Written by Christi Sparrow
Did you get tired just reading the title of this post? Because I got tired writing it as I remember the overnight journey our little family of four made via ferry to get from Cervia, Italy to Split, Croatia. Before we left Texas, Jay and I had several very intentional conversations about what we are aiming to accomplish on this trip. One of our top goals is to grow together as a family, and this particular travel day revealed a new facet of that goal.
To me this trip is a marathon, not a sprint. I’d been storing up emotional resilience for about a year before we left the U.S. But this particular travel day truly drained me; and like any good curveball, I wasn’t expecting it. Jay and I had been so focused on packing up our house in Texas, organizing our suitcases, tying up a hundred odd jobs before leaving home, and getting to Cervia for his Ironman race, that neither one of us spent much time planning the logistics of physically getting from Cervia to our next destination: Split, Croatia.
Two days before our scheduled departure from Cervia, I looked into it. Turns out, it wasn’t a straightforward journey. In fact, none of the proposed travel itineraries on my Rome2Rio search left me feeling confident as I pictured each scenario playing out with our four-year-old daughter and one-year-old son. Endless hours on multiple trains? Plus an overnight ferry? Or renting a car and driving for days?? My brain didn’t have enough energy (or willingness) to process these concepts. And right then, barely two weeks into our marathon journey, I felt the telltale symptoms of anxiety. By the way, kids can sense anxiety.
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Let me describe what our little traveling caravan looks like. I wear Camden on my chest in my Tula carrier. On my back I carry the diaper backpack. Jay carries his backpack. We both manage to pull along two suitcases, each of which weighs 50 pounds, (the limit for flying on most airlines), and two carseats. Chloe carries her backpack. We have it down to a (chaotic) science although there’s really no margin for error. If all the sidewalks are smooth and elevators are in working order, we’re golden. If not, our transitions between cities quickly resemble an Olympic sport.
After weighing the options, we chose the trains-bus-overnight ferry itinerary. We explained the plan in detail to our daughter so she’d know what to expect and how long we’d be on the move, (19 hours). Taking the time to set the stage allows her space to mentally prepare and ask questions so she is acquainted with the plan. Remember how I mentioned that this entire trip around the world is like a marathon to me? Well, long travel days are like marathons to a four-year-old, and Chloe likes to be in the know.
Then it was go time, and there was only one way to proceed: with confidence and determination. Here’s how the journey played out. We first took a small taxi to the Cervia train station. This meant that I installed, uninstalled, and packaged our carseats in the span of 30 minutes. No problem. We were then scheduled to take two trains to Ancona, Italy, to catch the overnight ferry to Croatia. Our first train was easy enough: the kids played and ate their way to Rimini with relatively few incidents.
Our first connection was a gamble, as we relied on kind strangers to direct us to the correct platform. Then we hauled ourselves down a long flight of stairs and practically sprinted up another staircase to the next platform. (There was no elevator in sight.) During that next train ride, Camden decided he was over it and could not be soothed unless we let him lick the train window. Yuck. And he’s a pretty easygoing kid, so we knew he was stressed. So we paced up and down the train car with him so he could wave (rather than scream) at strangers. Halfway through that ride, our train experienced technical difficulties, and after an unexpected 30-minute wait, we were ushered onto a third train via a series of steep staircases. Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers because our arms were about to fall off.
Upon arriving in Ancona, we scrambled onto a crowded local bus to get to the harbor. Then, after about 20 minutes of walking aimlessly, ferry boats within view, I sat down along a busy street with the kids and our stuff so Jay could jog around and hopefully find the check-in desk for our overnight ferry. Surprisingly, none of the several passersby I asked knew where to check in for ferries. When I called our ferry company, the representative couldn’t guide me because I had no earthly clue where I was. Thirty minutes later Jay returns, retrieves us, and we start the half-mile walk to the check-in.
At one point Jay may or may not have thrown one of the carseats about 15 feet in frustration. We waited in line for 45 minutes to board the ferry. By this point our calm, level-headed daughter was dragging. We checked in to our little four-berth cabin, (best money we’ve spent on this trip so far), ate our picnic dinner, and settled in for the night.
Believe me when I tell you that we all had the best sleep of our trip on that ferry as it hummed across the Adriatic Sea towards Croatia.
Looking back on that day I’m struck by two realizations. First, I’m reminded that our kids are watching us plan our days, organize our belongings, move to new apartments, navigate foreign transportation systems, and figure out logistical and emotional curveballs in real time as a team. They are learning how to handle life by watching us. And furthermore, because we are all a little outside of our comfort zones while traveling, I feel like they are watching us even closer now than when we are at home. (Heck, I’m watching myself a little closer, too!)
My second realization is about consistency. As parents we try to provide a sense of consistency, safety, and confidence so our kids can just focus on being kids, and hectic travel days are certainly not my idea of a predictable routine. In fact, providing consistency for our kids on this trip was one of my primary concerns before we left, and it’s still one of my primary challenges while on the road. Consistency is certainly more difficult while traveling, but I’m realizing that the core of consistency for our family is each other.
We are learning to rise to meet new challenges big and small, one day at a time, together. And facing those challenges naturally provides opportunities for growth. If our kids learn a little about resiliency, resourcefulness, and positivity, (throwing carseats notwithstanding), and Jay and I learn how to adjust course on the fly, keep cool heads, and find creative solutions, then I think we’re inching toward our goal of growing together.
In the end, traveling on an overnight ferry actually turned out to be a really fun and unexpected family adventure. Chloe got to fulfill her dream of sleeping in a bunk bed. Camden gifted me a seven-hour stretch of sleep. Jay got to use his bungee cords and resourcefulness to secure our luggage in our cabin. And we all got to wave goodbye to a receding Italian coastline and wake up in the morning to greet an approaching Croatian coastline. Onto the next adventure!
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15 thoughts on “A Taxi, Three Trains, a Bus, and an Overnight Ferry”
Love this. It’s real life and we can connect to it. Those unexpected adventures turn out to be the best. The memories made that day will last forever. Everyone looks happy, to are all together and navigating like pros. Keep being AMAZING!
Thanks, Jen! Your comments mean so much. 🙂
What a day! I remember a travel day or 2 like that, great post! Teamwork, yea!
Thanks, Karen! I’m sure it won’t be the last! 😉
Thanks for taking the time to write and reflect. Your sharing these insights leaves me laughing and still praying for y’all! Miss y’all, hugs to all.
Thank you Lynn! We miss you too!
Oh my goodness!! What an amazing adventure you all are on!! Thank you for sharing. You guys are rockstars!! I love your posts! Reminds me a bit of traveling with our two (although they were a bit older). We miss y’all like crazy!! Can’t wait to hear about Croatia. Sending love and hugs!!!!
Thank you Norma! We are having a great time. Miss you guys too!
What a lovely read, the journey must of been so hard and stressful for you all but also so memorable.
The children sound like they made you proud in how well they handled everything.
So very precious.
You are a wonderful little family, love you all xx
Thank you Clair! it was an eventful day but one that created some unique memories for our family.
Love this post! So nice to be able to follow along and learn from your adventures of traveling with two littles. Despite all of the challenges, you all are making so many great family memories. I’m sure Chloe will be talking about that bunk bed for years. 😉
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