Last hello from Croatia!
June 20, 2024
6/17/2024 Today we said our goodbyes to Zavižan Mountain Hut in Northern Velebit! While our farewells were bittersweet, we were eager to begin our rock climbing adventure and make the two-hour drive to the southern region of Velebit. During the car ride, Luke and Andrew took turns controlling our music playlist! Upon arrival, our guides gave us a safety briefing, after which we donned our harnesses and prepared to climb. We had the choice of three different routes, and most of the kids tackled all three! Quinley, drawing on her climbing experience, impressed the group with her skills. She and Hatcher raced up the routes, showcasing their natural climbing abilities! After our climbing session, we headed to a nearby spot for a delightful lunch featuring a variety of pizzas and burgers. We then continued our journey to our new campsite, Siena, located right by the water. After setting up camp, Harless led the group in swimming and diving into the ocean! Everyone showered and joined together for dinner, where we savored fish and a traditional Croatian meat dish, ćevapčići! Our meal was accompanied by two musicians who serenaded us with “Country Roads.” We wrapped up our evening with a Moonup under the stars. Everyone slept soundly, making good use of their Enos!
6/18/2024 We bid farewell to our campsite, leaving with full stomachs and hearts! We enjoyed a scenic 30-minute drive to our next activity: zip lining in the stunning Omiš canyon. The views from the zip lines amazed everyone! After a safety briefing and practicing with our carabiners, we embarked on the first zip line, the longest and fastest, reaching speeds close to 40 mph! Carson fearlessly led the way, being the first to try it out. We all had a fantastic time, and even paired up on some of the lines! Ben and Henry soared together alongside our guide, affectionately nicknamed “Top G.” We made sure to capture some amazing photos and videos with the breathtaking views in the background. After completing our eighth zip line, we returned to town for a well-deserved lunch. Post-lunch, we indulged in some ice cream, a treat enjoyed by everyone! Then, we headed to our next accommodation: bungalows instead of tents! With plenty of free time, the boys rented pedal boats while Bebe, Megan, and the rest of the girls sunbathed and swam by the water. Carter captured numerous photos of Tyler going up and down the slide on the pedal boats! We enjoyed a lovely dinner while watching the sunset over the horizon. Our LODs led us in our penultimate Moonup, and the kids had a fun night hanging out together in their bungalows!
6/19/2024 We are saddened that our trip has come to an end. On our final day, we traveled to Dubrovnik and explored everything the Old City had to offer! We enjoyed a delicious lunch of seafood burgers, strolled around town, did some shopping, and relished our banquet meal. Our last Moonup took place on the outskirts of the Old City, where we shared our favorite memories from the trip and expressed our appreciation for each other. It was an amazing group, and we feel incredibly fortunate to have spent the last two weeks together. We cherish them dearly and are grateful for having met them!
-Carter and Reid
Bok from the Mountains of Croatia!
June 17, 2024
Bok from CRO 1B! We are nearing the halfway point of our trip and couldn’t be more proud of how our group has truly come together! We began the water portion of our trip by packing up camp and meeting our driver Boro to take us to Rab Island! We unloaded the van and pitched our tents! Quinley and Harless took the lead by using their prior Moondance skills to teach everyone how to put up a tent! Once our camp was set up, Carter took the kids to the beach while Megi and Reid stocked up on groceries. The afternoon was spent indulging in the Croatian sun and bathing in the salty sea. Once everyone was tired of hanging out in the water, the group made their way to a nearby basketball court. We played knockout and even played a game of pick up basketball! Tyler won the first round of knockout and the group was shocked he didn’t play basketball regularly. During our basketball game, Henry showed off his skills by shooting a bunch of three pointers for his team. Bebe was by far the best defensive player on the court and always managed to get a good pass! We then headed to the water to play some volleyball in which Hatcher always went above and beyond to get the ball, even if it involved diving in the water. We had so much fun and before we knew it, it was time for dinner! We had an amazing meal of fresh fish that was caught earlier that morning! We were so proud that everyone tried it and loved it! We ended our night with Moonup just in time before the rain started. It was a stormy night in our tents, but the group had amazing attitudes and stuck it out the whole night!
