Croatia!

Hey Folks!!! I'm back safe and sound from Croatia!!! (Sadly I still don't have internet - or a fix line - at home probably until the end of July so posts will be few and far between....) But here is my Croatia post, check back later to see pictures that I'll add in the days to come! :-)

On June 29th after a 9-hour layover in Budapest my friend Louise and I arrived in Dubrovnik. Our first view of the city was incredable! It was around 11pm and the walled city was buzzing with activity and the most beautiful part was the light reflecting on the smooth marble streets. Over the next 3 days we walked the tour of the ramparts (about 2km in 35C heat with no shade!!), took a boat to Cavtat where we swam in the crystal clear Adriatic (and I got suckered into watching the England-Portugal World Cup match) and went on a guided kayak tour. On the tour we paddled across to Lokrum Island where we were greeted by Easter-Island-type men standing erect on the nudie part of the island! After a dinner of fantastic fried calamari we treated ourselves to a cocktail on the terrace. The bars there are amazing as they quite often they put sofas or comfy chairs out to sit on - excellent!!

We were, however, rudly awaken in the wee hours of the morning by the most intense electrical storm I have ever experienced! The thunder and lightening must have been over our heads and was so intense that the door to our room flew open!!! Luckly the torrential rains stopped before we had to walk to the ferry docks!

We had a 4-hour ferry ride to the island of Korcula and stayed the night in the "Happy House" youth hostel... It was nice to have a bit of the youth hostel atmosphere as up until that point we had been renting rooms in B&B type situations. A night out on the town with a real mix of English, Kiwi, Aussie, South Aftrican, American, Dutch, Dannish etc nationalities. It made for a crazy night of hilarious conversation. Before leaving the island we explored the walled city of Korcula, climbing the tour of Marco Polo's house and peeking inside a beautiful cathedral. We had to take a very local bus to the other side of the island (Vela Luka) to catch our ferry.

So a few hours later we arrived in the port city of Hvar on the island of the same name. To find our hotel we had to climb our way through the maze of nameless stone alleyways. Over a yummy seafood dinner in a restaurant filled with Aussies, I secretly celebrated the 4th of July. :-) We reserved a day trip the next day to see some caves on nearby islands. It was one of the best day trips I've ever tkane. An early morning departure took us to a small island, Vis, where we saw the "Green Caves". The boat anchored just outside and we jumped into the clear sea and swam into the caves. There was a hole in the roof and where the light shone through into the water it turned it a beautiful spectacular green. The next stop on the tour was the "Blue Caves" where we boarded small moterboats and went into the caves. Once inside the interior was dark except for an intense blue light coming from the sea! It was one of the most beautiful things that I've ever seen and a truly magical moment. We had a 3-hour break in the town of Komiza where we bathed in the sunlight and the sea :-) The island of Vis itself has an interesting history as while under the formor Yugoslavia no foreign tourists were allowed, it was a military base. As Croatia only became a state 15 years ago this island is very little developed touristically compared to the others we visited.

When we arrived back in Hvar (a bit sunburned...) we decided to try the "Golden Shell" restaurant recommneded by the hotel. It was amazing food with fantastic flavors and sauces! I ordered the lamb in coconut sauce and herb gnocci - delish!

On Thursday we took a long hike up to the Spanish fortress overlooking the city. The view was amazing, especially the contrast between colors, the orange tile rooves against the turquoise Adriatic... Then we were off to the another ferry for the city of Split. Split very much has a big city feel but the town center is very nice. It (the town center) mainly revolves around the ruins of Diocletian's palace which dates from the 300's AD. We visited the bottommost ruins as they are still very much in tact having only been excavated about 50 years ago. We also saw an amazing cathedral full of relics and hiked up the 143 steps to the top of the bell tower for a stunning view of the city. Nearby was the temple of Jupiter, it was my first time seeing real ruins from antiquity having never really explored Italy or Greece. Impressive seeing things built 2 centuries ago with such precision and creativity.

Besides the palace and the many shops there isn't much to do tourist-wise in Split so we spent our last afternoon wandering around, taking pictures and eating ice cream - I love vacation! It has been an amazing 10 days, nothing like I would have expected but then again I'm not quite sure if I actually did have expectations... up until a few years ago I had only traveled in countries who's cultures, history and language were at least a little familiar. But it is such an eye-opening experience to travel to a place like Croatia. It was so unfamiliar. Upon arrival I realized we didn't even know how to say "Thank You" (which we quickly learned thanks to an Italian in an ice cream shop! "Hvala"!) Nor did I know that Croatia didn't even become a country until 1992 or that Dubrovnik lay under seige for over a year just 15 years ago...

Rarely have I ever been so touched by the genuine kindness of the people we were in daily contact with while traveling. The staff in tourist shops that took the time to explain in careful detail about the local specialties, not looking to make a sale but sharing the pride of their country and culture. The old men and women who would stop to help us with directions without being asked and without speaking English, just hand guestures and smiles.

I left Croatia with an amazing experience of a friendly people, facinating history and an absolutly stunning natural landscape!

If that is not a Croatian tourist board add then I don't know what is!!! :-)



- Stay tuned for the next post... my 24 hour layover in England :-) and pictures!