Watch out for sharks!

Yesterday Jon and I got a ride down to Novi Vinodolski so we could spend the afternoon and evening with friends Hrvoje and Doda. It was a great afternoon, and I really enjoyed seeing Doda's family again. The one disappointment to the day was the looming rain clouds that seemed to follow the coast line. We had hoped to spend some time swimming and sun bathing, so we decided to brave the weather. As we walked down the stairs leading to the beach we heard screams and crashing waves. At the bottom of the steps, there was hardly any beach exposed and massive waves crashed against the rocks. Normally you find the Adriatic calm and peaceful, and Doda said she had never seen anything like it though she lived right next to the beach. Hrvoje and Jon were the first to enter the water. Doda and I laughed as we watched their struggle to stay standing as the waves hit them. After Hrvoje was knocked over by one wave, he gave up and began to swim away. I wasn't sure I wanted to get in with what I was observing, but I did anyways. Doda and I were paralized by laughter as the waves slapped against our bodies and knocked us over too. The children in the water were staring at us strangely, as though they had a more graceful way to enter this choppy water. We finally got out past the worst of the waves to deeper water. It was fun riding the waves but we had to watch closely otherwise we would end up with a faceful of water. The water was gross and lined with the stuff normally found on the bottom. There was floating algea and sea urchin's you had to watch out for. After we all were tired from fighting the waves, we swam back in and once again had a hard time leaving the water as the waves would try to knock us over. Only after we got back in did Doda inform there had been some shark sightings down the coastline. She said the waves were playing tricks with her mind as the would rise and fall. Even as we sat to dry she watched the waves for a fin.