It was a late wake up for group 1B because of the storm that rolled in the night before. Everyone woke up and was excited to seize the day! We had a delightful breakfast of toast and scrambled eggs! We packed our things, hopped in the van and headed to our sea kayaking destination. Before we knew it we were heading out into the crystal clear Adriatic Sea. Ben loved showing off his kayaking skills and paddled the fastest in the group. Megan enjoyed jumping in the water and posing for Carter’s camera! Andrew wasn’t far behind in also jumping in, swimming to catch up to his boat and causing us all to laugh! We took a quick lunch break at a nearby beach shore and ate our delicious sandwiches. The kids decided to hang out on the beach for a bit and play some games before heading back to the kayaks. Hatcher enjoyed trying to flip everyone’s kayaks over while Ben swam to catch up to his boat. They even managed to flip Carter and Quinley’s boat over! We got back to shore, changed and headed back to camp on our sleepy van ride. The kids headed to the volleyball court to get a game in before we headed to dinner at a local restaurant in town. Nearly everyone got the Fried Calamari with fries! Harless enjoyed trying out the grilled calamari with some veggies! We got back to camp and prepared for the potential of another rain storm, and as the sun began to set we all got tired and wound down to get a good night’s rest!
It was another wonderful day in Rab Island and we let everyone sleep in a lot! It started to rain so we waited it out by playing another Moondance classic game called Empire. Before we knew it the rain had cleared and we got in a game of soccer! We quickly learned that Henry actually plays soccer and led his team to victory today! Megan also showed off her skills and impressed us with a goal! We headed back to camp to make lunch! After we ate, everyone was still eager to play Empire so we played a few more rounds while we waited out another burst of rain. Our LODs decided to spend the rest of our afternoon exploring the Old City, one of Rab Island’s most popular spots! We arrived and explored nearly every tourist attraction we came across. Henry and Carson were excited to get matching souvenirs in one of the gift shops. We stopped for some well deserved gelato. While indulging in our ice cream, a bird decided Bebe would make a great target to poop on. Despite how horrible the situation was, she maintained such a positive attitude and Reid was quick to buy her a new ice cream cone. Ben was amazed by how awesome the city was and took it upon himself to learn more about its history. Luke loved seeing all the different kinds of churches and even got to peak into a few! After some more walking around, we hopped back on our bus and headed back to camp. The group was eager to get some Shirley temples so we headed down the beach to get some from the beachside restaurant. Before we knew it, it was time for dinner and we had a feast of Chivapčiči and stuffed peppers, eating every last bite of it. The kids got some candy from the local market and we had our final Moonup on Rab Island under the stars! Harless was kind enough to share her kinder chocolates with everyone! We ended Moonup with a fun tradition Reid came up with that had everyone belting with laughter. It was an amazing end to our trip on Rab Island and we can’t wait to begin our trekking portion!
We were greeted this morning by the early morning sun and the sound of birds chirping; a nice change from the rain! While Reid and Megi went grocery shopping for the next few days, Carter took the kids to the market and to play some basketball! Hatcher and Quinley were especially helpful in cleaning up the tents and making sure they were cleaned out! We loaded up the van and headed to Zavižan mountain hut up in the Velebit Mountains! We were amazed by the insane 360 degree view of the Adriatic sea and mountains! We spent the afternoon exploring a nearby peak and timing how fast everyone could get up the mountain. Bebe and Megan posed for some awesome pictures that Carter took at the top of the peak! Tyler took a tumble but quickly recovered, leaving us laughing as always. We admired the views before heading back down the mountain and to the hut. Megan led the group in a few rounds of our favorite card game President! We are making all of our own meals up here in the mountains so Quinley and Hatcher took charge of our quesadilla dinner. They elected Bebe as their sous chef to prepare and grate the cheese. Although it took some time, the group was especially happy with how the quesadillas turned out. Tyler, Luke, and Ben helped out with cleaning after our meal while Carson led the group in some card games. we hung out for a bit before ending our night watching the sunset and we had a wonderful Moonup. Andrew and Henry made friends quickly with the other guests that were staying in the mountain hut. Soon we were exhausted from our day ago travel and headed off to bed!
