By Silvana ‘Nana’ Ivandic-Määttä for totheoceans.com Goes Balkan- programnana@totheoceans.com It was like touching the night sky and swimming among millions of stars. So close to reach — and yet so far away. Leaving a neon trace of light on my skin in the water for a second and then vanishing. What was this beautiful visual…
By Silvana ‘Nana’ Ivandic-Määttä for totheoceans.com Goes Balkan- programnana@totheoceans.com Some years ago, I faced one of the biggest health issues of my life. I broke my hip badly. Suddenly, my active sporty lifestyle with swims, long daily walks and hiking stopped in a one blow. I felt mentally and physically down. I went to operation…
By Silvana ‘Nana’ Ivandic-Määttä for totheoceans.com Goes Balkan- programnana@totheoceans.com As a regular invited blog writer focusing on the Balkan cultures, I would like to this time write about a one small, beautiful, inspirational and somehow still mystical country- Montenegro. I have been visiting and spending lots of time in Montenegro and each time I have been…
By invited guest blogger Silvana Ivandic-Määttä for “To the Oceans Project Goes Balkan”- seriesnana@totheoceans.com As a little child growing up at Croatian coast, Dubrovnik region, I spent time together with the other children while listening to the stories of fishermen and sailors. They were our source of knowledge door openers to new places and distant…
The Balkan myths, legends and worshipping of water. A personal story – with a cultural approach. I grew up in a mixed Catholic and Orthodox family in the former Yugoslavia. My life was between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo and Dubrovnik, Croatia areas, a mix of local cultures. In-between the Croats, the Serbs and the Muslims…
In her previous blog post “The Dolphin Taught Me to Swim”, Silvana wrote about a lifetime experience, how she learnt to swim with the help of a dolphin as a child. The experience had a huge impact as a child, creating a permanent relationship towards marine life. This blog is about this effect and thoughts…
By Silvana Ivandic-Määttä (Nana) As young, I used to spend delightfully long summer holidays at our family house in the Dubrovnik area in Croatia. Practically as soon as I was born, my life and growing up was linked to the beautiful Adriatic sea. As I would wake up at mornings, the gorgeous blue unexplored and…