From Nomadi With Love or How beautiful Croatia - Dalmatia is

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Vacation time! Where shall we go this time? Let us visit the beautiful coast of Croatia – Dalmatia!

I prepared a brief plan containing everything from the links, where we could sleep, eat, what to visit…

The main cause of planning is to calculate all the costs to see if we can afford a trip and especially to find the best opportunities for sightseeing. The plan is not intended to be followed up strictly and as a sheep follow my instructions. It's designed to know that for 1^st of November, the boat on Korcula does not drive as often as we need it, but that the amusement park is already closing the first weekend of our journey and that we cannot stop back from the trip and that the tickets to visit Krka National Park are cheaper if we see it in November. And above all, we were somewhat limited by the dates of the closure of the campgrounds.

Dalmatia at the end of October and the beginning of November is wonderful. There are no crowds, no tourists, and the landscape was very colorful. We were lucky of having a great sunny weather for most of the trip. It was also very windy, but just because of the wind, the sun was shining. Prices are off-season much lower, campsites have special cheaper offers, while all regular things still function (ferries drive normally, ....). The locals are very kind, because they've been getting some rest from the summer crowds. The bars are mostly closed. It didn't bother us, because that was an opportunity for us to see how life really is here, not when it's all shining for tourists.

Day 1: Obrovac or Everything is just for us

We left school and jobs early on Friday. At Ema's school, every Friday I pick her up, the kids are wondering, "Where does Ema go this time?" And sometimes I feel pretty bad, because in those kids, I see a desire for how much they want to go too.

Our journey began with a ride to the border with Croatia (clear that there, where else should it be? On the way to Austria?) We drove by Partizanka road – a road that leads past Žužemberg – a road that has a million bends and we've had enough of it, and we haven't even gotten anywhere. We promised next time to go to Dalmatia on the highway to Zagreb and then in the direction of Dalmatia. After a short breake, the crisis has passed. Ema read the books again, and I was looking for the USB key that my friend Žiga made me music for the whole trip. It does not pass a minute of listening when Rok gets quite nervous that he would not listen to Siddharta again, but also not to Gibonni (Croatian singer). That he would listen to the radio. That there's more music in there, and they say something there. I don't know whether to admit it or not, but because of his statement, I was totally offended. I prepared music for a few hours of listening with lot’s of songs and performers, including those who are ours, the family,..... and he would rather listen to the radio??????

And finally, we arrived in Obrovac. A town situated next to the steep banks of the Zrmanje River. An unusual place where a few Serbs had been dwelling before the Croatian war and the city, where even Elan had its own factory. Today, the city lives. It seemed to me that despite the unfinished or unbroken houses, the city still insists and does not surrender.

Camp Obrovac Village Zrmanja is a few kilometers south of the city itself. Climb down the Bend Road to the hill and almost miss the intersection in the village of Kruševo. It does not write the same on the signs, as we expected, but it mentions the camp as an organic farm or something like that. The camp is very beautiful. On arrival we noticed that they also offer horseback riding. The reception and other buildings in which there is a bar and the Home Inn are new or very nicely restored. It's all sorted out, clean... We are kindly accepted and transported to the area where we can park Oliva. We're the only ones. They only open the bathroom for us. And this bathroom, as we have never experienced in any of the campgrounds. Beautiful, clean and especially warm. But I can't imagine how they can handle such a small bathroom when the campsite is full.

Amidst the camp pool, despite the cold and bad weather, clean and ready to bathe. Around the pool - mobile homes. A little higher a space for campers (flat floors and connectors for water and electricity), and beyond that, the area with olive trees where it can be camped. And peace. Perfect peace.

We went for a coffee at the pub, and we were the only ones. The camp worked just for us.

At night, we first experienced how it was to sleep at the Velebit Bora.. It's been a little bumpy, so I've been thinking about protecting Emo, if Oliva turns over. I wasn't asleep all night, I was terribly scared. Ema and Rok slept like a cannon. I envied them very much.