We woke up bright and early this morning to get ready for our very first day of hiking. Tyler helped out in the kitchen, prepping eggs and helping out with serving breakfast! Once everyone was done with breakfast, we got ready for our hike and made our lunches! Megi showed us the map of our trail and everyone made guesses about how many miles we would end up doing. We were on our way and we filled the time with riddles and guessing games! We made it to the highest peak in Northern Velebit called Veliki Zavižan (The Great Zavižan). We took some photos and had some laughs! Hatcher made sure to take plenty of pictures of the group and everyone got their solo shots. After nearly five hours and two peaks later we made it back to Zavižan Mountain Hut and relaxed for the afternoon. Carson suggested playing some card games to pass the time and led the group in playing President. Ben found an awesome hike up to an overlook that would be a great spot for our Moonup that night. We headed up to our Moonup spot and Bebe led us in our nightly reflection! Reid and Henry were falling down the mountain as they hiked up to the spot wearing their Birkenstocks, leaving us all laughing! Harless and Andrew were elected as our next LODs!
We had a wonderful breakfast of Reid’s over easy eggs and Harless helped make scrambled eggs for the group! Everyone quickly devoured the eggs and got ready for a longer hike today! We ended up hiking 9.7 miles to the group’s surprise and even got to climb up a portion of it! We made our way to Rossi’s hut where Megi challenged Carson to an intense arm wrestling competition! We twisted and turned, making our way back to our Mountain hut where we spent the remainder of the evening. While Reid and Carter made dinner, the kids filled the time with more card games and friendship bracelet making. We had our final Moonup at Zavižan before everyone went to bed!
Excited for more adventures to come,
Carter and Reid
Whitewater and Wild Times
June 11, 2024
Bok (Hello) from Croatia! After some travel delays and unfortunate flight cancellations, we couldn’t be more excited for all 11 students to have arrived in Croatia! It was a long day at the Zagreb airport, but the kids made the most of it and filled their time playing games and getting to know each other. Carter took half of the group to our campsite at Plitvice Lakes National Park, while Reid waited at the airport for our final three arrivals. We settled down at camp and set up our tents. Tyler and Hatcher were excited to set up their ENO hammocks to sleep under the stars! We had a fabulous first dinner of spaghetti bolognese before heading back to camp and getting ready for bed. Alas, Reid along with Luke, Henry, and Carson arrived at camp Borje. Once everyone said their hellos, the kids were off the sleep after a long travel day.
Our first full day of the trip was jam packed with fun activities. We started the morning out with breakfast and hair braiding with the girls. We packed up camp and hit the bus for our commute to the park entrance. Our guide, Megi, led us on a hiking trail around Plitvice, which is Croatia’s largest National Park covering almost 74,132 acres! Plitvice is under the protection of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization). Ben was fascinated by the large scale of the waterfalls and had plenty of questions for Megi to answer! We filled our time with riddles and games before hopping on a boat crossing to the other side of the lake. Tyler was especially determined to solve Reid’s riddle by the end of the hike. We ate a great packed lunch before heading on our tram back to the park entrance. Everyone was exhausted after our long travel day yesterday! Quinley and Megan were even able to squeeze in a nap on the bus! We arrived at our next campsite and got settled in. Harless rallied the group to head over to the river and embrace the cold water! We all headed over and after being a bit reluctant because of how cold the water was, Hatcher led the charge and was the first to fully submerge. Andrew followed closely behind showing no hesitation to jump right in! Soon everyone was in the water! Carter even joined them and jumped in! We headed back to camp, showered and had some down time before enjoying a three course dinner at the camp restaurant! We ended our long day with our first official Moonup and Quinley and Carson were elected as our first LODs (Leaders of the Day).
