I woke up in the night, groggy and confused, to some amount of turmoil (the actual truth of it was yet to be revealed). The cabin had become hot and stuffy – the AC was not working. The lights were also not working and all I could hear was Rick’s loud snoring.

When I called out to Rick, as politely as possible under the circumstances, he claimed he was not the source of the snoring while acknowledging his machine was not working. He was right. Ken was snoring like crazy in the room next store. We had lost power so neither Ken nor Rick’s CPAP machines were working as evidenced by the snoring duel that commenced only moments later. several nudges later I must have drifted back to sleep.

I woke early to a moving boat (whether it forward or simply side to side was not yet clear). My head and stomach immediately stepped in to tell me who was boss so I grabbed one of the approximately 22 Gravol tablets sitting by my bed, took one, and waited patiently in a prone position until it took effect. Once I was back on a stable platform, I was up, dressed, and out the cabin door to head to the back of the boat for coffee and an update.

Adventures of the brackish kind. Overnight one of the cabins below sprang a leak and smelly brackish water began to seep through the ceiling. The two UK sisters were rudely awakened by the stuff dripping onto their faces and their beds. They woke up Shintzy who found the crew for help, though unfortunately not much could be done in the middle of the night. It did seem that this leak was directly or indirectly related to the power loss.

The girls spent a restless night sleeping on deck in sleeping bags they were fortunate to have brought with them. Even in the light of day it was quite unclear what would happen next.

Today was another long riding day – 33km with a modest 235m of climb, according to our map. Although it appeared that the route went along the ocean – sort of – it was slightly inland and on a road. Less climb meant no stunning mountain top views. However, when we did ride along the coast it was beautiful with water that was light turquoise and then dark turquoise and then a different turquoise all together.

Heading out of town we rode along the flat for several km before being stopped for a safety briefing. The final stage out of Preko (where the boat had docked for the night) was very steep and the cyclists on hybrid bikes were advised to walk their bikes, the e-bikes could ride and we went first. It was messy. Hybrid cyclists attempting to ride the steep hill were virtually standing still, in spite of their frantic peddling. The e-bikes followed, mostly in the highest “turbo” mode trying to pass them on the very steep and narrow street. We did all eventually arrive safely at the top, some still on their bikes but many on foot.

We stopped briefly in Kukljica for a coffee. Here we are, along with 2 Canadians from Victoria (Verna and Pierre) who are travelling for 2 months. Verna always looks impeccable and is travelling with only 1 carry on for the entire time. I look like I was shot out of a cannon every day. I am satisfied if I do not stink (man we need to do laundry) and gave up any makeup a week ago, aside from liberal layers of sunscreen. I am well rested in spite of, or because of, all the damn gravel so for the first time in many months I have glowy tanned skin and no dark circles under my eyes. Whatever I may worry about on this trip, being outdoors so much has served me well.

Before heading off on the next leg of our cycle, I popped inside the cafe for a trip to the loo. Finding a loo when you really need it can be tricky, so I try to take advantage when one presents. I was sitting inside pondering the unusual wall paper until I noticed the black dots moving and realized there were masses of tiny black flies all over the walls. Recalling a particular scene in Amityville Horror (the horror film that broke me), I jumped up and ran out as fast as humanly possible.

The memory of the moment was softened by watching two adult women on a teeter-totter. Brilliant! Thank you Margot and Deirdre.

Our journey across the bridge joining the islands of Ugljan and Pasman was quite pretty. We stopped for a group photo and continued on our way. (It did take some effort to track the photo down).

The ride was a mix of gradual ups and gradual downs through a number of tiny villages before arriving at our destination. I have become quite comfortable riding towards the back, with Rick in sight, and Sina who sweeps along behind us all.

We finally arrived at the dock on Tkon. My butt was tired and I could not wait to get off the damn bike. Apparently our 3rd surprise had happened just before my arrival when Margot had accidentally fallen off the wharf and into the ocean, complete with her e-bike, while attempting to dismount. The bike was swiftly retrieved, as was Margot.

A frantic search for the battery key ensued as a lithium battery introduced to the ocean becomes a cornucopia of dangerous chemicals able to burst into flames at a moments notice (not exaggerating). The battery would not be allowed back on the boat; it was swiftly buried deep in the ground to prevent any fire risk. Margot and her friend Deirdre were quite shaken by the entire incident.

I was shaken by the dangerous turn of events resulting from the front to back mooring of our boat and our neighbour’s. This time we were boat number 2. We hopped aboard the first boat then crossed to the far side where we would normally take a bit of a jump across the gap between the two boats. Unfortunately, the openings did not line up as a result of the opposite placement of the boats. The people in front of me managed it well, but I struggled with my two rather short legs.

I had to climb up onto some sort of metal gizmo used for tying off the ropes, then carefully put one foot over the wall of the boat, dragging the second one behind me to perch on the edge. My left leg came second and was too short to get across the top so some helpful someone (no idea who) had to give it a shove to get it over. For a moment I was stranded between the first boat and the second before throwing myself forward with all my might to be pulled aboard on the other side. If you have a hard time imagining it, multiply that by about 1,202 to understand how scary it felt to actually do it.

Lynne was very helpful by stretching her body across between the boats, making it (almost) impossible for me to look down into the very scary gap between the boats. I am sure the entire maneuver was hilarious. I am simply never doing that again, even if that measn I must stay on this damn boat all day, every day, for the rest of the trip.

More disturbing news greeted us upon our return to the boat; the leaky pipe situation had worsened considerably. The girls’ cabin was torn apart and three of the cabins on the deck above (including Ken’s, and the unfortunate Margot) were no longer allowed to use the toilet or the shower. I do believe Margot was able to slip in her shower before the bad news – which was a bit of good luck really.

Lunch was served, minus the sought after dessert spoon, meaning dinner would be on the boat. The primary topics of conversation were of course Margot and the leaky pipes.

Exhausted after a poor night’s sleep, a long ride and a bit too much drama, we retired to our cabins for a break during the 3 hour journey back to Primosten where we would dock for the night.

Once in Primosten we decided to take a walk into the little town in search of a bank machine and a chance for me to break my Gravol addiction. Primosten is a pretty little place, with a rocky beach, and sweet little old town with a church and a graveyard.

We returned to the boat after our stroll, with pockets full of the seemingly endless supply of Kuna (local currency which is about 5 to 1 for the Canadian dollar). Croatia will be moving to the Euro in January, with only a 2 week transition period. Prices are already showing up in Kuna and Euro to begin the adjustment.

Dinner was tasty. The leaky pipes have been repaired and everyone is back in their cabins with all the necessary amenities. We did stay behind after dinner for much longer than usual, enjoying some after dinner beverage (Biska) that is somewhat similar to tequila when well made, and more like straight ethanol when it’s bad. We have had it a few times, including the ethanol variant on the boat to the Blue Cave in Dubrovnik. (I did forget to mention that we tried some Maraschino the night before – a cherry flavored brandy that is actually quite pleasant and will likely join my well stocked bar for some sort of interesting cocktail when we return home).

It has been an amazing adventure and it is hard to believe that we have only one more day on the boat and one more ride. I am proud to say that I have survived it all while also finding fun and laughter and joy – and a great tan. And in spite of being sick, or sea sick or having a sore back.

Ask me in a few weeks if I would do it again. Though even at this moment, in a cabin filled with dirty laundry, as I contemplate my last Gravol before bed, I cannot say that ‘no’ would be my final answer.