Hi from the blue Adriatic!

Croatia has recently been crowned for having the cleanest sea, but the last time I dipped in, between work shifts, the temperature of the water was extremely high. In fact, a couple of weeks ago, the Croatian town of Dubrovnik recorded the warmest sea temperature ever measured in the country – 29.7 degrees Celsius.

The entire world broke the record for the highest average temperature last Monday – 17.15 degrees!

In some tourist spots, the situation is so dire that water-saving measures were introduced. A town in Mallorca is the latest to cut off the supply between 11 pm and 4 pm, leaving the water available only for 7 hours a day.

The climate is crumbling apart, and it’s not unusual that, besides the Olympics, one of the hottest news stories at the moment, people are open to inventing more doable forms of competition. Such is testing the endurance in chair-sitting, which reminded me slightly of Montenegro’s lazy contest.

Don’t underestimate new sports that could end up being part of the Summer Olympics. After all, there were quirky Olympic contests before too, from live pigeon shooting and pistol dueling to painting.

More hot and medal-bearing stories stole the attention in the past weeks. If you’re under the scorching Sun, find comfort in this week’s spotlighted feature, on the hottest place in the world where people still live!

Find this in today’s newsletter:

• Words: Airport analytics.
• Images: Somewhere, over the rainbow.
• Numbers: Gold medal for working too much.
• P.S.: The Swiss army knife of connectivity.

Have a cool week!

Ivan Kralj        
Pipeaway.com

 

Silly Side: Why did the marathon runner become a travel agent? They wanted to go on long journeys without all the running. Sprint through our stories and click on those that deserve medals!

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Hi from Bale!

Here I am, back with the (every other?) Monday newsletter on extraordinary travel. As you might have read in the previous write-up, I changed my Croatian whereabouts from Ugljan Island to the Istrian peninsula in a month, still trying to get the grip of a normal rhythm.

Bale I’m at is not The Bale resort, a spectacular honeymoon hotel I visited in Bali seven years ago. My Bale is a small Croatian town, the former home of dinosaurs, and today’s resort of endangered butterflies. A romantic corner of Istria.

Interestingly, the hotel I’m working at is the same place that appeared in my Croatia honeymoon guide you can find in the feature spotlight this week. When I was writing this article a year ago, I had no connection with the hotel, and only a chance brought us together so that today if you actually follow the guide, you might even encounter the writer at the premises of one of the recommended places to stay.

Just these days, when people were advised not to spend too many hours outside, as the weather conditions were compared to hell, our hotel hosted a wedding for a charming couple. We were all melting, as the changing climate is becoming ruthless.

Working under a heatwave is definitely not easy. I can relate to Greek dissatisfaction with the introduction of a six-day working week, while at the same time, the UK sees the future of work in shorter, four-day work weeks.

Workers in tourism are in a very peculiar position. Their days are sometimes divided into double shifts, very looooong shifts, and rare hours or days of rest.

Our workaholic civilization is advancing and, at the price of success, we are sacrificing workers’ free time, time to work on private projects they are passionate about, even time to write newsletters like this one.

Thanks for being patient with me, and following along, even when I skip a week.

Find this in today’s newsletter:

• Words: Turbulent times, from Spain to Uruguay.
• Images: The way of water and air.
• Numbers: To pee or not to pee?
• P.S.: Train adventure awaits.

Have a four-day working week, if you can!

Ivan Kralj        
Pipeaway.com

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Hi from Istria!

Here I am, out of the blue, with the newest edition of Pipeaway’s weekly travel newsletter.

Well, isn’t that ironic? First, I was two days late with the edition #134. Then I missed an entire week. And another one.

Please accept my deepest apologies for leaving you stranded without an expected Monday dose of extraordinary travel news!

The month of my birthday was June from hell. That could be an exaggerated statement, as I learned something and also had fun on Ugljan Island. I met new colleagues, and possibly even friends.

But if we put the social aspect aside, the tourism business project I came to help out turned out to be something else. It was draining time and energy, yet not promising results that would make me proud of my involvement. Is that worth sacrificing one’s projects for? If I have to deprioritize my website and this newsletter, what am I deprioritizing them for?

The benefits of a salary can only fulfill to some extent. There are many more dimensions of a job that need to grow into a worker, so they can fully identify with it, and continue giving their best.

If your enthusiasm and the vision of your employer misalign, I believe that leaving is a better option than pushing one’s head into the sand.

So I quit.

The flat in my hometown was canceled, and without a job, I was practically homeless. Yet, I didn’t want pragmatism to distort my work ethic and personal integrity. If the business idea changes, and I stop believing in it, I’m better off away than finding comfort in the founding stone of capitalism – money.

It’s scary to abandon a well-paid job and be threatened by an unemployment abyss gaping in front of you. Yet, the decision was a good one. In a matter of days, I got several offers for already established top Croatian resorts, and I decided to accept the one in Istria.

So instead of spending the summer on the quiet island across Zadar, I’ll now aim to give my best in my favorite Croatian region, near the town of Bale.

In the featured spotlight, I’m reminding you of my previous tourism sector working experience in Istria, but also…

Find this in today’s newsletter:

• Words: Poops, airstrips, and close encounters of the bird kind.
• Images: Nature’s surprises – from greatest summer yeses to hail no.
• Numbers: Land attractions and plane disruptions.
• P.S.: Savings meet suitcases.

Find your place. Have an enthusiastic week!