In the morning, we woke up in the beautiful sun, albeit slightly cold. We eat breakfast in beautiful nature. We soon said goodbye and went back to the city of Obrovac. That's where I made a deal with the owners of this camp for boat rides and a tour of the Zrmanja Canyon. As a guest of their camp we had a discount because the service was offered by the same owner.

We were welcomed by the captain and we were the only guests - again. The boat trip was meant for us only. So the captain could take the time to tell us a lot of interesting things about the Obrovac, the canyon and the way they filmed Vinetou on the slopes of the river. He also told us that the film team had two wild goats on the shooting, which then left them right there and how these two goats and all their youngs can be still seen today.

The canyon of the river Zrmanja is a natural park and is the most beautiful thing we have ever seen. A quiet river in which the banks grow in a vibrant yellow colour, and the slopes rise sharply over it. Autumn Colors made the canyon even more magical. Nature really played and created something wonderful. After a bad hour, we sailed to the estuary in Novigradsko more. The Maslenica Bridge has been well seen. On the way back, Ema was allowed to drive the boat. If it wasn't so nice, that ride back would have been a bad memory, because it was getting cloder every minute. We stoked together and got a dog to warm up. A visit to the canyon is highly advised, maybe just a little bit warmer.

Day 2: Fun Park Mirnovec or How to amaze Ema

Every trip we prepare for Ema contains at least one surprise. After viewing the canyon of the River Zrmanja, we headed towards Biograd na Moru. But since we're always talking about what's on the way, we just had to make a fair effort to think about where the path is going to lead us now. We just told her she'd like it. And when we brought to the near-empty parking lot of Mirnovec's Park, from the last bench one could only hear loud laughter and screaming of joy.

We had a great day and Fun Park Mirnovec since we visited on the last day of opening. Besides us, there have been only 10 other cars parked infront of the park. We had the park for ourselves. Nowhere to wait! On the death train, I was almost the only one, and I rode a couple of times in succession. The Park is not huge, it is unparalleled by Gardaland, but to visit it a few days before Halloween, when everything is beautifully decorated, and almost noone there, it was a unique, ideal and excellent experience. The tickets were at a much lower price, only the restaurant didn't have the full food supply available. We were satisfied with the pizza. After three hours, we had enough. Ema has made all the rides as far as she wanted and there was no problem when it was time to leave.

Day 3: Primošten or How to catch a ferry to Pelješac

After visiting the amusement park we decided to sleep in the camp Adriatic Primošten . We were almost the only ones in the camp again. We set up just behind the entrance, next to the first bathroom and with the last of our powers went to Primošten. Rok and I were there a long time ago, and in our memory, we remembered a metal-built climber – a mountaineer who was placed on a wall in front of one store. We were going to find it again and we were tired of all day anyway, but walked all the streets from the beginning to the church on top..... several times. And found nothing.

In the morning we continued our journey along the coast towards Sibenik. Just in front of Sibenik, turne left, heading highway. We're on a very winding road. Interestingly, the coast is all adapted to tourists, but when you turn a little off the road, the world is completely different; Less entertaining, less gaudy and above all more realistic. We climb high and get on the freeway. For a joke, I check the ferry from Ploče to Pelješac. I figured we're probably going to miss it for a minute or two, and for the next we should wait three hours. And Rok presses on the gas, Oliva incorporate its turbo drive and it seems to me that we were just flying towards the Ploče. And we really managed to get into a port where the ferry is still waiting... On us? When I bought the ferry tickets, I saw a small group of motorcyclists. I guess we weren't the last. But we caught him for the last minute. Bravo Oliva! Bravo Rok (which due to hunting the ferry failed to get to the coffee on the way)! And what was also gratifying? We pay for ferry for Oliva the same as if it was a personal car. This is our one of the major advantages over a larger mobile home. On the highway, unfortunately, the Croats set a limit at 190 cm height, and we are 199 high and we pay a higher toll.

