BOL

Sometimes I need to pinch myself. I’m only twenty-two but I’m travelling the world for a whole year seeing countries that I didn’t even know existed and doing nothing more than exactly what I want to do everyday. I guess some young people travel to run away from something, but I was running towards everything. I know I’m lucky to come from a privileged place like Australia where we get paid decent money, meaning we could actually save for this adventure. But I’m also proud that I was brave enough to do it. It feels like a lifetime ago that we first arrived in London and I completely freaked out. I honestly thought I wanted to go home, that I’d made the biggest mistake of my life. I was worried I was going to completely embarrass myself by only travelling for a handful of weeks instead of the 12 months I had told everyone. I would spend the evenings planning in my head how I would explain us coming home early…

The best decision I ever made was to stick it out. I didn’t start to feel better overnight, the first two months had lingering feelings of homesickness and doubt. But by the time we reached Croatia I felt nothing but bliss. I had no deep belly nervousness anymore, no desires to run home, instead I felt more alive and happy than I’d ever felt before. I think that anxious process was me shedding the expectations that were deeply ingrained in me by society. I felt guilty all the time. I felt like my new life had no purpose because I wasn’t working everyday. I didn’t have to meet up with someone that I didn’t want to, or fulfil a commitment I really didn’t want to do. Freedom felt like something I should be ashamed of because I wasn’t being a fully functioning part of the engine that is our society.

Maybe it’s really selfish of me… but now I see an even bigger picture. Who made the rules? As humans, essentially we are very advanced animals. We’ve developed wants that are so unnecessary and built a society that is so out of our control, that instead of getting to actually live and enjoy it, we spend every moment of our day maintaining it. We’re just cogs turning the machine. I’ve broken the surface of suffocation and I see our complex world for what it really is. A planet, in a universe, filled with organisms.  We’ve each built a life purpose to distract ourselves from thinking about how and why were here. Otherwise the sheer unknown of the universe, life and death, might just make us want to hide under the covers forever. That purpose might be religion, work, family or something else entirely.

But it doesn’t have to be complicated, and you don’t have to do things that you don’t want to.

My purpose is simple. To seek happiness.

 

When my day begins gazing at deep blue waters from the deck of a ferry thats travelling to a mediterranean island, I know I’ve really hit the jackpot. For only $6 Australian dollars each we boarded the half an hour ferry to Brac Island, because everything is wonderfully affordable in Croatia (especially off peak-season). I couldn’t sit still, running from one side of the boat to the other, endlessly snapping pictures of the birds, ocean, fading mainland and bright blue sky.

When we arrive on Brac Island we disembark in a town called Supetar and we need to make our way to Bol. I’d found a bus to take us there, but in typical Croatia style there was no need to worry or research. There are minivans that wait for each ferry arrival and drive you all over the island for $10 each. Half an hour later, many windy mountains roads and a slight fear for my life when our reckless, cheeky driver overtook cars… we arrive in my favourite place in the whole of Croatia. Sweet little Bol.

Bol is little and very cute. We stroll into town along the marina and drop our bags while we wait for our airbnb host to meet us. I walk down onto the smooth pebbled and investigate this new ocean terrain. I’ve never seen a pebble beach until now and the water is so crystal clear it takes my breath away. I’d never thought about how murky our ocean is in Australia because the waves stir the sand. I can see fish, each individual stone and sea glass! Molly snaps the picture of me being silly. I’m almost sad when our host eventually arrives and it’s time for us to leave the little beach and hike up to our apartment.

It was a steep climb up the winding streets to our new home and I think we all nearly collapsed under the weight of our bags. It was soon forgotten when we dropped our things in our rooms and explored the sweet little house. There was a tiny garden at the front where we met a happy turtle who spent his days munching on grass and lazing in the sun.

By now it’s getting later in the afternoon but the air is still warm and we all decide to go to the beach. Our host explains that the most famous beach of Croatia (that is featured on all the tourist brochures) is located 30 minutes walk from the apartment and is called Zlatni Rat, but if we are looking for something closer there is a beach at the end of our street near the monastery where the locals like to swim.

It was ridiculously beautiful. Perfectly round, white pebbles leading to a crystal clear ocean. The backdrop was rolling green hills and a little old Monastery watching over the bay. It was quiet and calm. Martin and Molly were braver than I and jumped in the cold water. I took a little more convincing but soon I followed after them and we all agreed that the freezing water washed a sense of calm over us.

Eating deliciously sweet and juicy nectarines in the morning sunshine whilst getting lost in winding streets.

After having such a wonderful time on my morning adventures in Split, I decided to once again force myself out of bed bright and early to see Bol in it’s quiet hours. Shop owners were just setting up their stalls and shops, streets were quiet, the water was incredibly glass-like and I spent a few minutes collecting sea glass.

In the afternoon we bought sandwiches from the local sandwich bar (with the most amazing olive paste I’ve ever tasted! ah!) and made our way to Zlatni Rat, the most famous beach in Croatia. I do have to admit, I was expecting sand from the tourist posters I had seen (and my Australian expectations) but we were greeted by teeny, tiny stones!

One side of the coast was very windy and the other completely calm. We chose to swim on the calm side, throw the frisbee and bake in the sunshine but I snapped this picture on the windy side where it was alive with movement and colour!

Our final night and the full moon rise. We walked down to the harbour and decided to splash out and buy our dinner at one of the water front restaurants. Our view of the moon rising into the sky was perfect, and I snapped a few pictures of Molly admiring the beauty. After dinner ice creams were necessary, I opted for a icy pole but snapped this picture of Martin’s impressive cone. It was a lovely end to a beautifully relaxing few days and I knew that Bol had stolen my heart. Oh and a piggy back ride home after eating too much pizza 😉

The following morning we said our goodbyes to Molly as she was off to new adventures in Denmark. We were heading down to the ferry to travel to our next destination when I found this beautiful piece of pottery peering up at me from the stones. I’m not one to buy many souvenirs, but Bol gifted me the perfect keepsake. The most beautiful thing I’ve ever found in the sea.

❤