Croatia....The Vacation!

I have returned alive from my week trip to Croatia with Megan, and figured it was about time to give everyone an update! It was quite a peaceful week, despite many many hours spent on buses and ferries, and best of all, we got to go to the beach and eat gelato every single day. Needless to say it was quite relaxing!

Megan met up with David and I in Torino after a crazy combination of hours spent on the plane and the train (Toronto - Munich - Bologna - Torino) only to be quickly sent on another train ride so that we could reach Ancona to take a ferry to Zadar. Megan was utterly exhausted and spent most of the train and ferry ride sleeping. Granted, the ferry ride was overnight, and we did have the most comfortable couches to sleep on! (I slept all the way as well)

We arrived in Zadar at 6am (i think?) and decided to spend the day exploring Zadar and planning the remainder of our trip in Croatia. Zadar turned out to be quite a pretty city and perhaps one of the least touristy areas of Croatia. We walked through the market and got an amazing breakfast which includes one of the best Nectarines I have ever eaten in my life! We also got what turned out to be our traditional croatian breakfast, some cherry and apple pastries. Oh yummy!

The following day, we really wanted to go see Plitvice, which is Croatias most "important" National Park. It consists of a series of crystal clear turquoise lakes linked by waterfalls. So even though Croatias main industry is Tourism, it turns out that getting anywhere without a car is slightly difficult and terribly set up! To get to Plitvice, the buses only leave at 9 or 10, and the LAST bus leaves Plitvice at 17:20. And the ride usually takes 2 hours. Within the park itself, you must rely on shuttles (bus or boat depending) to get to certain areas of the park. These shuttles run only every 30 minutes. Which means that you get 2 possible itineraries, one that takes 2-3 hours, and the other 4-6 hours. Now here is the problem, because of traffic (for unknown reasons) it took the bus one extra hour to reach Plitvice. By the time we got to the entrance, it must have been about 12:30 or 1. And we had to be back at the latest at 5. So the only option for us was to do the shorter trip, and miss out on the biggest waterfall of the Park. We finished the tour in about 2 hours, and ended up grabbing an early bus back to Zadar. The park was beautiful, but for the effort it took to get there, without being able to see the entire park...

The following day we took a bus to Split (4 hours), which is one of the biggest towns in Croatia. I was told it would be similar to Naples, Chaotic, and was quite looking forward to it. The guy who said so either had never been to Split, or was totally confused about Naples... Split turned out to be a spring board to the Kastella, a series of little towns that used to have castles along the coast, and a wonderful afternoon spent on the beach. We were originally going to walk to 5 or 6 of the towns, but after seeing a very beautiful "castle" and eating a very satisfying lunch next to the beach, we got distracted and eventually fell asleep (after a dip in the water of course!). Now while the water in Croatia is absolutely stunning, the beaches are often "disappointing" for any that like nice sandy beaches. Croatia itself being so arid and rocky, the beaches are most often pebbles and rocks and are quite uncomfortable to walk on. They also make it tricky to get in and out of the water! Lesson learned, always keep sandals on when going swimming.

The next day we took a ferry to Hvar island and I convinced Megan to do this bus\hiking combination that would bring us to Milna where we could have lunch and a nice swim. From Milna, it could either be a hike or a bus ride back to Hvar Town. I have to say that I really wanted to go to Croatia for the beaches, and of course Megans company (having visited so many ruins, cathedrals and some museums in the past few months...) So I was really looking forward to a hike along the coast. Megan opted out and took the bus back to Hvar town so that she could do a little bit of actual sightseeing. The bus part was supposed to bring us past lavender fields which I thought could be extremely pretty. Funny thing is that we did go by some lavender, except it wasnt really my idea of a "field". Mostly some bushes scattered here and there among burnt trees and rocks... :)

The last two days we spent in Dubrovnik, 5 hours south of Split. The old town of Dubrovnik still has fortified walls all around it. Of all the towns, it was certainly the most stunning and beautiful. Right in the center of the town runs one "flat" street. On either side, perpendicular streets reach up hundred of steps leading up to the walls, all stacked with houses and restaurants. Ok so maybe not "hundreds" but all I can say is that the room we had was at the very end of one of these streets, at the very top of the stairs, and with the heat, it was tough! I havent mentioned accommodation yet... The moment you get off the buses, you are greeted by people asking you if you need a room for the night. Many people seem to make a living in Croatia by remodelling their houses such that they have extra rooms for people to rent out for a few nights. We were slightly hesitant at first, but these private rooms turned out to be amazing for us! Being 2 people, it was the same price to have a private double room than to each pay for a bed in the hostels. AND, the private rooms we got were always right in the town center while the hostels were always a bus ride away (not quite as convenient). The room we got in Dubrovnik was wonderful and even had AC. Let me tell you that we took full advantage of it! At first Megan was hesitant to blast it full power, but she did not resist long... We spent part of the afternoon walking around the fortified walls and had some traditional croatian food (stew type) for dinner. For my last day in Croatia, we splurged for a kayak tour, which would bring us around Kolocep, one of the islands off the coast of Dubrovnik, which also included snorkelling. Mostly enjoyable, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant on the island (keener as i am, i had brought lunch, but no one else had, so i caved and also ate at the restaurant). No regrets for caving, because i had some delicious fish - which came fried and not prepared - even the eyes were still there. So i filleted my fried fish and managed to swallow only one fishbone. Woot woot. Also had some "mini hamburgers", bosnia style. Aka, garlic and ground beef, fried in little sticks. The return back to Dubrovnik by kayak was slightly painful as it was sooooo hot and we didnt stop to swim once. Meaning we were sweating like crazy, probably somewhat dehydrated and tired... Not too pleasant.

I abandoned megan that evening by taking the overnight ferry to Bari, Italy, and leaving her alone for one day in Dubrovnik. Which she immensely enjoyed by visiting every possible museum and church I am sure! The ferry to Bari was terrible, in comparison to the ferry we took from Ancona. It was old and certainly did not have comfortable couches!

Good times were had, and it was really fun to spend a week with Megan!