At the beginning of August, I went to Mali Lošinj (a Croatian island) with my brother, my dad and his girlfriend. Before that, it had been three years since I went to the sea. I know, we should do it more often. Unlike last time, I took the pictures myself. Here’s my little collection.
The first thing that caught my attention was encountered on the road trip. One of the rest stops had a bear statue that I just had to take pictures of.
I love everything about it; the awkward pose, the wide face, the grumpy expression, etc. I even love the cracks. They make me wonder for how long has that bear been there, bringing joy to travellers.
My next picture is of a stick I found while swimming. It was just floating in the sea.
One of my favorite things to do in the sea is diving and exploring the sea floor. This stick was surprising helpful in that endeavor. I used it to inspect sea urchins and sharp rocks. Some of the buoys were attached to the sea floor with rusty chains. I didn’t want to touch them too much, so I stuck the stick inside the links and pulled myself downwards. The stick was my tool during several diving sessions. And yes, I know there’s a stereotype that men like sticks. It’s too harmless for me to get angry at.
My last photo is of all the equipment we were allowed to use during our stay. My dad’s girlfriend found us a surprisningly good place to stay. It was roomy, it was right next to the shore and we had all this equipment to try out. And we got it at the beginning of August! I kept waiting for a catch, but it never showed up. I don’t know, maybe my dad or his girlfriend had to sell a kidney in order to get it.
Back to the topic of equipment. I tried most of it and I can tell you how it felt to use them.
Inner tube- It’s sturdy and comfy, but the only thing you can really do with it is just sit in it. I got bored of it pretty quickly.
Oar board- Compared to everything else, it was the easiest to get a hold of, so me and my family used it the most. Keep in mind that rowing still takes a lot of strength and stamina. Athletes make it look easy. I tried standing on it once- I quickly lost my balance and hit my foot against the rocks. Why did I try that in the shallow sea?
Kayak- Me and my brother tried using it once. I thought having two rowers would make it easier, but I was wrong. We had a hard time staying coordinated and we argued a lot. That’s the part they don’t show you at the Olympics. We still managed to have some fun with it, though. Maybe we should’ve pushed through the adjustment period more.
Dingy- The worst one to use. First of all, using two one-sided paddles is harder than using one two-sided paddle. Secondly, I couldn’t see how the paddles were positioned beacuse the walls of the dingy were in my way. I came so close to ripping that thing in half.
Before I even tried using it, my dad warned me that I had already tried the dingy when I was a kid and I didn’t like it. I said that I’m an adult now and that I’ll probably be fine. I wasn’t fine. Like I mentioned before, the inflatable trap was nearly uncontrollable. I had to get out of the dingy and push it back to the shore.
My dad, who was using the board, told me to tie the dingy to the board and to let him row the dingy back. I replied that using the dingy was my decision and that I should be the one to bring it back. He didn’t care; he still wanted to help me. I let him do it and the job was done a lot faster. I guess preventing your kids from torturing themselves is one of the things a good parent does.
If you’re wondering about that one inflatable thing with two holes in it, I didn’t even try that one. The dingy traumatized me too much. Jokes aside, I did have a good time at Mali Lošinj. It had been such a long time since I had a swim in the sea. Now that I’m back in Zagreb, it’s time to continue looking for a job. Our family will have more money and we’ll be able to go on vacation more often.