On the deck of the ferry, we just relaxed, the sun was shining, it was not too cold and the sea was around us. Behind us the continent, in front of us Peljesac. At that moment I felt for the first time on this trip that we were in Dalmatia, that we were at sea and that we were on a mini-vacation.

When arriving to Pelješas (not an island, just the peninsula), Ema, me and Tora walked ashore, Rok brought Oliva. We parked at the beach and took a little stroll first. In the distance we observed some kind of a beach bar, which did not work. With Ema, we sit on the pier, and soon we literally have one cute orange kitten in our lap. Would you like to take her with you?

We didn't get the coffee, so we're going to go all the way, the direction of Orebič. First, we wanted to find a camp and slowly cook for lunch. The original plan was to sleep at the Lupis camp in Lovište in the north of the peninsula, but the Rok was not happy, because there is nothing going on in Lovište. That's why we were looking for campsites in Orebič and we turned into the Nevio camp, noone at the front desk, but Rok had enough of the search, and he called the number affixed to the door of the closed reception. The telephone was answered by a woman, that turned out to be a Slovene, and she said we should just go to camp, set up and the next day come back to the reception and make the formalities, because they're picking up olives today, and they don't have time to come.

Day 4 and 5: Pelješac or How despite the cat's pack we prolonged our stay for one day

Camp Nevio! Another one of those campsites you fall in love with. We selected a pitch between the two plots (the camp was almost empty) and well protected by the wall, in the case of night-time bora wind (which is bouncing us every night). The bathroom of course is nearby and very beautiful.

We cooked the lunch, and because Halloween is coming, we also cut the pumpkin and put it in front of Oliva. Everything is in style. Then we took a walk through the campsite to the beach. The camp is on a steep bank, but the trail is very nicely arranged. By the sea we observed beautiful small plots, just off the beach. We were sorry we didn't put Olive in there instead. Another time. Soon, a whole pack of young kittens, all possible colors joined us. And then they followed us, because of course they were hoping for food. Rok almost had a stroke when we got to Olive, and with 10 cats behind us. They were very cute and for some we thought to take them with us, but since we're on our way, that's not possible. In the end, it turned out that our kindness was slightly unpleasant, because there was no way we could get rid of them, and while eating breakfast one of us had to kept them away. Ah....

We've already decided to stay two nights. We had a lot of memories of the Peljesac and we knew that one day would be too short. So the next morning we went to the center of Orebič and then with a local boat to the city of Korčula on an island with the same name. The boat ride is for the locals as for us by bus from Bežigrad to the center of Ljubljana. They say they go to Korcula "to the mainland". Pelješac is a peninsula and Korcula is an island, but for them the other way around, the Korcula is more going on and there's more shops.

Halfway between the two places, there is a wonderful view on one side of the Orebič and Ilija mountain that is above it. On the other hand, we were approached by Korcula, with its walls and the tower. And it was a beautiful sunny day again.

In the city we decided not to start in the old town, but turn the other way and walk along the coast, then turn between the houses where people live daily lives. This is to gain insight into the normal life of Korčulans and not just what they want to offer to tourists. Very nice. We went for a coffee. Rok accidently paid with 20 EUROS in the belief that he gave 20 HRK. When we returned to the bar a half an hour later, we were very surprised when the waitress came running to us and reminded us that we were wrong and that she had made a bill on the side, hoping for us to come back. We were speechless, to meet such honest people.

When we get back to the harbor, we realized that we had the wrong information when the ship sails back to Pelješac. Fortunately, we were too early. And so we went for a quick stroll in the old part of the town. In particular, we showed Ema the birthplace of Marco Polo, the famous traveler.

When we returned to Orebič, we drove to Lovište. In the village we stopped to buy some salad and then drove to end of the village, where there is a village of houses, which had not been able to be sold completely. There was also one restaurant in which we ate with Rok years ago, but this time there was no living soul there.

