Coasting Through Croatia

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Sea ports, despite having an undeniable romance and charm, are rough places. We’ve seen a fair few of them during this third leg (Porto, Marseille, Portsmouth etc) so feel qualified to comment and there’s no doubt the Italian ones are above average in the scary stakes. Take Napoli (Naples) for example. Despite being just across the bay from sleepy Sorrento, it has a fearsome reputation within Italy. Many parts of it are practically lawless and several car hire companies simply won’t allow their vehicles to be driven there for fear of them being stolen. We were now about to take the overnight ferry from the eastern port of Bari - that turned out to be an “interesting” experience too..............

It didn’t help that, upon arriving at the ferry port, we hadn’t got a clue what was going on other than we were due to sail at 11.30pm (understandably all signs and announcements were in Italian only). The ferry terminal itself was basic in the extreme, consisting of the biggest and busiest open car park you can imagine and not a lot else. We’d arrived mid evening and were counting on having a meal there before boarding but weren’t exactly spoiled for choice restaurant wise. The culinary options consisted of takeaway vans selling either grease laden chicken and chips or unidentifiable pasta dishes that you would have needed a thermal lance to cut. No surprise we decided to wait until we were on the boat itself before we dined.

Our attempts to find out if we were in the right queue, what time we boarded etc were thwarted at every turn and, with our departure time getting closer and closer, I decided to take some decisive action. It appeared that we were the only ones around that weren’t either Italian or some scary looking Eastern European race (it transpired the vast majority of people were Albanians heading home) so I tentatively set off to try and locate a UK vehicle and ask for some advice on what to do from here.

I actually managed to find four high powered, pristine vehicles travelling on UK plates, all of them top of the range expensive models. Upon approaching, each one turned out to be full of dodgy looking sorts who definitely weren’t helpful or, for that matter, British. We saw lots of UK plated Range
Rovers, BMW’s and similar disappearing onto the Albanian ferry, none of them appearing to be driven by British holiday makers. All this at a terminal on the east coast of Italy - very strange.........................

Happily, I can report we eventually drove onto our ferry without any problems in the end and, within two minutes of boarding, were causing chaos. Our cabin turned out to be absolutely tiny (you couldn’t have even got a cat in to see if you could swing it around) so we immediately called down to Reception to see if they had something bigger - maybe a broom cupboard or something. The Croatian staff informed us we were in the biggest cabin on the boat (!!) and most passengers only had reclining seats or would sleep on deck chairs outside.

Thinking, “ok, let’s make the best of this”, we decided to try and make our bunk beds (!!) as comfy as possible. A conversation followed and went something like this:

Me - “Could we have some more pillows please?”

Croatian Lady - “What do you want them for?”

Me (slightly put out) - “For sleeping” (seemed obvious but hey.........).

Croatian Lady - “We don’t have sleeping pillows, only sickness ones”.

Me (confused) - “Pardon?”

Croatian Lady - “We only give out pillows for sickness, not ones to help you sleep”.

Not having a clue what sickness pillows were and feeling this conversation wasn’t going anywhere I was about to thank her and walk off. It was at this point (and not for the first time) Angela saved the day and unravelled the confusion. I suppose the words “pills” and “pillows” do sound similar............... oh, how we laughed!!

In actual fact, the cabin turned out to be more than adequate and, with the Adriatic being as still as a mill pond, we both got an excellent night’s sleep. Early the following morning, we went on deck to watch the sun rise into a clear blue sky as we sailed into Dubrovnik, a city at the extreme southern tip of Croatia. I’ve said before that it’s uncanny how sometimes you immediately get a good feeling about a place and that was certainly true with this part of the former Yugoslavia.

Dubrovnik itself is a very beautiful, historic walled city with a great many stories to tell (it’s also a very small place and we managed to walk a complete circuit of the walls that surround it in a little over an hour). Known as “The Pearl of the Adriatic” it has been attacked and occupied countless times in its past, notably by Napoleon in 1806. More recently it came under siege for seven months in 1991 during breakup of Yugoslavia and sadly 114 people were killed in the violence. Following the end of the war, the damage caused by shelling was repaired by adhering to UNESCO guidelines, with all work sensitive to the original style. It seems incongruous that such an attractive city (George Bernard Shaw visited in 1929 and remarked: "If you want to see heaven on earth, come to Dubrovnik.") has such a history of violence. You certainly wouldn’t believe it now as it has a friendly, relaxed feel and is a very popular tourist destination.