Ivan Kralj        
Pipeaway.com

Silly Side: Why did the travel agent bring a parachute to work? In case the job ever fell through. Explore our stories and click on those where your curiosity lands!

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Happy Wednesday!

The Monday newsletter arriving mid-week? Surprise, surprise.

Indeed, I disappeared. Not in a way that I ran away from everyone and everything.

Sometimes, you could prefer to lock yourself in some impenetrable castle, but life is rarely such a fairytale.

But I did feel locked last week. I moved to the Croatian coast, to help out one luxury resort in the pre-opening phase. It sounds more glamorous than it is. Mostly physical work, arranging private villas, furniture, and other equipment.

It’s easy to feel defeated after 12 or 14 hours of hard labor which leaves just a few moments to breathe.

This newsletter fell victim too, and I turned out to be not one, but two days late. I’m sorry if you were hopelessly waiting.

So without further ado, let’s dive in!

Find this in today’s newsletter:

• Words: From smiles to tears.
• Images: Natural and less natural spectacles.
• Numbers: Money makes the world go round.
• P.S.: June e-SIM specials.

Have a lockless week!

Ivan Kralj        
Pipeaway.com

Silly Side: Why did the dollar go on a trip? It wanted some change. Take a journey through our stories and spend your clicks wisely!

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 FEATURE SPOTLIGHT 

 

Father’s Day in Absence

In the United States, the third Sunday in June holds a special significance as Father’s Day. I never celebrated it, but for three years and five months now, my Father is not around. It was the cancer that ate him slowly for thirteen years, claiming victory in the last round. For me, his journey stayed a reminder of how important it is to take care of yourself.

Hi from Zagreb!

I spent a lovely week in Spain with my Greek friend Nikos, hoping I would get some much-needed sunshine. And thanks to the deceiving Lanzarote winds, I got it, in the form of some burned skin, together with inflamed sinuses. I would still do it again!

You know I was worried about my hand luggage exceeding Ryanair’s size limit. On my way back from the Canaries, I barely avoided the crew scrutinizing my bag further by strategically holding it on one shoulder further away from their sight. When I sensed they were trying to see what I was carrying, I started to be more vocal about how the scanner seemed to not detect my boarding pass, which was enough to push their attention away and keep fee punishing for some later customers. Phew!

But now I read that the Spanish government hit low-cost airlines, including Ryanair, with fines totaling €150 million for charging passengers extra for cabin luggage. Consumer groups called out the abusive practices, and in the future, even seat selection charging should change.

It’s kind of absurd how I try to deal with the limits of baggage space, and then return to my Zagreb flat only to deal with more life baggage. As I’m moving out, and leaving for new adventures, I realize I can fill a Harry Potter-style room under the staircase to the brim. It’s not much, but then also, it’s a lot. Maybe it’s my own Hogwarts magic in that storage room.

Sitting in an empty flat is a bizarre experience. I called it a home, something I could return to, for 10 years. At the moment, it’s just a chamber of echo, where sound resonates a tad longer after you take all the stuff out.

It’s practically an empty shell now. You know how shells sound: as if they’ve soaked up all the sea waves. If you want to know what shells look like, see them in many forms on X.

There’s much more to our weekly world voyage, but first…

Find this in today’s newsletter:

• Words: Prizes and surprises.
• Images: Say cheese!
• Numbers: The mountain of fees and snails.
• P.S.: If you still haven’t lost your appetite, here’s a discounted meal!

Have a luggage-free week!

Ivan Kralj        
Pipeaway.com

Silly Side: Why did the snail carry cheese on its back? To have a little "brie-ak" on the go. Take a slow crawl through our stories and click on the ones that get your heart beating faster!

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Hi from Lanzarote!

I’ll have a heavy-working summer. So when I saw Ryanair tickets to the Canary Islands on sale, I decided to book a last-minute trip.

Of course, those tickets can be cheap if you minimize your luggage, as add-ons, often known as junk fees, are those that rob your wallet. Luckily, I already had the experience of traveling to Greece for a month with hand luggage only, so I figured, surely I can make this week in the warm, African part of Spain doable.

My hand baggage is a tad larger than the officially allowed dimensions, so I always wonder when I’d get slapped with a fine. But then I saw what another Ryanair passenger in Spain did when the low-cost airline informed him he would have to pay an additional €70 because his carry-on exceeded the hand luggage dimensions. As he paid €30 when he purchased the suitcase 10 years ago, Daniel decided he would rather break the wheels.

Passing the check-in, security, passport and customs control, or even boarding, can be quite a stressful experience. It’s important we come to the airport prepared, and that includes defining what type of travelers we are.

When I went on my first 5-month-long trip, I knew that the bag I carried should be aligned with my travel identity. Am I a backpacker in hostels, or do I see myself rolling my suitcase into a luxury hotel lobby? In the end, I bought a backpack that had wheels, a two-in-one. But everyone decides for themselves.

You can read more on these dilemmas in the feature spotlight, but also…

Find this in today’s newsletter:

• Words: Soft drugs, hard turbulences, and traveling in fur-st class.
• Images: From sky blues to mullet crews.
• Numbers: Longest, heaviest, priciest.
• P.S.: The sea of savings.

Have a wheely good week!

Ivan Kralj        
Pipeaway.com

Silly Side: Why do French people eat snails? Because they don't like fast food. A security guide who scanned me for explosives at Zagreb Airport told me this joke, so I decided to smile at it, and share it here. Take your time detecting stories, shots, and stats that make your heart beat faster, and click on them, as that helps the newsletter grow and advance.

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