Starigrad

Days 90 & 91: (Another long one, sorry)
I've been all over the place the past couple of days. From considering turning my adventure into a spontaneous backpacking trip, to contemplating taking a random flight to Nepal; it's hard to *walk* away from the walk, but I've been feeling the need to claw back some freedom rather than feeling this is something I have to be doing right now. Don't get me wrong, I love hiking, and this adventure has been everything and more than I hoped it to be, but the amount I sacrifice for it day-to-day means that, with the end still not in sight after one 2,500 km chunk, I need to at least feel I'm making my own decision to be here. It's true that every walk has meaning, and to me this one has many, but I think I'm at peace with the fact that those meanings have been realised for me already, even if there hasn't been the glory of the finishline. While it's a strange thing to feel disappointed in myself for feeling this way after such a long time spent on the road, failure is only a part of success, and one thing's for sure. I'll be back. Whether it's in a few days or in a year. One day, I *will* reach Istanbul by foot, either that or I'll die trying, but when I do, the feeling *will* be unimaginable.

Last couple of days: once a hiking mission, this thing has currently mutated into a hitchhiking bonanza. Yesterday, I took the journey out to have a gander round the island of Rab, with the help of a lovely Hungarian couple to skip out the boring bits. To be honest, didn't really pay much attention to the island itself as my mind was elsewhere, but it seemed nice enough, definitely more temperate than the mainland. Perhaps more dramatic, though, was the dodgy hitchhike back; I had to hitch a ride to reach the ferry back in time, only about a 3 minute drive, but boy, did I feel uncomfortable. Guy put his hand on my knee in a very unsettling way not once but twice, and I was a very relieved man to be out of that van once at the ferry terminal. Today, I hitchhiked again; an Austrian couple in a campervan kindly helped me on my way down into Starigrad Paklenica. I had no idea where I was planning on going from there (told you I was a mess), so I've just gone, well... nowhere. I've decided to settle in a cheap campsite here, where I've had the sheer delight of meeting Judith, a Swiss girl so kind that she shared a fancy Swiss freeze-dried meal with me over an evening of chatting, and even bought me beer and a dessert. What did I do to deserve that?! The kindness of strangers always amazes me :)Read more