We’d opted to stay some 10km along the bay from Dubrovnik in the delightful resort of Cavtat and it turned out to be a great decision. Dozens of bars and restaurants lined the front just yards from the very expensive looking yachts bobbing on the clearest blue sea you ever seen. Croatia is shaped like a horseshoe of which about half runs along the coast. This means fish features prominently in their cuisine and we certainly made the most of this during our time there. At just about every restaurant we went to we were served a large silver platter holding a wide variety of fresh fish and seafood all grilled over a barbecue as we watched. They take their wine seriously too and, although perhaps a bit dearer than you might think, it is very good.

As we’ve travelled through Europe we’ve realised what a great idea the Euro is, as much for for simplicity if nothing else. Not having to worry about getting currency on arrival in a new country or judge it so you’ve not got any left when you leave has made it a lot easier - that changed in Croatia. This was the first non Euro country we’d been to this leg and it’s amazing how something so simple can cause so many problems. First off I left 340 Kunas (there’s about 9 to the pound) for a breakfast that cost 34 - thankfully my “Financial Advisor” rescued things before the money was collected. The next evening I was feeling generous so gave the waiter two twenty Kuna notes to pay for our evening meal and told him to keep the change. I was a bit taken aback when he asked for more but I suppose it was fair enough as the amount was 350 Kuna not 35 as I thought............

It was time now for us to, in a roundabout way, begin heading home to the UK. From now on Bella’s bonnet would be pointed north and we’d head all the way back through Europe before eventually emerging from the Channel Tunnel. However, we still had a couple of weeks left to take in more sights and places along the way. Our journey began with us heading up the craggy Croatian coast and our next destination of Trogir. What neither of us had realised at first is that Croatia is split into two parts and is briefly interrupted by Bosnia (apparently this was one of the conditions agreed to help stop the war and give the otherwise land locked Bosnians access to the sea). This meant we had to go past gun wielding guards at the border control before driving the 26km back into Croatia (both countries looked very similar, actually..................... ;-) ).

Trogir turned out to be a stunning small island entirely occupied by the walled old town. Our drive there had taken us through rugged white mountains and every building was constructed out of stone quarried from them. This added to Trogir’s charm and the streets were so narrow you could touch both sides at once as you slipped and slid along them. The reason for this skating rink effect was that they are cobbled with the same stone and have become highly polished after hundreds of years of people walking on them.

Our final stop was in the seaside resort of Opatija, meaning we’d now driven the whole length of the country. (Incidentally, Croatia has very strict drink driving laws which have a zero tolerance level not only for the driver but for the front seat passenger too. This has led to much lonely driving for me as Angela, as a result of this legislation, has had to spend most journeys sitting in the back............). Opatija turned out to be a friendly, old fashioned place where there wasn’t a great deal to do other than relax by the sea and enjoy the sun. That suited us just fine........................!!

Our week in Croatia came was now at an end and we headed off with a great impression of this friendly country. After the hustle and bustle of Italy, this neighbour across the Adriatic Sea provided a welcome contrast with its cleanliness and laid back feel (and easily the best roads we’ve seen in Europe). Eastern Europe has always been a bit of a mystery for us, especially since the recent upheaval but, if Croatia is representative of the rest of it, it’s certainly going to be visited again by us in the future.

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Photos

Sunrise Over The Adriatic
Getting the ferry from Bari to Dubrovnik proved an interesting experience to say the least. We managed to complete the sailing without needing any “sickness pillows” at all................................

Charming Cavtat
Our first destination in Croatia was the quaint, friendly seaside town of Cavtat. Just a short drive from Dubrovnik, it was where our Kuna currency confusion kicked in for the first time.

Typically Croatian
This photo was taken from one of our balconies in our Cavtat apartment and, in a way, gives a good snapshot of Croatia. Fresh fruit grows everywhere, the sea is never far away and most buildings are made from the white stone quarried from the mountains in the background.

Delightful Dubrovnik
A small, lovely city that belies its troubled and violent past.

Under The Influence
Croatia has very tough drink driving laws that allow zero alcoholic intake for the driver AND the front seat passenger. Guess who’s sitting in the back............

Tranquil Trogir
A white stone island town - its quaintness even allowed me to forget I’d just had my right arm amputated!!

Slide Away..............
The whole of Trogir is constructed with stone from the mountains that surround it. Hundreds of years of being walked on by pedestrians mean it has become slippy and it can be a case of one step forward, two steps back.

Clear Water, Craggy Coast
Lovely weather, crystal clear water, it seems Croatia’s coast has everything............................but a beach. From what we saw, there’s no sand at all meaning visitors perch on piers or jagged rocks to sunbathe.