims, while the rest of us slept in. Jimmy made sure that everyone was back on board each morning before we set off.

There were several places scattered around the ship to enjoy the amazing views while underway. I never did manage to sit up on this top deck, which was a favorite of the kids.

Bob and Jan, friends we met at the American Women’s Club in The Hague, enjoyed getting some sun.

Our First Night...

Most of the adults took a walk to the beach across from the ship. The island was incredibly thin at this point.

Bill, our old San Diego Hash buddy who now lives in Switzerland, is known as Webfoot for a good reason: he loves the water! After our walk, he gave his wife Nina his clothes and jumped into the water to swim back to the Nikola. Throughout the week, he swam at every opportunity.

Carl decided to join Bill while the rest of us walked back.

Jimmy convinced me to walk back to the beach with him at sunset. It was eerie out there after dark.

Our First Overnight Stop: Sipan

That first night we spent the night in Sipan, the largest of the Elaphiti islands with a population around 450. Another ship tied up to us, as is usual at most ports. Pirate ships are typically full of party animals, but luckily this one didn’t keep us up all night.

There was a sign in town for a historic castle, but we couldn’t find it. The church was locked shut, so not much sightseeing on this sleepy island.

Our First Stop: White Sand Beaches of Lopud...

We cruised for about an hour to our first stop: the white sand beaches of Lopud, one of the Elafiti islands with a population of just 220.

We had about two hours for a swim and to enjoy the only white sand beach we’d visit that week. The kids and a few of the adults were happy to swim from the ship to the beach, but some of us walked instead. I was thrilled to see Sally in the water since she’s very sensitive to being cold and usually avoids getting in.

Jimmy smuggled our four large inner tubes into our luggage when I wasn’t looking and they were a big hit with the kids.

Setting Sail...

It was hard to contain our excitement about finally boarding the Nikola after all the years of planning. Here Jimmy is wearing the new family shirts that Bill and Nina had made for us.

Before setting sail, we were called into the dining room for a quick safety briefing with the crew. That first evening, we had dinner aboard. The other days, we had breakfast and lunch on board and ate dinner ashore.

Everyone gathered at the front of the ship for a photo just as we were setting sail.

And so the White Girls’ Milestone Tin Can Barefoot Upside-Down Croatia Cruise began on Sunday, July 28 in Dubrovnik.

Our First Class Tin Can...

We didn’t want anyone to have false expectations, so we described the ship as a tin can and a floating youth hostel. Luckily we didn’t scare anyone away and everyone was pleasantly surprised with how nice the Nikola actually was. Of course, it wasn’t really a tin can; it just wasn’t full of amenities like a traditional cruise.

The Nikola was built in the 60’s to transport wine; approximately 10 years ago it was retrofitted to carry 38 passengers and 5 crew members. The number one thing that folks commented on was the lovely woodwork throughout the ship. There was no doubt that the crew took wonderful care of this ship.

This deck was a wonderful place to read or take a snooze in either the sun or the shade.

We had to do some last minute shuffling of rooms, but everyone seemed pleased with the room assignments. The rooms were small, but we didn’t spend much time in them. Luckily there was an empty room where we could store our suitcases.

The bathrooms were quite small with no separation for the shower. Rather than soaking our own bathroom, we were happy that there was some extra showers on the main deck that we could use.

Cruise Time...

While at Schiphol waiting for our flight to leave, Jimmy decided we should use this funky new machine to make a banner for the ship.

We weren’t really sure what to expect, but were actually really impressed with the quality.

I met with the travel agent in Dubrovnik to go over all the last minute arrangements and gave her the banner to pass onto the ship’s crew. It was so nice to see it hung up when we arrived on the Nikola on Sunday.

Our Pre-Cruise Dinner...

The East-West Restaurant on the beach just outside of Old Town was a beautiful setting for our big pre-cruise dinner.

Not everyone was able to join us, but 25 folks spent the evening getting to know each other before spending a week living together.

We were thrilled that our San Diego Hash buddies Dan, Nancy and Julius weren’t too jet lagged to join us despite having just arrived from California at 5:30 p.m.

More of the Gang Arrives...

After we walked the wall, we visited a few of the churches. Vivynne, Tony, Ariana and Max arrived just in time to join us for lunch.

We found a restaurant just outside the city walls with this beautiful view.

That evening we met up with much of the gang for dinner. It was a bit like herding cats, but we even managed to get a group photo before walking to the restaurant.

More of the Wall...

What about small confined places always attract our kids?

You forget that this walled city isn’t just full of tourists, but walking the wall reminds you that people actually live here year-round.  

Here we are on the final part of our climb, at the top of Minceta Tower, built in 1464.

We had all earned our frozen lemonades after we climbed back down.

Walking the Walls of Dubrovnik...

It was worth getting up early so that we could get onto the wall before the crowds off the big cruise ships arrived. Later in the day, this square and main street were packed with tourists.

The bulk of the existing defensive stone walls were built in the 14th and 15th centuries and run for 1.2 miles around Old Town at a maximum height of 82 feet. On December 6, 1991, Dubrovnik was attacked by forces from Serbia and Montenegro. The Siege of Dubrovnik lasted seven months; Old Town was hit 650 times by artillery rounds. Adhering to UNESCO guidelines, repairs were done in the original style and were completed in 2005.

Even with an early start, it was very hot. We took it slow and stopped to take a lot of photos.

This photo of Café Buza from above clearly shows that it’s situated outside the city walls.

Balancing on a Gargoyle...

Saturday morning we got an early start to meet with Sally and John to walk the city walls. Before we headed up the stairs, we stopped for a chance for the kids (including this big one) to try balancing on the gargoyle, called the Dubrovnik Maskeron. We knew that this was a custom, but didn’t know that the legend was that if you can remove your shirt while balancing, luck in love will follow you.