Can we begin by acknowledging the perfect weather in Rovinj, 33 degrees, but I wasn’t uncomfortable at all , it wasn’t a dry heat and it wasn’t humid like back home. A perfect day for a pool/beach party! But first we need to find some food and the we are off to OLU OLU’s COFFEE LOUNGE to meet the legends of the New Swing Sextet!

This coffee lounge was a little different to the one we had in South Africa, I was pleasantly surprised at the changes Olu has made to his setup. We had snacks, and some tea/coffee/juice/water but I was more focused on the sangria that was calling my name… yeah baby! To my surprise Robert White from Mambo city walked in the door! I got a little excited because I thought Jean would follow but my dear friend had decided the Vineyard party was where she needed to be! It was so great to see Robert! Such a gentleman, so much fun to be around!

So as my roomies (Prideel & Mirta) and I sipped on sangria and mingled with everyone around us it was interesting to see how busy the coffee lounge was! I loved that people were genuinely interested in having a conversation and that they too were as curious as I was to absorb as much information as I possibly could when it was offered to me! I have to say that these guys were hilarious, they were charming, excited, warm and so very open to discuss every question thrown at them. I was pleasantly surprised by the discussions and will definitely continue to support OLU in his Coffee lounge adventures! But now its time to party, and off to Amarin beach party we go!

But first I need cash, because everything is about cash at this festival so far, so Gen, Pat, Robert and I go ATM hunting on our way to the ferry so I can actually pay for my ferry! It was the easiest thing to do because apparently there is an ATM on practically every corner in this little city of Rovinj. At the dock is where the rest of the squad (that I was yet to meet) waited, from second 1, these guys were the friendliest , happiest bunch I could have ever met! Remember I’m still soaking in all this new information, the beauty of EVERYTHING still has me in total awe! The ferry ride was an experience on its own , we met so many people on that ferry, made so many new friends! It just made the beach party even more of an epic experience! Julian Mr M was on the decks! that meant that the party was LIT because this guy knows how to entertain the shyt outta anyone! Before you know it you are all up in the animations doing things you never thought you would do in a million years! But first before we hit the dance floor, tequila sunrise with the crew and some shots, because we are going to need it once we get to the dance floor!

The party was so off the chain that I didn’t get any pictures! In fact my phone stayed in my bag! I was dancing in the pool, next to the pool and at the beach, too much fun was being had to remember photos! Time flew by and before we knew it the last ferry was there to drag us away into the sunset! But all was not lost because we still had some time to relax at Mulini beach for a little while before darkness settled in! That exactly what I did, relax for a while because I knew that this was my only downtime before the party that evening!

I was excited for the evening, because it was my first energetic night of dancing! I had gotten my rest in and I was fully recovered from my very long Journey! I have to admit I had a very interesting evening as I realized that my watching from the sidelines is not going to happen at all. People here ask you to dance! All the time! Everyone who’s everyone is here, the dance party of a lifetime! I blinked and the sun was coming up! Wait… no this cant be I just got here, it couldn’t be time to leave already? But alas, it was and so Prideel and I with heavy hearts left for home, but first a chat on a bench by the water, because who can resist the view of a lifetime every chance you get. But sleep was needed because the best was yet to come!

I slept in because I’m not a young person anymore and I had to pace myself. My roomies went off to Amarin without me as I decided I needed to take my time and have some me time. It was Friday afternoon and I knew that the weekend will be a crazy one. I’m glad I took my time tho because I got to have an awesome chat with my new friend Jo on the ferry across! Again I didn’t take pictures, it was like as soon as my feet hit Amarin beach my phone was forgotten!

OK, so there was a massive party in the main square Friday night and I was not missing it for anything, the shows were spectacular, the band was wow! I’m surrounded by positive energy exploding at every angle! I found Jean and Robert and had an amazing time with them watching the shows! Look I have to say the preparation put into this event was on point! The organizers have got their game sorted because if there were any hiccups I certainly did not notice them, everything ran smoothly and I didn’t encounter any negativity at all. The shows were so well organised for such a huge event! The energy of the artists were contagious!!! Friday night main square concert night… One of my first ABSOLUTE highs of the trip so far. I say absolute high because EVERYTHING was a high at this point but this peaked higher than expected and up until this point was the highlight of my time in Rovinj!

I partied until the sun came up yet again, pizza and beer with Ben at sunrise and then I crashed, but first … a selfie, because who knew I could still be in one piece at this hour after a full night of dancing!

I’m so blessed to have all of you in my life and I’m truly grateful for your support! My CSSF adventure part 3 to follow, boat parties and pool parties and loads of epic stories!!

Live your life full of adventure and travel as much as you can.

Tammy