We parked Oliva next to this abandoned restaurant – overlooking the sea. We opened the roof, we took food from the freezer and cooked our lunch. Nearby, clear by the sea, we found concrete benches and a table. It was elegant, we even had a table cloth and Rok adds a set of cakes for the dessert that he bought the day before. It was a beautiful scenery for homemade, simple lunch.

The dishes were washed in the sea, and Ema and Rok even went for swimming. And this is the end of October. Bravo! To make it easier to digest, we walked around, but it was all sad and deserted.

Upon arrival at the campsite, we had a pack of happy cats wating for us, in anticipation of receiving dinner. Unfortunately, they didn't... At least not with us.

Day 6: Ston or Stars with sugar that supposedly is not a star

In the morning we said goodbye to the cats, the beautiful camp and the friendly lady at the reception. It was kind of hard for us to go.

In the midst of the peninsula we turned from the main road, which leads down the middle of the peninsula, to the right, through a clean narrow tunnel and to the west side of Pelješac. That's where the whole other picture of the island appears. Steep bank and the view of the vineyards. That part of the island has a lot of wine shops. The road was so narrow that I had a giant dumpling in my stomach all the way to.... Trstenik.

Trstenik is a hidden pearl of Pelješac. Small village, along the coast with white stones, surrounded by vines on the steep slopes of the hill behind the village. I think we've seen only three people. I can't imagine how it is in this paradise in the middle of the season. Is it crowded? When we visited it, it was so nice and peaceful. And sunny. And by the sea. What could be more beautiful?

We left the village. We were very excited to see Veliki (big) and Mali (small) Ston. We were especially looking forward to the stars with sugar – this is a bread, in the form of a star and sprinkled with sugar. And since I was looking forward to it for a long time, I probably had a nose to the ground and a pale face when the saleswoman said she'd never heard of anything like it. I was so disappointed that I almost overlooked on the shelf one, just a single star with sugar. How could she say they don't have it, but if they do? She replied that this was not a star, it was a crab. Hm? It's a star! End of discussion!

We planned also to eat in Ston, since they are very famous for shells. But it was too early and we were still fed up with breakfast (and stars).

Dobrovnik or Pirate parrots and shopping malls

The road led us toward the south. Our journey was full of bends and full of coves with villages, which are certainly full of people in the season. I noticed that many villages at the entrance have a sign that it is forbidden for motorhomes.I was glad we decided on Oliva and not something bigger. Not only do we get cheaper through it, we can go anywhere we want.

We passed Dubrovnik, further south, to the camp Matkovica. Hm? Camp? In fact, this is the courtyard of the unfinished house, with the reception at the kiosk, where I don't think one has been using it for a long time. Soon a very nice lady came to confirm that she owns it. The campsite was close to the main road, opposite shopping center and crossroads. For a few reasons, I was afraid of sleeping at night. The bathroom at the camp is clean, but from the times when I was born. Here we will not shower. We'll survive.

We ate lunch and we drove back to Dubrovnik. The parking we found was right by the wall, and it wasn't cheap. But at least Oliva was safe.

Dubrovnik is a very popular town. It's all so touristic. Everything is there just for the tourists. Fortunately, there were no large crowds of tourists this time and no major ships.

However, we walked around the city, and we turned away from the main streets, and we walked far from all the others. All the way to the top of Dubrovnik, right next to the wall. We didn't go to the wall because there's an entrance fee. We rarely pay the entrance fees. It must be something very valuable, or very inexpensive. In one of the streets Rok noticed a door was open and the lady who pogs the courtyard. He spoke to her, and she kindly invited him inside, convinced that Rok is an architect, that is interested in the roofs of Dubrovnik. She showed it all and explained it all too. I thought he will never come back. The event was a little funny, but at the same time it gave me the idea of how sometimes you find a warm person who invites you to her backyard and shows everything. It doesn't happen offten, people are getting cold and inaccessible.

