While traveling, I am a bag of mixed emotions. I can be tired and cranky, but excited and full of energy at the same time. Now that I am traveling with my family, I have to take care that I don’t behave like a child. So, if I am hot, thirsty and tired, I cannot grumble out loud, because it will multiply in reactions of my family members. When my son is squeaking on a back seat that he is hot, which in our case means that he is sick and he can throw out soon, I have to take a couple of deep inhales, so I don’t allow negative energy to overwhelm me and the whole family as well. It doesn’t always help, that’s why is even more important to discover corners of the world where it’s so beautiful, that all your efforts are repaid.
One of these corners we encountered in Masca. We were already driving for an hour, and because of son’s driving sickness that feels like ages, when we arrived at the top of the hill. Beautiful view welcomed us there. But it wasn’t our final destination. In front of us was what it looked like a never ending winding road. As if sharp bends weren’t bad enough, there was a bus in front of us, that had troubles driving. At every curve, we had to stop and wait until bus driver manoeuvred back and forward until he succeeded. A long row of cars patiently followed that bus from one turn to another. At some point, there was an outside lane where we stopped. I looked around, and there was a path leading to a small village. We followed it, and it was like we entered the dimension of timelessness. Stony houses were covered with blooming bushes. At the moment when Erik said he has to pee, I bumped into a wooden sign for a bar. We moved tinkling curtains and entered the astonishing garden. There were flowers, palm and lemon trees. Everything was green and fresh and kind of wild. Set of simple table and chairs were in one corner of this tiny garden looking towards majestic mountains. We were sitting above the green valley. Older men came asking with what he can serve us. It looked like he was the only one living there until we got a company of a cuddling cat. Old pottery, teapots, dried onions were completing this dreamy garden. Sitting there, I felt peace, happiness and sweet satisfaction.
The second mind-blowing scenery was also at the end of a zigzagged road but on the other side of the island. Again: beautiful green hills covered with small villages here and there. We left Leo to work in a bar so that we could justify our parking on their premises. I went down the wooden steps with kids looking at raging waves. By the end of it, there was a beach with silky black sand, which shines when sun caresses it. The contrast of black coast versus white foam made by waves is a rest for tired eyes. Benijo beach is a place with visual and sound regenerating effects. The sound of waves crashing into rocks is so appealing that I had a hard time preventing kids not to join them in their watery dance. Currents are powerful. We did enjoy being treated like dolls when they reached the shore. We just had to be careful and not let the waves to allure us further into the sea.
One thing that was confirmed on this trips is that you get rewarded when you endure hard times. Persistence is a well-paid pain in the ass. Don’t forget: when you think you cannot do it anymore, the mind-blowing sight will bestow upon you.
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The only reason why it's hard to leave Slovenia (sorry family) it’s its natural beauty. It is not possible to write average length article and covered all the interesting locations. I’ll mention some we have been to in 2017 and liked.
In January we went to visit our family in Slovenia. We didn’t see any positive consequences of our visit. We were exhausted, and it was hard to get back into our daily routine. The most significant problem occurred when it was time to get back to school. Lejla skipped two weeks of school, and she had a lot of catching up to do - tons of homework. But the most heartbreaking issue we had with Erik. He just didn’t want to go back to school.
The hardest thing in changing our lifestyle, it’s not leaving; or unusual situations, like sleeping in the car; or not knowing the language that surrounds us. The challenging part is situations, for which we don’t have a standard response. The brain has hard work searching for optimal solutions over and over again. No more quick paths, no patterns, no routine. And during those processes, each of us craves for a friend.
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