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Published: July 10th 2015
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Got up and Simon opened his pressies from the folks back home. After a heartfelt goodbye from the lovely Irena, complete with a bottle of plum grappe, we headed off in the general direction of the coastal road. The route took us up into the mountains and we came across a hamlet (Bunic) that appeared to be completely deserted. None of the buildings had any glass in the windows, the church had no roof and there wasn't a single sign of life. I hopped out of the car, trusty Nikon in hand and prepared to take some shots of the somewhat beautifully decaying architecture. No sooner had I put my finger on the button than a pack of baying wolves came running round the corner. Okay, okay. I confess, it was actually pack of rather moth-eaten mongrels, but one of them seemed to mean business so I retreated as slowly as was possible, whilst preserving my life. Once back in the safety of the car we looked up to see an old lady, dressed in vivid Barbara Cartland pink, minus the caribou feathers, at one of the windows. I got the distinct impression she'd been the one and only resident to
hang on during the war and had decided to stay put. Having searched since, I have found this blog which mirrors our experience and sums it up beautifully.
http://andreweddyauthor.com/croatia/
We too saw the bullet holes in the houses in Gospice and people visiting the graves just out the other side of Bunic. It was a very moving experience. They were immaculately kept, despite being in the middle of nowhere.
NB: I have since read that the church was damaged during World War II and that the Serbs were ordered to leave the village by Brigade Commander after the Homeland War. According to Tony Fabijancic's book Croatia: Travels in Undiscovered Country the lady is Katica (a Croat) and she lives with Milan (a Serb). They live alone on $20 a month from the Red Cross, wash in rain water and have to get water from a well 3 Km away. They begged a man in town for a puppy so they had something. I wonder if one of those dogs was that same puppy.
We drove onwards and stopped at the top of the Velebit mountains to take in the view of the islands. The bura wind
was unbelivably strong. We could barely stand up to be honest. Driving on, we joined the amazing coast road, which looked like something out of an episode of Top Gear (think hairpin bends). The scenery was fantastic and the roads practically empty. The first main town we arrived at was Karlobag, which happened to be Irena's hometown. She had spoken of it fondly, but to be honest we really weren't impressed... not helped by the low cloud, high winds, souless hotel we stopped in for a failed attempt at coffee and the general feel of an ex-military town. Wiki describes it as historic and picturesque. Sorry Wiki, but you are most certainly incorrect!!!!!
We took off and went on a bit of a detour, stopping in Zadar, had a lovely lunch (everything I'd read had said Croatia is rubbish for veggies, but it's just not true), walked down to hear the Sea Organ (Google it on YouTube it's really cool), had a really lovely lunch and admired the buildings. You could easily be mistaken for having been in Italy somewhere on account of the town having been under Venetican rule and then ownership for quite some time! I wouldn't
say it is a place you'd choose to stay in, but worthy of a visit on the way through.
After several texts backwards and forwards, we meet our new host, Yuri. He greets us in the drop-off zone (the only carpark UNESCO will allow in Trogir), with a firm handshake and a huge smile. I instantly take to him for his laid back attitude, ability to impart a huge amount of knowledge in zero time and the offer of parking the car at his house (just off the island) for half what the sharks at the council would charge us. The apartment is fab and we are now off out to celebrate Simon's coming of age with one or two cocktails. Huzzah.
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