At the Štradun (main pedestrian street in Dubrovnik) Ema saw a street artist with large parrots. Ema approached her and gets one of them on her shoulder. A laugh on the face of a child suddenly disappeared. The parrot started to eat her zipper. Ema was panicking and didn't know how to get rid of the parrot. I couldn't have helped her so fast because I had the phone in one hand, a bag in the second, and Rok was with the Tora far away. I laughed at the situation and was in panic mode. We must have looked pretty funny. Well, somehow, we just managed to get a hungry pirate parrot back to the pole.

The days are short and when we returned to our campsite, it was already dark but not late. And what shall we do? According to the condition of the sanitation at our campsite, we all moved across the street to the mall, where we first go to the bathroom. I believe that someone will be shocked at the fact that the toilet at the mall is better, than the ones in campsite, which was so very smelly that we just couldn't go there.

The mall was quite interesting, considering it's not the biggest one. We bought shoes for Ema, some batman Tshirt and of course some ice cream. Then we hit back across the street, to sleep. Despite the vicinity of the road, we slept very well. We were able to admire all the advertising billboards of our shopping mall all night through our windows.

Day 7: We are not the smallest or The path we proceed towards split

We wake up in the morning to find out we were not the smallest camper in this little camp. Besides us there was a Frenchman sleeping in a very small personal car. Either he was alone or he had a passenger - that could not be determined because all the windows were tightly lined with towels and goods of different colors and dimensions.

After breakfast, we sat back in Oliva and took the direction towards Split. We parked next to the ferry port, in the parking lot for passenger cars. The surrounding area is similar to a railway station, but there is a man in the parking lot that we kindly greet, hoping that he will take good care of our van.

We walked along the main Split waterfront, which is of course full of Asian tourists, parasols and cameras. Then quickly turned into the small streets of the Dioclecyan Palace. We wanted to show Ema how the Splittians used to live centuries ago.

When there was a time to have lunch, we checked the restaurants nearby, but they were all so touristic and destined only for those who have no idea about the real Dalmatian kitchen. Suddenly, Ema expresses her desire to eat in McDonald's. Ok? And where do they have McDonald's in Split? Thanks to the excessive advertising of all shopping centres, soon at the closest street lamp, we saw a commercial that points out that our lunch is a few 100 m away from us, heading north to the Joker center. GPS said this is a 21-minute walk. And we just hit the road. We were slowly leaving the tourist part, the buildings became less preserved, Split soon reveals its true face. The face that his people watch every day. Face with the soul, face with the flaws and face, which is much more welcome than the one along the coast.

Shopping malls and McDonalds are all the same, so I'm going to skip this part of the description. I can only add that the shopping mall was closed, McDonald's was open and that everything was very clean and tidy. And full of youngsters.

On the way back to the car, there was a place where they sell a hundred and one pancake on the road. Of course we couldn’t resist it. They were so big and full, they couldn't breathe at the end, and I almost rolled them to the car. Fortunatly I did not order anything (I'm on a diet – as always). But there is no progress to be seen – as always) and I was just stealing them little bits. And the good thing is that the car was at least a half-hour walk and the pancakes could spread evenly throughout the body.

On the way back we discover the parking for the disabled, which came very well at the later visits (Sinjska 1).

Slowly the day came to the end and already in the dark (which is not to say that the time was late, but only that the day is short) we got to Camp Stobreč a few kilometers south of Split. The reception was closed! So early? They have a winter working time, and in this case the guests are awaited the entrance by the nice guy who took our documents and whished us a good evening.

We found a pitch in the dark. And we want to shower, but we must pay for the showers. They are free of charge for the campsite guests, but since the reception was closed no one gave us the special bracelets that are used to operate the showers. That made me kind of angry. With Ema, we jump together under the shower (2 HRK), but it turns out there was enough water for 3 and could still invite 2 more. It was so late that no lady probably would have a problem with Rok being under the women's showers.

