Today we set off at 7:30 for our wicked white water rafting trip in Split. This is one of the major cities of Croatia and is situated on the stunning Dalmatian Coast. Wow!!!! What a stunning view all the way in on our tender boat. Our big arse ship can't dock there, too huge but not as big as some of their other ships in the fleet.
After a 45 minute cruise into the mountains, we set off on our rafting adventure. We teamed up with two other cruisers in our raft, as well as two of the rafting guides. One of the passengers Steve just so happened to be one of the cruise staff. We really had a great time with those guys today. He offered to take photos of us with his underwater camera, so we wouldn't miss out on photos! Awesome!! Definitely a new friend who we hope will visit us in Australia.
During the day, there were a few opportunities to jump out and swim in the rapids and also the calm water. It was actually quite scary getting dunked under with the strength of the water holding you down. We obviously survived! When the guides called "bomba" we had to sit in the raft, as the rapids were quite big. The craft was close to being fully submerged as well as some of those in it! Soooo freakin' awesome!
Our crazy rapid riding sadly ended after 3 hours, but there was a common sense of amazement held by the entire group. All 9 of us headed for a delicious traditional Croatian lunch in a very serene area on the banks of the river, which was part of our tour. We all thoroughly enjoyed the soup and BBQ, with wine and some freshly cooked small doughnuts. Delicious.
Back in the town of Split itself, we had only limited time to try a local beer, as well as getting some photos. Unfortunately, we only had 5€ total on us and a café luckily sold us two pints for our entire stash! Winner! Score! Woot! Bonus!!!! Hahahaha! Consequently, we had to pretty much drink them fast, so that we could get the photo session in. Initially we didn't think that we could even afford two pints....but apparently so!
Back on ship, it was out to relax on the deck for blogging. It was much quieter out there this afternoon, as most people would have been packing. This seemed like a smart lead to take, so we too decided it was time for some packing (only after the cocktail of the day though)!
The ship required us to have our bags outside of the rooms by 11pm, so we had to think through our choices of clothes to hold onto for the morning. New night outfits tonight are going to be day outfits tomorrow, please forgive our photos with double up clothing! Hahahaha! When we first came back to pack, we arrived in the room to find a bottle of wine and a note from our new mate Steve thanking us for the photos! That was so nice and really added to our day.
Before dinner it was off to the final round of the progressive trivia. We knew we would have been in a strong position, but weren't sure where. For the final night it was the dreaded general knowledge. We had struggled in this area previously and it was the Jacko trivia last night that brought Team RaT back from the dead. With only 5 / 10 correct we were on edge! Wooty, woot, woot...WINNERS, but only three points clear overall! The champers and cruise goody bags were much appreciated.
Happy with our efforts, we headed to dinner for a fantastic last night with the boys - Asar, Gilberto and Jonathan! We had yet another great night - delicious food, lots of laughs, but also some sad goodbyes. They could not have made our cruising experience any better.
After dinner we had to tie up some more of our packing, before heading off to watch the karaoke finals. This was quite good. The old guy from the US who won - sang a fabulous version of My Way by Frank Sinatra. We felt that the guy who sang Gold by Spandau Ballet was robbed, but we are a little bias to an 80s song. Beth: the DJs at your 30th were so young that they had to ask us if Spandau Ballet was a song or a group!! Too funny!
We again met some more great people from the States, who ended up chatting to us for quite a while at the end of the karaoke. Before we knew it, it was already midnight. Heading to the casino with the sole purpose of spending the last of our chips, we were unsuccessful! Hahahaha! We actually had a bit of a winning streak, which was an awesomely unexpected bonus. The winnings were appreciated and used for part of our tab and definitely kept us up in the gambling stakes for the 11 nights. Thankfully it wasn't a longer cruise!
Next stop clubbing time. Unfortunately, hardly anyone was about. Oh well, we were pumped up and still wide awake so we committed to a drink and a chat with the staff. First drink...."you guys can pour your own!" Yes please! Damn it, our camera was back in the room and we didn't get photo evidence. Because of a lack of customers, the bar closed fairly early, but not before they gave us a free drink.
What a fantastic day. We were so wrapped that other cruisers and staff asked for our details to keep in contact. It was a short time in the grand scheme of life, but certainly enough time to make some great new friends!
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