“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
– Søren Kierkegaard
Just about two and a half years ago – two years and five months, to be exact – I spent a day on the Croatian island of Iž.
I was staying in Zadar for the week, a coastal city whose old town sits right on the Adriatic, and filled my time with daytrips to various islands in the Zadar archipelago.
There was Dugi Otok, which is literally translated as Long Island, and while I didn’t cover its full length, my legs still burn at the thought of biking up its scrubby, insufferable hills.
There was Pag, with its rocky, almost lunar landscape and a tradition of lacemaking that dates back to the 15th century.
And then there was Iž. An hour and a half by ferry from Zadar (which leaves several times a day), this island won my heart immediately. It has just two villages – Veli Iž and Mali Iž, respectively translated as Big Iž and Small Iž – and these are an easy hour’s walk apart. There were faded wooden fishing boats, stout palm trees, and a coastline so clear I could count the sea anemones scattered below the surface by my feet. Twelve.
But there was another theme running through my week besides island hopping (although let’s be real – that would have been enough). I had recently picked up a new hobby – this little habit of doing sketches when I traveled – and my sketchbook and watercolor pencils went with me everywhere that week.
Especially to the island of Iž.
A couple of years later – two years and four months, to be exact – I found myself in Vienna, scrambling for a last-minute flight to Dublin after an equally last-minute decision to attend the TBEX blogging conference I wrote about last week.
I looked up options leaving from Budapest and Belgrade, Sarajevo and Zagreb, but the cheapest flight was none other than one out of Zadar.
Coincidence much?
Even still, it didn’t instantly occur to me to return to Iž. But then I remembered I had a scan of the sketches I did there, and the more I thought about returning to one of the first places I ever sketched, the more I wanted to make space in my constantly shifting itinerary to do so.
For how often do we get a chance to return to a place we loved?
And not only loved, but a place that saw us at the start of a particular journey in life?
Because that’s really the only way I can describe my love affair with travel sketches – it has been a journey and a process, one little thing zigzagging its way into another. Since my first trip to Iž, I’ve upgraded to proper watercolor paints and better quality pencils (thank you, Kim, Emily, and Nambi!), but on a deeper level, sketching has changed how and why I travel, and has in fact become the very thing that unlocks the stories I love to tell on the road.
And so it was that I decided to return. To once again see those faded wooden fishing boats, to sit along its crystalline coastline (which, admittedly, wasn’t quite as crystal-like as I remembered it being below the moody October skies), and most importantly, to circle back to who I was the last time I was here. I wanted to sketch the island again – and to honor the crazy journeys that life seems to delight in sending us on.
As I sat in the same restaurant in Veli Iž, sketching the very same church as before, there were just two words on my mind:
Thank you.
Your journeys are an inspiration to me and to all those who believe in this magical gift called life. This particular story is awesome simply because it ascertains my belief that you can always connect the dots in your life and everything that happens, happens for your good and for a very good reason!
Keep sketching and story telling.. You are gifted with that.
I can’t thank you enough for your kind words, Meera. I too am a big fan of connecting the dots in life – I often think of them as dominoes as well, and love looking back to see how many dominoes had to fall to get us to a certain point. I’m thrilled to hear you enjoy the stories and sketches I share here – thank you for reading!
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
― Anaïs Nin
Remember this quote? I am so grateful that you took the risk. Look at how your gift has blossomed! You have new eyes and extra colors, too. Thank you for your willingness to risk it all!
And here is a new one for you:
“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”
― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky
How could I forget that epic quote?? Thank you again for sharing it with me so many years ago! And I absolutely love the second one – the part about coming back with extra colors is especially fitting, isn’t it? 🙂
It’s great to see how much you’re sketching has evolved during these years! Returning to a place you loved so much sometimes can be a bit daunting (what if it doesn’t live up to your memory?), but most of the time (specially in these smaller places) it will be exactly as you remembered.
By the way, I’ve started sketching architecture (or better said, recovered this old hobby after almost 10 years…) – Any tips are warmly welcomed! 🙂
Keep on the sketching!
I’m so excited to hear you’ve picked up sketching again, Katherina! Architecture is definitely one of my favorite things to sketch – not least because buildings have this beautiful habit of NOT moving. I’ve been trying to sketch people more and more recently, but I so wish they would stay put as I attempt to draw them 🙂 I’m not sure how many tips I have to offer, but I’ve been scheming about more practical posts to put up after this trip ends, so I will add that one to the list – thanks!
There and back again. What a great story and an interesting reunion with an old place and perhaps an old sketch. I like them both, but I can certainly see the improvement! Great that you found your way back here were able to take stock in your progress and transformation over the years. It also does show that hard work and perseverance pays off. And it certainly inspires me to want to travel sketch 🙂
Thanks so much, Anwar! I love how you described it as reuniting with an old sketch…it did indeed feel that way 🙂 But what I love even more is hearing you might pick up sketching on your next travels…as I know you’ve read here before, it’s now one of my favorite things to do on the road, and I have a feeling you’ll enjoy the process as well!
Your sketches are amazing. Even your ‘least favorite drawing yet’. My attempts can’t even compare 🙁
What a beautiful retrospective and a great way to reconnect with a place.
Thank you, Gayla! I’m so glad you enjoyed the post 🙂
I love your sketches. It brings out the life in a place and what you decide to sketch as well illustrates what you best feel about the place – the highlights.
Thanks for sharing your sketches.
Thanks so much for your kind comment, Clarice. I especially love what you said about the decisions that go into a sketch – funnily enough, I was just thinking about that during my sketching session in Dublin last week! A sketch is really a series of decisions about what we’re choosing to remember from a place, isn’t it? There’s always so much that could be included, but because I aim to sketch on location and usually only have a couple of hours to do so, inevitably I can’t include every detail…as much as I wish I could 🙂 So you’re exactly right – deciding what to sketch is ultimately about deciding what you are most drawn to in a place. Thanks for pointing that out!
What an amazing post. I was surprised that your first sketch of the church was your least favourite but yes, I can see just how far you’ve come and it is wonderful. I haven’t really had the chance to visit places twice but I do travel through my memories in London and I too am grateful for who I have become and the life we have now. Rambling again but I guess this inspired me!
I’m honored that this post might have inspired you, Mandy 🙂 And I love what you said about traveling through your memories – that’s usually how it is in my case as well, so I loved the chance to do some literal re-visiting in Croatia last week. Here’s to looking back and loving the life we have now!
Before-and-afters are my favorite! I’m so glad you got to revisit your sketch spot, and see the place again through new eyes. Thank you for sharing both sets of memories!
You’re so welcome, Chandler – and thank *you* for reading…it’s always so great to hear from you here! PS – I’m thrilled you share my love for before-and-after shots 🙂
Wow. The colors of the water are so beautiful. When I was younger, I used to think that the pictures I saw of water like that were enhanced. Later I realized–that is really how beautiful the good Lord made them!
Thanks, Elora 🙂 I was definitely blown away by the colors of Iž when I first visited the island – the coastline is truly beautiful!
Thank you so very much for my beautiful post card!! I’m putting it on my desk at work to motivate me to keep my travel fund growing! 😉
I’m so glad the postcard reached you, Michelle! And what I’m even happier to hear is that it’s a bit of inspiration to keep saving for that next trip – can’t wait to hear where you decide to go 🙂
beautiful sketch, words and photographs 🙂
which cam and lens???