Catch Your Breath

In the past week I’ve experienced the following (in no particular order):

-Cautiously swam in a pool of 18,000 fish, all nibbling at me, while wearing goggles so I could see their circular school up close.

-Eaten said fish afterwards, prepared by a local entrepreneur wearing a speedo by the open flame (#brave) who wants to start a true sea-to-table experience.

-Met a passionate female entrepreneur who is spearheading a movement to unite the islands of Croatia to capitalize on their natural resources in an effort to create jobs and help relieve the country’s severe dependency on tourism.

-Surrounded by many of the 57 Yugens and other remotes from groups current and past, floated and swam in the sea at 2 a.m., drinking wine out of a plastic jug, losing count of the shooting stars above me

-After a day of learning how to (poorly) drive a remote controlled sailboat, visiting a local firehouse and baking traditional Dalmatia sweets, leisurely mwalked an hour home by the beach at sunset.

-Crossed the border to Bosnia, adding another stamp to my passport and experiencing a culture wildly different from any other I’ve toured before, all while attempting not to overheat in 108-degree weather.

-Boarded a bus to the local national park, where I saw countless, breathtaking waterfalls, and ate a tuna salad lunch in my bathing suit, sitting on a tree stump.

-Attended a Full Moon party, where my heart expanded nearly as big as the moon itself, illuminated on the deep blue sea.

-Booked a trip to Sydney for Christmas, with no hotel or AirBNB booked, fully willing to wing it as we go.

-Played Exploding Kittens for the first time, followed by a valiant attempt of acting out song lyrics, all while drinking copious amounts of wine.

And through it all, I had random twangs in my heart that I’m now labeling “Yugen Feelings.”