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Adventure in the Mountains of Croatia, Part 1

by Kelli Hedding, Copyright April 22, 2008, all rights reserved. 536 views

From Misc Images

“They must think I’m an idiot,” I thought to myself as I came out of the captain’s office. I had just finished talking to the captain and the chief mate of my ship asking to get off work early. I was rather stressed out and in my emotional state I had babbled on like an idiot. The captain and the chief officer knew me well enough to just smile and nod.

I had been living on a ship in a Croatian shipyard for four and a half months. During most of that time I hated my work and the stresses had been building up. Recently I had been facing a really big challenge and I knew I was nearing an emotional breakdown; I needed to escape the ship. My scheme to get away seemed a bit crazy: I would simply disappear into the hills behind Trogir (Tr?-gEER) and camp until I could face the ship again. I had no idea what was in those hills or even if it was safe.

My scheming had begun the week before when I was doing the night security rounds. I would wake up around 3:00 in the afternoon and run across Trogir to the hills to be alone and pray. Sometimes I would lie and pray in the shade of an old, deserted stone chapel tucked a little ways up a hillside. One day I found a place on the stony hillside out of view of old Trogir where I could truly be alone. It was so peaceful and quiet and I wanted to spend the night out there away from the ship.

I had a friend named Judit whom I met with most days after work to pray. She was a Spanish girl who had lived in Finland from the time she was 10. She and I were about as opposite as could be in both character and upbringing yet we were close friends. Our prayer times together were what had kept me sane over the last few months. The next time we met I told Judit about my scheme and she promptly agreed to come with me. We also invited Maggie, another close friend who comes from the southern United States.

I do not like planning; planning is a stressful business that I prefer to leave to others. I had never been backpacking before and had no idea what we would need - nor did I care - I just wanted to get away. Maggie didn’t know either - the most she had ever done was strolling on paved trails. I was ready to head out into the hills with just the clothes on my back, a water bottle, my journal and a Bible. Thankfully Judit was a bit more practical; food and dry clothes were important to her and she helped me make a list of the things we would need.

On Friday, the day we planned to leave, the three of us were juggling our daily ship work while trying to gather the gear we would need. Even with permission from the officers to get off work early I knew that by the time we were ready to leave we would barely be able to make it to the first hill before dark. I really wondered how this trip would ever come off. Especially when people kept reminding us of the forecast for the weekend - it was supposed to rain a lot.

There was a German guy on the ship named Hansi. He is about as crazy as they come and just as cool. We had told Hansi about our trip. His cabin was full of tools, various odds and ends, climbing gear and camping gear. He welcomed us into his cabin and helped outfit us with everything we would need. He told us about a trail up in the mountains near where he and a group of guys go climbing. The trail went along the mountain ridges all the way to Split with a beautiful view of the ocean and bay.

The trail Hansi suggested seemed too good to be true – but there was no way for us to get there. There was definitely not time to hike to the trailhead. Hansi offered to drive us but the chances that a ship’s vehicle was available at the last minute on a Friday were very slim. I was ready to give up until Judit came back breathless with the keys to a car - incredibly one of the vehicles was free.

Soon we were speeding along winding roads with the windows down. We were heading up into the mountains with our crazy German friend at the wheel and enjoying every minute of the wild ride. Hansi dropped us on the top of the mountain and drove away.

Maggie, Judit and I looked around us. In every direction was an incredible view. The sun was nearing the horizon marking the end of the day and the beginning of our adventure. As I look back I believe that only God could have put together this adventure; he took our simple plans of spending the night in the hills and set us on top of the mountains.

Next part: An Unexpected Meal Living on the Edge

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