Frustration, Kindness and Forced Data Detox
Published December 29, 2019
It’s been a couple weeks since my last post and in that time I have experienced some frustrating lows, some incredible kindness by others and a forced data detox. We spent nearly a week in Venice and are now about a week into a three month stay across Croatia. Let’s start with our time in Venice.
I love Venice, it’s a magical city and absolute eye candy for a photographer or anyone who loves historical architecture and romance. Our first day had us arriving at a rental house on the mainland in an area called Mestre. It was a very cute and comfortable house with a large fully fenced yard that was great for the dogs. And we were just a block away from a public bus that runs into the main city of Venice. Perfect! I spent several days going into Venice to shoot evening light and night shots. You can see a few of my favorite shots below and more on my Instagram feed @VandrarPhotography.
I spent a few days with the dogs exploring the neighborhoods around our rental house, played in a park and got Ozzie a new flying disc which he loved catching! Overall, a very relaxing time in Venice. Until I started packing for our next destination, Croatia. I knew we were passing over a border that would require a stop and check which we hadn’t had so far. Therefore, I was checking to make sure all our documents were in order when I realized the dogs’ pet passports were not in with their medical records as I thought. I searched all my bags, I searched every crevice of the Jeep, I asked a friend to check my house in Spain. Nothing! Now I’m fully freaking out and panicking, so frustrating!!! I immediately reach out to our host Luca who, together with his partner Sonia run CasaLunia, to check if we could stay an extra day or two while I figure out how to get new documents for the dogs. Here’s where one of the kindest acts occurred. Not only did he have extra days for us, but he helped in more ways than I could have ever expected. He had a friend who works in the public veterinary office that regulates any official documents related to dogs, cats, etc. and got the information needed on how I could get travel documents for Ozzie & Booker. First we had to report the passports as lost at the local police station. Luca went with me and translated ensuring the process went much smoother than if I had to do it alone. He also went to the next appointment where we met with the public vet to get further direction on how to proceed. That was a very frustrating meeting where the Italian vet would not accept the records sent over by our U.K. vet and would repeatedly say “if you had the passports I could accept the rabies vaccinations.” Are you kidding me?!? That’s why I’m here, I lost them! We eventually came to a resolution where I would take the dogs to a local private vet and get new rabies vaccs done. That vet would give us a paper certifying they provided the vaccines and then the public vet would give me health certificates that would cover us while crossing the border into Croatia. Why all this hassle? Turns out Italy takes a different approach than the U.K. to how they manage pet passports. Only the public vet which is a government official (think USDA in the USA) are authorized to create or issue any formal documents relating to animals but they don’t administer any medical procedures, hence the private vets. In the U.K., individual veterinarians are authorized to perform medical procedures and issue pet passports. After two days, extra expenses and much stress we had our health certificates and were off to Croatia. I cannot thank Luca enough for all his help. Not only did he provide needed translations, he was a calming and supportive person whose presence was reassuring and helpful. It would have been a much harder experience without him. So if you’re going to Venice, consider a stay with my friend Luca and his partner Sonia at CasaLunia, you’d be lucky to meet them.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casalunia/
Website: https://www.casalunia.com
We have now been in Croatia for a week. After all that stress regarding dog passports, we weren’t even questioned about them at the border. Better safe than sorry I guess. From the moment we arrived at our rental house outside Umag, Croatia, our hosts have been so kind. On the first night here they brought me wine and snacks and chatted with me about all the areas I could go see. They invited me into their home for coffee and continued to check in on me in the first few days. But more importantly, on Christmas morning they stopped by with a tray of cookies and wished me a Merry Christmas. When you’re traveling solo and far from friends/family, this simple act is a lovely thing.
I’ve been using my time here to rest and recharge after two weeks of driving and go go go while in Venice. We’ve done a bit of exploring which has been fun but disconcertingly empty in places. The coast here is mainly dedicated to summer tourism so all the campgrounds, resorts and restaurants that are probably teeming with people in high season are basically ghost towns now. I kinda like it, allows me to go slow and stop and look without the pressure of other people’s agendas or timelines (meaning I don’t have five cars up my ass as I wander my way along the coast, hahaha). Here’s a few photos from the coast near our rental house and the inland town of Motovun which is an ancient fortress set atop a hill. That stormy weather lighting was perfect timing!
There was one grinch-like moment that occurred on Christmas night. Vodafone shut off my data plan, leaving texts and phone calls accessible. Hidden in tiny, minuscule fine print that was not highlighted when I purchased my phone plan, was a restriction by the U.K. regulator Ofcom that limits the amount and time of international roaming allowed on U.K. phone plans. Really. I have no idea why they’d care but regardless I was shut down. After four hours one day and two the next, I finally got that answer and was told that it wouldn’t reset until I returned to the U.K. Lot of good that does me when I’m on an extended road trip and likely won’t be back until June at the earliest. No amount of shaming, arguing or pleading would change my situation, I was forced into a data detox I was not prepared for. I literally felt panicked. What if I couldn’t check in with my family? What if I couldn’t read the news? What if I couldn’t stream videos? I realized that didn’t sound very healthy. And then it dawned on me that I had my USA phone with data that I could use. It would cost me $10.00/day so it’s not a long term solution but it was available. So I used it to inform loved ones of my situation so they wouldn’t worry if I didn’t respond quickly, to research Croatian phone plans and eventually to upload this blog post. Back in business! So my forced data detox lasted all of one day, but it was a shock to the system, both good and bad. I’m sorry, but if given a choice between having mobile data and not, I will pick having it every time. I like to know that I can connect if I want to, I don’t like not being able to control if I have access.
That, my friends is my tale of two incredibly frustrating situations balanced by two very lovely moments of kindness and one short lived forced data detox. I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays and wish you all the very best in the upcoming new year!