Day 8: Zadar or Why does Ema have her ears on the floor

After the breakfast we drove to Zadar. The city was full of locals doing their everyday business. They don't all have holidays, like us. Second of November, the weather was wonderful, and we walked around in Tshirts and drank coffee in the sun. Ema and Rok even climbed the tower and looked at Zadar from the heights, while me and Tora were walking around the park, along the coast.

Ema saw the sea organ for the first time, which is the real attraction of the city. The sea with its waves makes music. You have to experience this, and the most beautiful thing is the beautiful sunset. People sit on stairs, benches and enjoy natural melodies.

And since they don’t have holidays, I just got a little excited about the open shops and I quickly bought Ema new sneakers. We also drank good coffee, ate ice cream, and Ema was climbing the old excavations, where it was allowed (climbing namely).

After lunch, we drove forward, past Nin and on local roads through the pasture bridge to the island of Pag. We selected the Camp Šimuni, which is very popular in the season, and at this time it was empty. Camp's really big.

Day 9: Pag or Who needs a Coffee maker?

Since the days are short, we went to the city of Pag in the afternoon. All empty. No one anywhere. So we did some nice photos of the bridge in the night light. We couldn't even get a drink. Ghost town. But when we got out of there, we saw a store in the style of a village cooperative. Since we've had a lot of time, we decide to go in. We entered the magical world. We entered the store, as we are no longer accustomed to. In a single shop, not so very small, they sell literally from a needle to an elephant. We spent a couple of hours just to look at all the stuff. The offer was at the same time modern and old fashioned. That's how I finally got the bedding from that old, hard, white cotton. Just like our grandmothers had. And for a very low price. They also had the remains of the summer program, and I took a hammock and some notebooks for Emo.

When we got back to camp, we experienced a real shock. Someone folded all our chairs and the table, put them next to the tree as if they'd prepared them to take away. And we surprised him. But... Where's our coffee maker? Full of coffee? We didn't see any traces of coffee. But the coffee maker was nowhere to be found. Looks like somebody wanted coffee and a coffee maker. We were robbed!

The second morning we were exploring the island. We went all the way to the northern town of Lun, where we saw very old olives. A beautiful little village at the end where we drank coffee, juice and a mini-village store had ice cream for Ema.

We had lunch at the campsite and later took a walk along the sandy coast. Rok even ran to the see and swam a little bit. We all watched him in astonishment and others wondered how loud he would be when he realizes that the see is cold. And suddenly he really sreamed, but not from the cold, but since nobody cleans those shores out of the season it was...... full of Jepods! We laughed a little, because the scene was a bit funny, but he didn't like it. For a long time, with the tweezers we dragged the black pickles out of his soles. He didn't show any tears.

In the afternoon we went out again and found another store that sells everything, but really everything. We didn't buy anything this time, but we've spent the night in a warm place. Because when the sun goes down, it's pretty cool outside and inside the van. We do have some heating, but still….

Day 10: Going home or Reflection

Next morning was the time to say farewell to the island of Pag. Farewell to the entire journey through the beautiful Dalmatia. From the ferry we waved to all the beauty of the Pag and then without the major stops on the coast road, we drove to Rijeka and then home to Ljubljana.

That was the first real journey with our van Oliva for us. And in it, we enjoyed it to the maximum. As a family, we have become closer together, like never before. Laughed, tickled, danced…... We hav learned how to handle Oliva, who closes the roof, who settles the sides, who cleans up the bed, who takes care of the desk and chairs, how to cook every day in that little space, how to dress in shifts and how to visit every bay whether we see it or not from the road. We've discovered a lot of beautiful places, some of them already known from the previous trips, and we saw them in a different light this time. But above all, we were free. And we were doing what we wanted, and when we wanted it. We haven't spent a lot of money, because we know how to live very modest. But we have filled our minds with all the beauties of Dalmatia and nomadic life. It was very hard for us to be back in school and to work on Monday.

But we know there was a next travel - chapter waiting for us just around the corner.

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