Last week, Ryan and I went Elaphite Island hopping and we got our scuba certifications! We visited 3 of the Elaphiti Islands along the Dalmatian coast. The Elaphites are a tiny archipelago in the Adriatic sea, right off the coast of Dubrovnik. We visited the three biggest islands, Lopud, Šipan and Koločep, all of which have a population of less than 1,000 people.
First, we rode on a big boat to the biggest island, Lopud, and enjoyed a spectacular Mediterranean lunch. I got a fresh sea bass with a dry glass of rosé and Ryan ordered a lobster tagliatelle. After lunch, we walked around for a while and scoped out the beach. Lopud has one of the only sandy beaches in Dubrovnik, called Šunj Beach.
After Lopud, we sailed to Šipan and explored all the little nooks and crannies. We found a tiny wine and olive oil shop, where we tasted a few samples with the owner. Ryan is standing outside of the shop in the picture below. Much to Ryan's chagrin, we learned fresh olive oil has a (very) spicy aftertaste!
We finished our day on Koločep, which had a small beach and a few outdoor bars along the sea. There, we enjoyed the sunset, the crystal clear water and the laid back atmosphere. It was a little too chilly to swim, but we enjoyed being outside with a glass of wine.
We thoroughly enjoyed our day boating and island hopping along the coast!
*Shifting Gears*
Over the last few weeks, Ryan and I spent some time getting our open-water scuba certification! We are now beginner divers and have the ability to dive to 18 meters. This was new, exciting, and fun for both of us! We loved all of our instructors, especially the 72-year-old dive master, who quickly whipped us into scuba shape!
I loved practicing the emergency drills with Ryan. We make a good scuba duo! We both stayed calm, cool, and collected underwater while our tanks were turned off. The emergency scenarios brought me back to the good old days of lifeguarding.
My suit really gave off Patrick the Star vibes. (From Spongebob)
We attended one of the most common dive schools worldwide, called Padi. The Padi site in Dubrovnik is part of a fancy resort near us. This was an added bonus for our experience because we got to enjoy delicious lunches, the pool/hot tubs between dives, and the incredible views!
During our dives, we saw tiny colorful fish, starfish, sea urchins, fire worms, a purple eel, and my favorite, a cute and curious octopus!
I'm so glad we tried scuba diving together! I was feeling hesitant when Ryan first suggested it, and I thought I wouldn’t like it much. Boy was I wrong! I still enjoy pushing myself and it was a good reminder that I can still do hard things!
Thanks for reading, everyone!
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