Rovinj, More than a Vacation
I usually try to go on vacation a few times a year, usually no longer than a week. I plan everything usually a year in advance. 2024 was no exception. I wanted warm water, good food, and fun.
I’ve already done so much in my life EXCEPT a dance vacation. I started looking around and found a dance festival in Croatia, in Rovinj. I had already been to Croatia before, Even lived in Zagreb for a while. I thought about it and book. It was inclusive with Salsa Workshops amongst others things like Yoga and Bachata.
ABOVE: A dance couple, otherwise total strangers, share two and a half minutes of passion as an onlooker photographs the entire session. If I was to say this to someone else that wasn’t viewing this picture, They would think I was talking about something else. Thats the beauty of dancing. We can be ourselves, unapologetically and without shame.
ABOVE: A woman, seated, smiling, more than pretty. Something is shining through her, brighter than the sun on her face. I don’t know and didn’t ask but I asked for a photo. She obliged, it was easy. I took a few more photos. She didn’t break character. Afterwards, I took a moment to imagine a world where two people can do a thing for each other, be happy doing it, and probably do it again. Only an inner peace can enable that; that, and music. Music has the power to make people happy, to bring people together. Then it was my turn to smile, and she walked away, and I kept smiling realising she had given me a little piece of that thing inside of her.
ABOVE: A Turkish gentlemen dances Bachata on the ship I was riding. I think it was Thomas Hobbs that said people are inherently evil. He’s never been on this ship.I watched this dance pair dance for about three minutes, longer if you don’t count the 15 seconds it took me to photograph the session. Then they just walked away from each other. I later felt the urge to show the gentleman this photo. He loved it and said he didn’t know the woman. I smiled again. Its physically impossible to be mean and certainly not evil in such an environment.
ABOVE: People jump into the Adriatic from an old dock. The water is relatively warm. You just need to watch out for sharp rocks. I didn’t learn how to swim right away when I was younger as a lot of people do. In fact, I never understood why people liked swimming outside of snorkelling. Then I began to think about the idea of baptism or maybe the idea that we are all born in water, those born from a mother.
ABOVE: A pair dance Sensual Bachata on the dock of the harbour with one of Rovinj’s Island in the back ground. The pair left an impression on me. I haven’t met so many total strangers so comfortable with each other. The music that brings people together is stronger than those things that break us apart. If music can do it, what else can?
ABOVE: A piece of Cheesecake…. It that easy. For those of you who know me know I loathe the use of social media to show what I eat when Im out, BUT I didn’t miss the opportunity to do so this time with my camera.
ABOVE: The view from my window. Simply beautiful…. Simply simple.
ABOVE: A woman works attentively on her computer at a cafe that I walk past daily on my way to the beach. It could be a litany of things she is working. I hope it's something productive, something beautiful.
ABOVE: I frequented this cafe along with everyone else that was there for the Salsa Festival. The food was awesome, the hosts were kind and attentive. If you find yourself here, opt for the eggs benedict with salmon. Follow that up with a piece of cheesecake. You are welcome.
ABOVE: I’ve never had a bottle of champagne bust in my face and over my camera before but I guess there is a first time for everything.
ABOVE: The workshops were no less than awesome. Because it was a Salsa Festival, I opted out of the Bachata workshops. This pair, Allan and Katharine, taught us Cuban Son.
ABOVE: A young lady from Italy living in Rovinj for over 50 years sits below my apartment and never moves. She has a lot of cats, a beautiful home with a nice backyard. She is also very nosey, but she has earned the right to be so.