The 30th

After 3 planes, 2 continents, 1 flight cancellation and numerous layovers and mental meltdowns, I was finally flying over the Adriatic Sea en route to the my promise land, Croatia, when I read this passage:

That’s what I mean by routine, You think that you exist because you’re unhappy. Other people exist merely as a function of their problems and spend all their time talking compulsively about their children, school, work, etc .They never stop to think: I’m here. I am the result of everything that happened and will happen, but I’m here. If I did something wrong, I can put it right or at least ask forgiveness. “you are not here any more. You’ve got to leave in order to return to the present”…

-“The Aleph”, Paulo Cohelo

And that’s what I did…I left in hopes to return to the present, refreshed, renewed in spirit and prepared to finish walking in my destiny.

  The Dalmatian coast is quite simply a slice of heaven here on earth.  To call it one of Europe’s most stunning escapes is an understatement. The azure waters of the Adriatic provided the perfect backdrop for my search for self fulfillment,  the coastline is punctuated by a series of lively towns, old castles and city walls, and cute restaurants with the freshest seafood and GREAT wine, which I partook in many…many times. 

I spent my days lounging by the beach near Hotel Dubrovnik... 

I cruised to Korcula Town, rumored to be the birth place of Marco Polo. This place is absolutely sublime. It’s set on it’s own peninsula framed by the sea and the mountains...

I swam in the Adriatic at Lopud Beach. Which is by far the most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen...

  I climbed the walls in Old Town and walked through the Strandun also known as the Placa, Dubrovnik’s main thoroughfare 

  The highlight of the trip was my day trip to Montenegro. Montenegro formerly belonged to Serbia before claiming its independence after the war in Yugoslavia.   Just look at that view! 

 

Many don‘t understand my desire to travel alone. Why would you want to celebrate your 30^th birthday in a strange land with people you don‘t know?  Why would you spend all that money to be by yourself, you can do that at home? The answer? I‘m not sure that I‘ve found one sufficient enough, but I will leave you with the words of Paulo Cohelo

 “Travel is never a matter of money, but of courage. After weeks on the road, listening to a language you don’t understand, using a currency whose value you don’t fully comprehend, walking down streets you‘ve never walked before, you discover that your old “I“ along with everything you ever learned, is absolutely no use at all in the face of those new challenges and you begin to realize that, buried deep in your unconscious mind, there is someone much more interesting and adventurous and more open to the world and to new experiences. ”

The journey to Croatia took  2.5 days. I left a stormy foggy New York on Thursday and did not get there until Saturday, but I know that’s its by no mistake at all that I arrived exactly when I did. I’m sure it may take me another 2.5 months, or maybe even a life time,  to be able to put in words what this trip meant to me. I returned to New York with that same spirit that guided me here four years ago in the first place, my inner Carmen Sandiego is ready to leave you all wondering "Where in the world is Ms. Guyton?"