May 31st

Today we took a day trip along the coast to Dubrovnik. It was a 3-hour trip and we left Makarska at 7:00 am. Unfortunately we came across an accident on our drive - a car had run off of the road and down the side of the steep cliff. The area had a lot of vegetation, so we weren´t able to see how serious the fall was, but it was another example of some of the traffic safety issues in Croatia. The spot where the car ran off the road was without a guard rail. A few of the leaders in Zagreb that we met with mentioned that injury is in the top three leading causes of health care expenses and most of these are in automobile accidents (agricultural equipment injuries follow in second).
While in Dubrovnik, I noticed more opportunities for injury. This city is a popular port for cruise ships and during the summer months tourists fill the city. The streets are made with extremely smooth stones and it is easy for anyone unfamiliar with the area to lose their footing, especially on inclines. The wall of Dubrovnik is a very big tourist attraction and another place where people must be careful, because the old wall has low sides where it could be easy for someone to tall over if they are even the slightest bit careless. A little excursion that we took was to the small island of Lokrum. Swimming is very popular here, but to get to the water you have to make your way over and across large rocks, which are not always flat and never smooth. It is easy to cut your foot and losing your balance while getting from rock to rock would be a pretty bad fall. Sea urchins on the sea floor are also a problem.
The best way to address these jagged rock and sea urchin obstacles & still look cute in a bikini:
Invest in a pair of fashionably sensible yet functional water shoes.

~Maggie