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Hi from Živogošće!
The name of the village sounds like a paradox. Literally meaning “lively guests” in Croatian, this locality in southern Dalmatia enters hibernation in the winter months.
In the off-season, there are barely 416 inhabitants here. Once tourists return, already the guests and seasonal staff in the hotel where I work will triple the entire population of Živogošće.
It’s been exactly one month since I was hired as an Experience Manager, tasked with leading a team responsible for everything from guest relations to entertainment, fitness, tours, and all other activities available during one’s hotel stay. In other words, my job is responding to the ultimate topic: “things to do in Živogošće”.
The tricky part is that, right now, there are no guests in Živogošće. Unless the name comes from “lively ghosts”. The season here starts in April and finishes in October.
Before beaches get populated with human visitors – I already explained – cats rule public space and my personal attention.
But even the most intelligent among mammals enjoy the luxury of tourists’ absence in the village. With nobody creating noise, dolphins are happy to visit these shores from sunrise to sunset.
From a quiet room (and rooms in a guestless hotel do get quiet), the sound of a spout from a dolphin’s blowhole easily rips a silent Sunday. Sometimes, I imagine it is humans swimming in the Adriatic. At another moment, it feels like a giant whale piping away from Živogošće’s harbor of Porat (name formed from the word ‘port’). In any case, at the moment, the liveliest part of this environment is the most silent one.
Never before have I checked in at a hotel without guests. As we prepare the property for the season, our crew is getting bigger by the day. However, during the night, when local workers leave to sleep at their homes, walking through dark, silent hotel corridors feels surreal.
I might head out of my room only to grab a piece of bread from the kitchen or to chat with an equally lonely night security guy. The sensory experience of a seemingly abandoned place confirms that it’s not just a hallucination caged in my head.
In deserted hotels, one can easily feel like stepping into “Home Alone” or “Night at the Museum”, adventures where flickering shadows can transform into monsters, ripping a silent Sunday, like a dolphin’s exhale.
Guests will arrive in a couple of months, and the hotel will start breathing with full lungs. Until then, I’ll have to comfort lonely moments by hanging out with my first neighbors, meowing and whistling in quiet bays.
Have a clicking week,
Ivan Kralj
Pipeaway.com
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