When Miles came to visit (along with everybody else)

So it seems that I am best at posting blogs with large amounts of time between entries. That's mostly due to the fact that I am out doing awesome shit, and seriously lack time and patience to write about it. Luckily I take a boatload of pictures, so I can always bring you up to speed quickly about the time that you may have missed.

So where to begin? Well it all started roughly on the 17th of August, when Miles, Christine and Lisa all happened to arrive on the same day, about two hours apart. Miles and Christine had just finished a family reunion trip in England, and fancied a visit. Lisa had been paying close attention to my blog and was obviously enthralled by my fancy pictures and enthusiastic writing and had decided to blow all her remaining vacation time to come visit me in Croatia.

What I neglected to mention was that Kim and her friend Joy had also visited and stayed for two weeks on my couch. To be honest, for the most part I have had somebody on my couch almost solidly since mid june. Lucy(6 weeks), Sarah (10 days), Suzanne (6 days), Kim and Joy (two weeks), Lisa (Three weeks), Me (five days, while Miles and Christine had my bedroom), and have finally reduced the number of random travelers to just my brother. Now you'd think that one would potentially go "Bat shit crazy" from such large numbers of people in the house, but it actually works out very nicely. When I cook up large curry dinners for the hostel (cooked at home), I never seem to have a shortage of hands to help me bring food and supplies up for dinner.

Not to mention the fact that all of these people have been close friends, or people that I had grown closer to during that time. Make a few new friends, see some old ones, have a sibling or two come visit. It's been a hell of a treat to get to show dear friends and family around Croatia. Not just show them Croatia, but show them MY CROATIA! Ranting a car and driving through the Peljesac peninsula, tasting wine and swimming along the way. Driving up to the mountains to enjoy a nice fresh locally grown meal in Konavle, hopping in kayaks and going to explore caves, bombed out hotels and hidden spots in the city of Dubrovnik.

After years of having people put up with old man Fraser telling stories like a senile nostalgic traveler, I am finally getting some glory by showing them that I didn't make that shit up... they are all real places full of real adventures to be shared.







Anyways it has been fantastic having friends and family visit the last little while. Even acquaintances have provided a unique experience, just like the last few days when Alanna's sister Laura and her friend Sara came to visit. It's strange how you can get to know somebody you've never met, but had an amazing amount of things in common with, halfway around the world. I figure showing people a good time is something like "travelers karma". When I end up in another town somewhere random in the world, the amazing people will come out of the woodwork and show me the unique amazing things of the region.

Speaking of random, I met up with a fellow traveler I met five years ago at Fresh Travelers Bar. Now it was a random meeting to begin with. His name is Sergei and he's a Kazakh/Russian fellow who was living in London. Interesting guy to talk to back then, ironically enough he came back to Dubrovnik and sought me out. I went out for a drink with him yesterday where he introduced me to his recently married wife Olga. By chance Olga happens to be from the Ukraine... and not just the Ukraine, but also the region that my ukrainian heritage is from. We spent the better part of the next hour and a half talking about ukrainian life, life in Bukovina, the making of kutia (a traditional ukrainian dish we would make at christmas), the best things to do and see in the country and some good insight for north american travelers. The more time I spend on the road, the more it makes sense that I need to return to the Ukraine and see it for my own eyes. Experiences like this seem to solidify the fact that I do in fact need to start planning and executing a trip there this winter. Everything is slowly falling right into place.

Anyways it is 1:30 am, I need to be up at 7 am to work at the hostel but wanted to avoid leaving you all hanging so I decided to bang out this blog. Here's a few more pictures from the month to tie you over until next time! Safe journeys in the meantime, and to anyone else in the area, don't hesitate to drop by for a visit!