Croatia

 Ahhh, Croatia! This is a return that's been a long time in the making. Last time here was in the winter of 1990. Also only the city of Zagreb was visited. This time I spent most of the time along the coast. 

I started at the top of the dalmatian coast, in Zadar. Zadar is a good place to start. It has some old Roman temples (albeit in imagination only since only a column here and a column there has survived) and most interesting of all, it has musical steps!! Yes, you read that right. It's called a sea organ and there's a section of the city's promenade that has limestone steps descending into the sea. With the tide, the water rolls over these steps and like a flute plays a tune with each incoming wave. It's really cool. 

From there I rented a car and drove around a bit. I checked out the Istrian peninsula (top of country) near Slovenia and Italy. At Pula, there's a complete roman coliseum that's still standing and is its main attraction. A bit further north along the coast is the stunning port town of Rovinj. Wow, this place is gorgeous. Let's start with it's shape. Think of an inverted drop. On either side of the skinny side of the drop are ports. The one on the right is for commercial shippers, ferryboats, and cruise lines. The one of the left is for pleasure crafts & personal boats. The top of the drop is Medieval town, built upon a hill (the city walls are either gone or have been incorporated into other structures) with one circular road along the outer buildings with a few breaks that overlook the sea. The "blue-ness" of the sea is in stark contrast to the grey and dark stones of the buildings. OK, so know we've walked the treacherous and slippery cobblestoned street up around the large end of the drop from right to left and we're now coming back down the hill to the old port. And what beautiful port this is. The Riva (what we'd call the dockside, promenade or boardwalk) is lined with sailboats and yachts of varying sizes and cafés of all colors spilling onto the riva. And we're not talking of a couple of feet between the two, no, this is more of a Grand Boulevard with a good 30 or 40 feet between the last café chair and the water. It has an open airy feel you don't get in many port towns. Also at the bottom of our inverted drop there's a grand plaza that connects you back to the commercial port. Needless to say, I really liked this town!!

Leaving the coast temporarily, I head inland to visit one of the national parks. Now I'll be the first to admit that I've become somewhat jaded when it comes to travel as I've seen quite a bit. But today, WOW is all I can say. I spent the day in Plitvice Lakes National Park (this you'll have to look up online because my picture, upper right, will not do it justice). It's in essence a river that has collapsed and created a series of pools connected by waterfalls. The path not only follows the lakes but in parts it's on an elevated 4 foot wide pier that has you walking over some of the falls and even some of the lakes. This gives it a real special feel, allowing you to go where you normally wouldn't be able to. I just know that my limited vocabulary will not describe this place so let me say that if Disney's Imagineering department were ever to create a river walk with waterfalls, this is what they would create. Absolutely stunning!

Before I get back to the coast and board a sailboat for my Croatian island cruise, I had an extra day so I opted for an "out of country" excursion to Bosnia (I know, that's not a name you hear too often). But there's a beautiful town there called Mostar with one heck of a famous bridge. This bridge was built by the Ottoman turks as they invaded Europe back in the 1500s. It was the largest free standing arch for a few hundred years, destroyed in the early 90s when all of Yugoslavia imploded and has since been rebuilt to its former glory (the bridge, not the country). The few medieval streets surrounding this bridge were also rebuilt and its created a charming little town. Even though I'm here in late September, the crush of tourists is almost unbearable..I can't imagine what this place is like in August. 

Alright, it's time to talk about the boat. I was looking for a sail/cruise around the islands but for some reason couldn't find one from the states. Happily though, while strolling the port of Trogir, a dozen ships, all about 150 feet long, were lined up on the dock. My curiosity got the better of me and I started asking about them. As it turns out, Trogir is one of the major hubs for charter boats and I was able to check them out. Yes, cabins were available for one week trips, just what I was looking for, and luck was with me as there was one cabin left (without a single supplement). I booked it and motored off the very next day. Technology does make it easy to change up travel plans. 

The boat went to the very islands I was planning to visit: Hvar, Brač, Korčula, and the coastal cities of Split, Makarska and Dubrovnik. The rhythm of the cruise was slow and pleasant. Daytime cruising. Morning departure then usually a 2 hour swim stop. I swam the first 2 days but the water chilled up ever so slightly that it lost its charm. But the view never did! End of September or earlier would have been perfect for the daily swim! Then a bit of lunch and by the time I'd finish my nap we'd just be gliding into port, and there we'd stay all night. Plenty of time for a leisurely stroll along the quay, a visit here, a visit there, a drink to watch the sunset and then a nice restaurant for dinner. Later, back to the boat for a nightcap or two before nighty night. And the rooms were totally legit! Queen bed, full step-in shower, probably around 150 sq ft in total. Not what I had imagined from the outside so I was very pleasantly surprised. The bulk of the guests were German with a few Brits. I got to practice my German skills (very rudimentary) with some improvement by week's end. I was the youngest passenger, so that was interesting too.

Lots of talk of rheumatoid arthritis and Britain's National Health Service... Not really, just kidding on that last part. But current events were hotly debated. Some of the Brits were born and grew up in rather exotic locales: Sri Lanka, Singapore, Kenya. I tried to get their stories but everytime I'd broach the subject they'd start but then drift off into some random topic that held nothing of value to me. 

Here's a quick example of an exchange not 2 days ago. 

Me: Sri Lanka, huh? Wasn't it Ceylon back then? 

Victoria (...of course!): Oh yes. It was quite lovely. And we had a lovely yard too. Even had a tea plant. 

Me: It is famous for tea.

Victoria: Oh yes. But you know, I didn't like it with lemon back then. It was my Graham (her deceased husband, 15+ years ago) who really got me to take it with lemon. But we had trouble in preparing it in our camper, you see. The kettle wouldn't work while he was driving and....

Me (trying to get back to life in Sri Lanka): Oh that's funny...so how long did you live in Sri Lanka?

Victoria: Well let me see now. We boarded the Windrush in... you've heard of it I'm sure. The Windrush?

Me: You mean the Windrush scandal? Wasn't that Caribbean kids? 

Victoria: Well yes, mostly. But the ship was called...

And on it went... it was fun but I never got what I was after in the end. 

In sailing through the straights, a variety of islands could be seen. Some were barren rocks, others green with vegetation. The cities became copied versions of themselves and the more we visited the more they resembled one another with slight variations. Hvar has a castle above the harbor, Korčula's castle is at the waterline. Each town has a venetian style bell tower reminding everyone of Venice's importance back in the day. And most of the Roman ruins have been built over by a church. Either that or their stones were used to build the church.

Quick city recap: 

Split: the capital of the coast. Huge port town and the hub of all ferries. Extra wide Riva lined with cafés. The amazing fact about this place was that 1/2 of the town was once the palace of Diocletian, a former Roman emperor. Parts of it are still standing.

Dubrovnik: this town has graced a postcard or two. It still has its complete ramparts surrounding the city. It's rather small with only two streets going from gate to gate (east to west) at the bottom of a small valley that's enclosed by the ramparts. On either side of the main streets, it's stairs, stairs, and more stairs. And the crush of tourists is absolutely overwhelming. My prediction is that this town will be charging an entrance fee (like Venice) within the next 5 years. 

Alright, it's time to mention Game of Thrones. You just can't escape it especially in Split & Dubrovnik. Some of the scenes were filmed here and so are swamped with fans, mini museums and tours. Dubrovnik was the inspiration for King's Landing and lots of street scenes were filmed here. Split was used for locking up Daenerys' dragons and more street scenes. 

I think that's it for now. Tomorrow I'm off to Greece. 

Be well.