"You wanna be on Top"...deck?

Posted on Jul 17th 2008, 10:07

Hey guys,

Topdeck was the most fun I've had in a long time. I can't remember the
last time I went to an Italian toga party, went caving in Slovenia,
drove 10-hours on a dirt road in Albania, or experienced the beauty of
Dubrovnik. Oh wait. I hadn't done any of these things before, so it was
all a new and enlightening experience.

Flotilla sailing was amazing. As a Cape Codder, I think you can tell I
get a little crazy around boats. Well, when I got the chance to skipper
my own flotilla from Plataria to Corfu, I was ecstatic. That feeling
that you get when you lose five pounds or win the lottery or find a
parking spot in New York. That excited. My crew was fantastic (did I
mention it was five beautiful ladies?). Move over Giligan, there's a new
islander in town.

But after the boating, our trip from Albania to Montenegro to Croatia to
Slovenia was unreal. Each country has similarities, but also vast
differences. Albania was probably the most rugged of them all - since
it's borders had only been opened recently to the world, you could tell
there was a lot of international disconnect. With 700,000 bunkers still
in tact from communist times and half the population skeptic of
democracy, it was a cultural exchange.

I would really recommend visiting though. You hear such gripping stories
about how the people were constantly under watch of the government and
thought that their way of life was the only proper one. As you move
further north to Montenegro (keep in mind, this is all on dirt roads),
you can see the slow Westernization of eastern Europe - except for the
rolling blackouts that trapped little old ladies in an elevator. Thank
god for Topdeck Team America (who came and saved the day!)

The Topdeck experience cannot be matched. Note how I'm wearing a "cave
hat" in Slovenia. I wish it was for that purpose. On a Topdeck tour, if
anyone does or says anything ridiculous you can be nominated for the
'donkey hat'. Yeah. Won it twice. Any guesses on what happened? Oh boy, I can tell that will make an interesting read. Stay tuned! :-)

Pblute, Italy, Venice, World Traveler Inter, Wti