Everyone fell asleep soundly to the background of rainfall on the bungalows. We had a later start today to shake off the last bit of jet lag before having a buffet breakfast! We packed our things and threw on our swimsuits and headed to the Mreznica River for our whitewater kayaking adventure! Luke was in charge of our Aux on the way, playing some of his all time favorite Grateful Dead songs! Everyone got paired up and geared up in life jackets and wetsuits. Ben and Quinley made sure to document our “fit checks” for the vlog! Andrew made sure to join in on the fun and even got some great footage on his Go Pro! We enjoyed the crystal clear waters and took advantage of the cool water temperatures. Ben and Andrew took the lead, being the first to enter the water and go down the first waterfall which was 10 feet tall! Tyler and Reid brought up the rear and were the first in the water after laughing so hard their inflatable kayak flipped! Soon the whole group was in the water swimming alongside them! We got used to our paddles and practiced our technique and how to work together with our kayaking partner to steer in a straight line. Soon we approached our first cliff jump opportunity. After our guide, Andrea, gave us a safety briefing, everyone was pumped to give it a go and most the group elected to jump off the 25 foot ledge! Although hesitant at first, Harless jumped off with such ease and excitement with the group cheering her on. Bebe and Megan fearlessly jumped off hooting and hollering on the way down! Before we knew it, we approached another waterfall, but this one required one paddler in the kayaking duo to hop out of the kayak and jump off the waterfall’s 5 meter edge into the water while Andrea launched the other paddler off the falls and into the water. The groups took turns deciding which paddler would do what. Bebe was especially brave and headed down the falls in the kayak, proudly holding her paddle above her head and posing for the Go Pro Vlog! Her partner, Megan, followed closely behind, leaping into the water. We stopped for a picnic lunch on the side of the river and enjoyed some sandwiches and apples. We loved watching Hatcher show off his kayaking skills and teach us some things about paddling technique. After 8 waterfalls and 3 rapids, the group arrived back at the van to take us back to our campsite! Once we arrived back to camp, the group headed to the market in the grounds to stock up on snacks. We listened to Reid play the guitar and Henry and Carson gave song suggestions before we all headed to our last dinner at Camp Korana! We indulged in our burgers and we were glad Luke had the idea to ask for some cheese to make the burgers top notch! Clearly Ben had done his research on Croatia because he asked Megi lots of insightful questions to learn more about the country and its history! We played some card games and performed some magic tricks after dinner. Our LODs lead us in our Moonup and it was an amazing end to a long day! Harless and Henry were elected our leaders of the day!
It’s early in the trip, but we are certain that this is a special group and are looking forward to the rest of the trip and our time together in Croatia!
-Reid and Carter
Henry- I’m good hope everyone is doing ok. Having fun.
Luke- I’m having a great time! I can’t wait to see y’all hopefully things are going good back home.
Carson – Having so much fun! Can’t wait to tell you all about it!!
Hatcher- Hi Mom and Dad! I’m having ton of fun and we have a great group of people! We’ve already done a ton that I can’t wait to tell you about. I love y’all and miss you!
Andrew- I’m having lots of fun while I’m here and I can’t wait to see y’all when I get home
Ben- This is Amazing and it’s so different from America and I’m gonna talk about it for hours.
Tyler- Hi mom and dad. Tell Sadie happy birthday for me because it’s June 11th right now. I miss you guys so much and I hope Jackson does too. I love you!
Quinley- Hey family I miss you guys so much. Happy belated Sadie I love you so much and I hope you’re enjoying your teen days. Happy Father’s Day too dad. I Love you and appreciate you. I miss you emi and mom too. I’m having so much fun and Croatia is lowkey sick, I love y’all.
Harless- Hey Mom, Dad and Harrison! I love y’all and miss you so much!! We just finished river kayaking and it’s June 11th, it was so much fun! I hope y’all are having fun. Happy early Father’s Day, and Birthday Dad, I love and miss you so so much and can’t wait to see you!!
Bebe- Hey guys! I miss you guys! I’m having a lot of fun at camp but I’m excited to see you guys when I get back! Happy early Father’s Day dad 🤡! I love you guys so much! Tell Jake and Hunter I miss them! See you guys soon! Give Zeus and Roman hugs for me!!
Megan- Hey mom and dad, I miss you guys so much and can’t wait to see you guys soon in Italy. Camp has been so fun so far and we have already done so many cool stuff in Croatia so far. Happy Father’s Day dad and have good birthday love you so much and tell Katelyn I will miss her while she is at camp. Love you guys so much and can’t, wait to see you soon.
Safe Arrival in Zagreb!
June 8, 2024
Hello Croatia Families!
We are so excited to report that we just heard from our leaders after a long travel day, and all of the students arrived safely in Zagreb! We are so excited to hear more stories from their adventures over the next few weeks!
Please remember our leaders and students will be unplugged during their trips, but we will be posting trip updates throughout the next week! This will allow you to follow along with the trip. You can also follow us on Instagram, @moondanceadventures, to see more of what we are up to!
-Moondance HQ
