We rented a boat today. It is pretty nice being outside of America. America has such a litigious society that renting a boat would probably have been a much more complicated ordeal, but here in Croatia they will hand over the keys to just anyone. In fact, they didn't even take a credit card deposit or anything. We have no experience and they didn't give us any life vests. We payed cash upfront, which meant that we could have just taken the boat anywhere we want and never returned. That would definitely not have happened in the States. I did not sign one contract and the only safety advice the rental guy gave us was that if we were stopped by the police we should tell them that we are using this boat because it is our friends, not a rental. Of course this seemed a bit sketchy, but what the hell, we were all game for an adventure. So, anchors up and we motored away at a blistering 8 miles per hour. 
I must stop for a second and say that if you would have told me a week ago that I would be on a boat with ten other people, all of whom I only met less than a week ago, motoring through the Adriatic Sea, I would not have believed you. We were on a boat with four girls that we met at a bar in Prague, then ended up seeing them in Budapest and so we planned to meet up here in Croatia. Then there are the two Irishmen we met while on the train from Berlin to Prague, who knew Clark, who is from Canada and came us on the boat today. Then Clark met James in a cab from the airport in Dubrovnik, and James stayed with us at the Villa and came with us on the boat. Lastly, there is Becca, who is an old friend of Clarks. Phew, thats a lot of people, and a lot of random meetings, but it was an amazing time.
Our boat was the slowest piece of shit on the Adriatic, but it served valiantly. While cruising around the Croatian coast at an embarrassing slow pace we had two goals in mind: sandy beaches, since almost all beaches in Dubrovnik are rock beaches or pebble beaches, and caves to explore. We found a few really cool caves but came up empty handed in the sandy beach department. Between anchor drops we all did our best rap star impression, since all rappers have a music video on a boat. The day was unbelievable. Me, Seth, and 10 complete strangers on a boat, having an unbelievably great time. The water in the Adriatic is so clear that you can see the bottom, as well. It is so weird compared to Huntington Beach in California where you can't even see your hand in front of you. I wanted to see a shark, but the only sea life they have are sea urchins, and one of those prickly bastards stabbed my foot. I haven't figured out if they are poisonous or not. I hope they are not, but I figured I would have found out by now. What kind of animal makes themselves into a prickly ball? That is no way to make friends. Stupid urchins...
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