From Moiya on Split, Croatia

** Split

We are on our way to Alexandria Egypt and have three sea days to get there.  Our Deluxe stateroom has a balcony.  Arta is in the room with us.  It is Wyona’s birthday.  This ship is so big and the service is exquisite.  The food is out of this world. 

I want to tell you about our trip to Split, Croatia.  There are so many things I want to know about your mission there Matthew.  How many months did you spend in Split?  Did you ever get to old town?  Greg said that he went up the clock tower and that you could see the whole area from the top.  David went on an excursion while I stayed back to spend all the money....the Kuna.....that Matthew brought home from his mission.  I sent $300 Canadian dollars to Matthew just before he was coming home from his mission about 8 or 9 years ago.  I told him to spend it all and to bring home something for everyone.  He didn’t have time to do that.  Unfortunately, the money was already changed into Kuna in his account, so he brought it home.  Wyona and I shopped around in some of the jewelry stores to find something I liked.  It was after lunch time and Wyona was thirsty so we stopped to get a diet coke from the kiosk.  The lady would not take the 20 KUNA and pointed to another 20 Kuna that she had in her hand.  I have to say that they did look different.  They have changed the look of their currency and it now has so nice shiny stripes on it.  Ours looked old, very old.  We went to a Bank nearby and waited in line.  They could not change the old money for new money and the fellow told us that we would have to go to the financial institution [FINA] to get it changed.  It was quite a ways to go and we were on foot so we (two old sisters with aching feet) started going in the direction we were told to go.  We had not money to buy water or anything.  We had no money to take the #6 bus in that direction.  We didn’t know if we were even going in the right direction.  We just kept asking people if they spoke English and asked for “FINA”.  Some Croatians could help us and some could not.  Wyona’s foot hurt so bad!!!

Oh, I must let you know that the ship was leaving Split at 4 PM.  The last tender to the ship was at 3 PM.  If we don’t make it.............we have to find our own way to the next Port which was the last port on that ship and it was in Venice. 

Wyona and I have shopped until we could drop. We’re trying to speed walk to “FINA”.  Yikes!......Isn’t a BANK a financial institution??????  Why do we have to go to FINA?   

I’ll tell you why ... because we want to spend the Kuna that would have been good for nothing ... no one would even take that OLD money. It is worth about $230 dollars!    We either try to get new for old OR just let that money go to waste.  I COULDN’T DO THAT NOW!     Oh, Poor Wyona.....her feet were sore and she was limping.

Finally Wyona said, “There’s Fina”.

We go in to Fina and I am getting shaky.  I know that my blood sugars are low so I went outside and ate the melon yogurt I smuggled out of the ship.  I always need to have something close by to take care of those lows.  

One other important thing!  I didn’t take any identification with me.  No credit cards.  No passports.  No driver’s license.  I handed the money over to Wyona because she just happened to take her driver’s license.

The only problem now is that the girls in Fina don’t know if that can change the FINA but maybe they could change it tomorrow......That darn Fina!

I was outside trying to eat and Wyona came out an told me they could not change the Fina.  I said, “OK” and was ready to go back to the ship.  She, of course was joking.  So, we headed back to Old Town wondering if we would ever be able to find the shops.  I had no time to shop around anymore and ended up buying a gold pendant for my gold chain and a silver chain for a necklace.  We had enough Fina left to each buy a Gelato and a few pastries.  We got back on the Tender (a boat that takes you out to the anchored ship in the harbor) and made it back to the ship.

I declare......I have never spent that much money so quickly before in my life!

Love to all,

Moiya