This week I joined some of my fellow study abroad mates in an adventure to Pula, Croatia! We took the trip to celebrate a birthday and ended up on an excursion.
When we were first arriving in Croatia still in the plane high above the clouds we could see so much of the land. Alarming though was as we got closer to the airport we could see in the distance what looked like a black island a bit offshore from the mainland.
Unfortunately, that was not a black sanded island but it was actually a huge collection of oil. So sad as I realized it was an oil spill I was actually looking at. My heart felt for all the life forms effected by that spill. Theres no telling how long that spill has been going on I could only imagine what negative effects this has been having on the beautiful land. It was like a reminder to the realization of the effects of climate change and he role humans have played in not only our contribution but in the acceleration in its process.
I find myself traveling to this beautiful land with only positive thoughts in mind coming to the realization that want makes this land so beautiful we are slowly winning by our bad contributions.
I couldn’t help but think about all the animals that were suffering tremendously because of this spill and in return the neighbor people who call this area their home are suffering as well.
Not going to lie this weighed heavy on my mind for most of the trip and still is weighing heavy on my mind as I am back in Maastricht now writing this.
Countryside Stays
After we landed and made our way to our accommodation which was in a beautiful part of the countryside a little town called Vinkuran. After getting settled in we got ready to venture out into the land around us immersing ourselves in the culture of Pula.
Pula at Night
Our first stop was the colosseum influenced by the Roman arena that has been around for centuries. We decided to take a little tour of the arena and their underground museum where we learned that the arena itself has been standing for longer than 2000 years! Making it the oldest of its kind! It’s amazing that structures like this one has survived this long and is a constant reminder of the history of the people and the land.
We also found other historical sites as our night adventure continued.
Kayaking Around the Island
The following day we had planned to go kayaking around the island of Pula. We came during the off season so there was not a lot of people around. As we ventured off to explore the surrounding area of the island we were greeted by a group of beautiful dolphins. The dolphins took their time swimming by us it was truly a beautiful sight. Our guide for the excursion let is know that it was a rare sighting to see the dolphins there and it was interpreted locally as being good luck. It was truly a beautiful experience that I will always remember. It was a reminder how beautiful our earth is, how beautiful life is, how beautiful that moment was and just to be thankful for all my blessings.
We continued to our destination which was a beautiful cave which we kayaked through it was so cool. The water was so clear and serene and a breathtaking experience.
Farewell Croatia
The next day before flying out we took one more excursion through the city center to pick up a few souvenirs and we came across this really cool store that was selling handmade masks as an artist I love supporting other artists and contributing to their craft so I bought one for myself and a matching one for my partner.
It was a beautiful weekend adventure a nice break from all our hard work as we get ready to go into our first round of finals.
I feel absolutely blessed to be able to travel and share these experiences with other awesome people.
Missy's Adventures in the World 