By IBIP Student Jack (Entry by Knute below)
For the first time on this international excursion, I rose from slumber long after the stars in the night sky gave way to dawn. Many of my other peers similarly spoke with some relief of the fact that they had amended some of the sleep deprivation that they previously could not help but inflict upon themselves out of enthusiastic interest in the novel country. I joined them, who were breakfasting in the hostel’s reception area and enthusing over their impending boat tour of the Island of Cres.
It was with some bashfulness in the previous night that I implored to a chaperone that I remain in Lovran in order to avoid falling ill with seasickness; thus I- along with another classmate- obtained the privilege of immersing ourselves into cultural exploration in a thrilling void of the assurance and conciliation of a large group. I capitalized on this solitude by immersing myself in the translucent viridian of Kvarner Beach and all of the gleeful daylight that refracted on its ecstatic, rippling surface. After copious swimming and bathing in the ivory sun, I showered off the sea and accompanied a remaining classmate on a walk along the road and across the rocky coast. We entertained ourselves at a local grocery store and then subsequently indulged in gelato that remained soft like luster but did not mess or melt as we strolled back to the hostel.
At our arrival, my classmate and I departed from each other out of desire to organize our belongings in preparation for the early departure from Lovran that awaits tomorrow and to entertain ourselves with writing and schoolwork. The time was arriving at the return of our counterparts who would be returning from the boat tour. I greeted their gleeful countenances as they entered the hostel, and I inquired of their whereabouts. My classmates told me about how the boat was not able to stop at Cres due to the wind, so they all enjoyed a prolonged embrace with the tranquil breeze. They fondly recalled the wealth of finger sandwiches and wine that was provided while a pristine view of Rijeka’s gulf shone in the distance all the while, where the land meets sky, and the sky meets sea.
The enthusiastic boat rocked and pulsed as it made its way through the thrashing tides to the shores dotted with stone alabaster and waxen. The students gained first-hand experience of a concept explored during the pre-departure classes: though it is unlawful in Croatia to privatize coastal areas, it is not uncommon for business owners to abide this guideline while additionally occupying a portion by claiming concrete that was placed along with other hotel accommodations. A hotel administrator excused our class from her portion of the property under the premises of trespassing. Nevertheless, the class entertained themselves with swimming in the same water as I, diving off of a pier, and soccer before they relocated to another shore.
They all treasured the boat trip as a highlight of their international experience, and after two hours or so, after each student attended to their own necessities. The time subsequently came to attend a house party at our professor Renata’s residence. A steep landscape, along with our feet, arrived us to her property, where Renata generously indulged us in a wealth of food and drink to spoil every one of us until the white clouds relented to navy, and the porcelain moon installed in the twilit sky. We later excused ourselves to farewell the Kvarner Beach and the new Croatian local friends that we had made in Lovran before departing to slumber in time to wake up for our departure in the following morning in a restful state.
Entry by IBIP Student Knute:
Even though I normally wake up with a good amount of sleep, it was the first day that we got the chance to sleep in- to an extent. We originally planned a boat tour around the sea around Levron on Wednesday, but was canceled due to high winds. I was ecstatic when Renata gave us the word from their captain gave us the green light for the boat tour on Saturday night before the allotted day we all went to live Lovran, as there was a pier a bit south of their city center after a 10 minute walk along the coast. The boat named Panitula was a small but a reliable boat with an experienced crew. We set out at eleven and were offered glasses of wine during our tour as we got gorgeous views of the Croatian coastline. For a while, we had options of sitting with a covered bench area of the stern and the bow open for everyone. A while before we docked in Opatija, one member of the crew graced us with an accordion performance through much of the ride, while bread with local prosciutto, and cheese was passed around. When we docked around noon, the pier was busy with a mix of locals and tourists. There was even a group of scuba divers that I later discovered were scourerging the sea floor and picking up trash. We later found a beach near a hotel and set up shop, so to speak. Beaches here are not sandy as I’m used to; these beaches had more large pebbles and rock formations along the coastline areas and even some nicer areas made by the hotels. The water temperature was quite the shock to all of us, but after swimming for about 15 minutes, we got used to it. We went back after an hour to the boat and made our final trip back to Lovran. From there, we had to be our best for what was coming up that evening.
