First Days in Vela Luka

I finally made it to my destination! There were very few hiccups in my trip from Split to Vela Luka. The morning that I was leaving Split was slow and leisurely. I lucked out on that it was a Saturday and there were large village markets all throughout the city. The closet one to my hostel was the largest one and it was amazing to walk through it. There were stands of different farm made cheese, butchers hacking up carcasses, beekeepers selling their honey, vegetables and fruits from the countryside, flower vendors, but my favorite had to be the pastry stands. I of course went immediately to the one with the friendliest looking vendor, which was important because I was going to have to use American tourist language, which includes lots of pointing, mumbling, and facial gestures. Anyway, she was very nice and helped me choose a gorgeous looking cherry strudel. It was heaven and I ended up spending over thirty minutes enjoying it in a park watching all the market goers. After it was over I very nearly went back for another.

I managed to make my ferry on time and had no trouble finding it. The trip was uneventful and once in Split I went off looking for my ride. I settled down on a bench by the ferry ticket office, which was where I was supposed to meet them. After everyone else was gone I was still waiting. I was getting a little worried and then looked at my watch. Yes, I was early (by two hours), only because I am not used to the 24 hour clock and had told the people picking me up that I was taking the later ferry. I thought about walking to the dive store which I could see across the bay, but then decided not to (which was good cause it was a long walk). Anyway I just settled down and started reading my PADI books. After the next ferry came and went (the one I said I was on), there was no one there to pick me up. About 20 after the appointed time they finally got me (just about the time I was going to start looking for a hostel). Anyway there were introductions which included Martin the 28 year old Polish diver that ended up being my roommate, Petra the Finnish girl of about 30 years old, and Marcus the German. They were all very nice and we ended up all going to the intern house. I settled in and then we all went for pizza at Pizzeria Alfa. Supposedly this pizzeria has gone to the World Championships of pizza making and won several categories, so yes the pizza was amazing.
The next morning we had a short meeting about our IDC (just Martin and I) and then we started helping around the dive shop. They were just finishing a remodeling project on the shop so there was lots of cleaning and stuff to do. That day and the next we just cleaned. I was not to excited, especially working from 7:30am to 7:00pm with only a short 30 minute lunch break. I was beginning to wonder what I had gotten myself into and whether there was anyway to go home. I was not really liking my internship and Croatia was not exactly what I thought it would be. I seemed everyone was really serious and not to friendly, and that no one really did speak English like the guide books had said. Also the weather was quite chilly and windy and I definitely had packed for sunny warm Mediterranean weather. I also noticed that everyone that did go diving wore really thick wetsuits, and I hate cold water diving. I finally got to go diving on my third day and I was nervous but excited. We got all ready and started climbing into the wetsuits. First off I had my swimsuit and rash guard on, then on top of that I had a full body 1mm wetsuit, then on top of that I had on a full 7mm wetsuit including a hood. It took me a good 5 minutes to squeeze my body into all this, and then as I stood up to get to the boat. I will have to get a photo of me in all this because it would look like the Michelin tire man. I could hardly move and had to shuffle to the boat and then throw myself it. Once at the dive site we jumped overboard and landed in the ice cold water. Ok, so it was really 60 degrees but still, that is shockingly cold. I managed to suck it up and finish the dive which ended up being a really cool dive. We started on a sea grass flat and then following a wall down and then back up to the boat. I saw two octopus, several gorgeous nudibranch, and quite a bit of the typical cold water things (ugly fish, sea urchins, large starfish, and more of the same). The dive lasted about 40 minutes which was plenty long, because at about the 25 minute mark I was beginning to feel the cold creeping across my body. That day we did our second dive and then headed back to the shop. The next day was more of the same with two dives. On the first dive I wore a second hood which ended up being really stupid. I couldn't move my head to see anything and then once I got past twenty feet, the pressure crushed my head between bout 12 mm of neoprene. Yeah, that dive ended up with a massive headache, but I learned a lesson. I was beginning to get a little more comfortable with the conditions and by my fourth dive here on the island I was actually able to enjoy practically all of it. I think that I will be able to enjoy it here and I am just praying for the weather to warm up so that once I get out of the water I can bask in the warm sun.
On land things are also getting better. I eventually found out that people passing me on the street were not just muttering “bog” real unhappily to me to creep me out, but that is just a greeting here. I am picking up a few Croatian words, but nothing really helpful. The stores here are really still a bit confusing. Most everything that I want (like fruits, meats, cheese, breads, and nuts) are behind the counter and you have to ask the person behind the counter to get it for you. This really hinders me and I end up pointing and throwing out a few English words hoping that they understand what I would like. I have managed to get some apples, oranges, and a loaf of bread, but the meat and cheese still evades me. I think that I will mostly live off of nuts, chocolate, yogurt and bread while I live here. The groceries here are really small and I am surprised to say that the Honduran groceries are so much better, and much easier to find things. However, the restaurants here are really good, with lots of Italian and pizzerias. I heard about some great seafood place and a few barbecue place that are supposed to be amazing. I will have to try it out, and fortunately the restaurants here are quite cheap.
Today is my first day off so I was able to go out and explore. I ended up going on a 2 hour walk through the town and countryside and have tired myself out. I found a really good bakery close by and got a delicious chocolate croissant, and continued on a road out towards the hills. I ended up walking through some olive groves and then into the forests, which are really neat. I finally turned around and went back to the intern house. I have some laundry to do and I should start studying for the upcoming IDC. I will update soon, as long as something happens but it looks like I am starting to find a routine. Hopefully once the diving season here picks up some more interesting things will start happening.