Rocks. Croatian Rocks.

In Croatia there were rocks. Lots and lots of rocks. Rocky beaches, bluffs, cliffs, boulders and pieces of ragged concrete, all making up not only a country, but an experience. Two rocks in particular have insinuated themselves into my memory and will, with any luck, always be able to pull me back into those times, those little slices of life.

The first is the jumping rock we found at the beach in Lokva Rogoznica, the one we had to climb, crawl, and swim to reach. We stood at the top of what had to be seven or so feet above the sea, and took deep breaths, and when we leapt, it was free fall for a blissful moment, before the slightly stingy portion of the dive. The current was strong, the water crisp, the air turning cold as the sun disappeared behind clouds and a mountain. We went up and down that rock a dozen times at least, though it was always a little different. I managed some flips and Air even got some back-flip air action. We climbed and scrabbled and swam, shoes in hand and the underwater camera ready to shoot.

I can feel the cold spray of the ocean, smell the salty tang in the air, can feel that thrum of adrenaline telling you, you’re alive! Alive! A precious memory, a feeling of contentment and joy, and perhaps some exasperation about the climbing bit.

The second rock is what we termed our “couch” rock. One night we were walking along the beach, talking about everything and nothing, observations on the clear sky, the bad music from the bar down the way, and the happiness we had at just being in such a beautiful place. We wanted to find a perching place to sit and watch the stars for a while, so we clambered up some boulders and lo and behold, the biggest rock had what seemed to be the perfect couch indentation taken out of it. I remember my feet dangling over the water and looking at that inky darkness below, amazed by the transformation from the bright, sunny shore we had been to just that morning.

We spent a good hour or two on that rock that night, and came back several times before we left Lokva for good. That rock, the couch rock, is cold beneath my imaginary hands, but firm and solid and real, it was slick from the slight mist, and the full moon above gave the shadows deeper recesses. I guess you could say that Croatia is one of my favorite places we visited not only for the fun and sun, the beaches and the people. Lokva and Dubrovnik were both wonderful places filled with pains and gains, friends well met and friends reaffirmed.

Some of Croatia was not too awesome, (though we really made some interesting food while we were there, poor though it was nutritionally, I’m sure) but overall, I think it is a place I would visit again in a heartbeat, if only to see the rocky beaches and breathtaking beauty of the place.

Thank you, couch- and jumping-rocks, for making a great trip even greater.

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