The Last Day of My Much Needed Getaway

I desperately needed a vacation, after having been burnt out, but as my luck would have it, I ended up testing positive for corona on my first day there, so needed to spend my vacation in quarantine. To be honest, I didn't mind too much that I was in quarantine since my intention really was to veg out and chill and relax, not to sightsee, and for that reason, I chose a beautiful apartment with a jacuzzi (that I was able to afford because my amazing friend sponsored it), so it was a very pleasant and quiet and relaxing quarantine. I couldn't have asked for more perfect timing. Other than one thing. 

I tested positive for corona in the late afternoon on Friday, my first day there, and after having tested negative on days 4 and 5, I was allowed to come out of quarantine on Tuesday, late afternoon. My bus ride home was originally going to be Tueday morning, and so I'd booked my stay from Friday until Tuesday morning. Because of quarantine and not getting out until after my bus would have been, I decided to stay over another night instead of going home after and getting home really, really late. But since I hadn't planned on an extra day, I tried to find the cheapest place to stay that wasn't a shared room in a hostel and I found one for $54. The first place I stayed at let me leave later than the general check out time, and the second place let me check in earlier so that I wouldn't be out and about before quarantine was over (even though just about 2 hours later I was allowed to leave quarantine), and got special permission from our ministry of health to change quarantine locations (which was hilarious because it was just for the last few hours of quarantine).

The second rental I stayed at was... basic. Reminded me of a cheap but clean motel you'd find along the interstate highways. Tiny, but clean.

I was surprised at the non matching bedding. Not that it wasn't a comfortable bed, nor did it affect my sleep, but it just could have easily been made to look nicer than it did.

There was a TV but I'm not a TV person (I like choosing what I want to watch instead of just seeing what is on), and it wasn't connected to Netflix, so I just used my computer to watch stuff.

It was officially supposed to have a kitchen but it was just a mini fridge, microwave, and kettle. But it wasn't terrible because I had ready to eat food to eat (yogurts and cheese and crackers and fruit) so the lack of the kitchen wasn't a big deal for me, but probably would have been if I'd stayed there longer. But I would have hated staying there longer since it was just a small room, and I would have gone stir crazy had I been in quarantine there. But it was a fine enough place to leave my things and to sleep, and as soon as quarantine was over I decided to hit the beach.

I brought my flippers and snorkel with me because when I snorkeled in Greece it was such an amazing, relaxing, and meditative experience, but unfortunately, because of how it was stored, my snorkel broke. There are places near where I stayed that rented out snorkel equipment and let you snorkel and swim with dolphins and see the coral reef, but I didn't need that, and didn't want to pay that much money (quite pricey) but still wanted the meditative snorkeling experience. I knew anywhere near the beach would cost a lot more money for anything related to swimming, so I found a toy store on my walk to the beach and bought a decent snorkel there for $15 instead of the $85 it would have cost to rent the snorkel equipment and swim with dolphins. And now I have a working snorkel (that I will store more properly so it doesn't get ruined).

So at the beach I had a nice time snorkeling for some time, and in between snorkeling and after, I grabbed a beach chair under an umbrella (free there, unlike at some other beaches in my area) and chilled, reading a good book.

I also walked along the boardwalk and enjoyed the sights, including the boats in the marina and the nature all around...

Last time I was in this city was with my children after our trip to Bulgaria, and it left me disappointed, and I didn't see what people loved about it. But this time, I got to see that what was nice about the place was that it was totally chilled and relaxed there, and it just was a pleasant place to be and spend time, even if the "happening" things are quite expensive overall. In other words, it was a good place for a relaxing break for me, but my children definitely enjoyed a place with "things to do" and the attractions that would have intrigued the kids there were quite pricey. But for me, it was perfect. Magically relaxing.

Even at night it was just an enjoyable place to be.

Of course, this was the down season there, so much fewer tourists. I have no idea what it is like when it is packed with tourists during the high season.

The last thing I did before I headed back to my room was stop to get my kids souvenirs. My boys didn't know what they wanted, and they wouldn't have appreciated most of the souvenirs, but it was really hard for my girls that I went away and they asked me to bring them back a souvenir, so I browsed through a bunch of stalls selling souvenirs, and many of them had similar themes, mainly shells and dolphins. I wasn't sure what to go with, but eventually found a stall where they sold necklaces. They write someone's name on a tiny shell, then put it in a little clear container along with other decorative items, and then use that as a charm on a necklace. I got the girls each one of these, and chose a dolphin shaped container, and they filled it with colorful beads in addition to the name shell. 

My girls loved them. So it was a good choice.

After some wandering around, and eating at a restaurant for dinner, I headed back to my room, had some wine that I'd brought from home (front desk had a corkscrew and wine glasses), watched a movie, then headed to bed.

I came home in the morning fully refreshed and ready to deal with life again. 

Exactly what the doctor (or therapist) ordered.

I am so glad I had friends willing to help with my kids while I was gone, and another friend who sponsored this. Because it made all the difference. Couldn't have asked for better.

If you needed a getaway from life, a vacation, what would be the perfect type of vacation to help you recharge?