It's happening guys. I'm going mainstream. Lol as if. No but it's no secret which blogs are most popular, travel, lifestyle, makeup, hair, fashion, etc. Sometimes I feel as if I'm the only person on this planet reading something a little more…complex.
But thing is, I would LOVE to be a travel blog, hell traveling, trying things, experiencing things, see new places and cultures, write about it and get paid? Fuck me that sounds like the perfect job right there. But reality is what it is. As much as I want to I don't have the time or money to travel as much as I'd love to.
Which doesn't mean that I don't have plenty stories to actually share about my past travels. I've seen a lot of cool places already but never really shared any words about it, purely because this is not the theme of my blog. Generally I wanted to write about music and art, two things I love most but that doesn't mean I can't make some space for different things I also love.
A dream of mine has been a Mustang coupe, or a big mean looking Harley Davidson, open road in the States, route 66 and nothing but time, stopping where you want to stop. But that's nothing more then wishful thinking. What isn't though is the fact that I actually already did the whole road trip with a car, not a Mustang but a VW van and not through the states but Croatia.
It wasn't as cool as a Hippy van it was a different model, and it wasn't as cool as a few months in America but Croatia is a beautiful country. Or at least it used to be, I'm sceptical about all the hotel buildings and industry around the most beautiful parts, polluting the nature and oceans but who am I to judge. Haven't been in Croatia for at least 15 years. Well the sea side, I've been to Zagreb a lot in the past years.
I actually have nothing but fun and fond memories to those times. When we used to be at the sea side four to five times a year. Money wasn't an issue. Family was as families should be. Everything was just right.
So the trip I'm about to write about was 17 years ago almost to the day, so I apologize for the pictures being pictures of pictures. We weren't as cool to have digital cameras then and currently my scaner is down. Sucks. All pics were still taken by me (except the ones of me), my interest for photography started pretty early on.
I have a notebook about this trip, notes, photos, brochures, tickets, bills…all the works.
The goal was to come all the way to Lastovo, that's an island in the Dubrovnik – Neretva part of the country which actually consists of 46 islands. We weren't sure we'll make it that far over 600 km and we were stopping along the way a lot, but we ended up making it even farther. To Dubrovnik or should I say ''Kings landing''? Hah. Which is my favorite city in Croatia.
We left Slovenia at one am on day one and drove through the night, summers in Balkan are pretty hot so to avoid traffic jams and heat we left at night. I remember seeing a ton of police and stopping at the first open bar a bit over the border.
We arrived at Plitvice national park before six am. Plitvice are one of the oldest and also largest national parks in Croatia, one of the most beautiful parks on the planet also and protected by the UNESCO. The park is so amazing and unique because there are 16 small lakes with waterfalls. There is also the river Korana and dense forests all around. You can also find caves and meadows and most likely bears. I mean we haven't seen any but we've been told that they are there as a protected animal species. Tthere's panoramic electric trains and silent electric boats which make the entire ride that much more interesting.
Plitvice at six in the morning were awfully cold given that later on when we continiued our trip through ''Velebit'' which by the way is extremly boring to drive through and there were still war remains there and we made it all the way to Šibenik where the temparature was well over 35 celsius.
I remember parking the van somewhere by the beach and going to town to check it out. Did I say how I love ocean view? If I could I'd live on the beach. Yes yes I know during the winter that's not so perfect but honestly waking up to the ocean instead of concrete? That is priceless.
We went on then, to Trogir, I liked it there, nice city. You can just tell you're in Dalmatia, palm trees ocean breeze haha no but really, palms, city walls, white stone and fucking heat. We saw Bernie Ecclestones monster yacht docked there ''Petara'' only 58 meters long and ONLY 35 000 000 dollars worth yacht. Seriously? Damn son! It's a damn pretty boat I gotta say and the best part, the name came from combining his daughters names ''Petra and Tamara''. We've been told we missed Michael Schumacher for just a day. Shame.
I remember this so clearly because of the bar we were in. When I was a child I was always loved and spoiled by waiters and hotel staff. So this one was no different, I was super tired, half asleep (you try sleeping in a moving hot van) and to cheer me up the waiter brought me a ''funny'' drink…
That day ended in a camp in Seget. Great camp but awful ocean, too dirty for swimming. Not too nice. After a long day of driving in a hot car you can't even freshen up in the ocean.
What I remember most about this holiday though was the fact that I had to get up everyday at the crack of dawn like a god damn fucking rooster. Now sorry but to me getting up early aint no damn vacation.
Trip led us on to Split where we were about to board a ferry. That part was actually interesting. We were driving on streets by the ocean and through small villages with typical houses for the area and those bushes with flowers that have the most amazing colors. There was also one of those planes that they use for putting out forest fires, practicing right above the highway. I never saw one in action so that was cool. Much more when it's just a drill rather then a serious thing which btw happened on our way back about a month later when we just barely escaped a wild fire. We watched it coming closer and closer to the highway and five minutes after we crossed a section of it it was closed by the police due to the fact that it wasn't safe.
Waiting for the ferry from Split to Lastovo gave us enough time to see the city. Filthy city. And super expensive ferry rides. Word of advice? Don't travel with a van if you plan on going to an island. To kill the time we went to check out Diocletian's palace which is just amazing and up a belltower which had a view that could make you cry, this picture is too nice not to post an original so here it is the scanned version, back from the days when the scanner still worked. Also one of my pictures I'm most proud of. Can I just point out though how worried we were that the bell will go off while walking around it? Ha ha. That would of been…uh fun.
After lunch when we went back to the ferry we met a lady with a young baby owl in her arms. Not something you see a lot in those nicks of the woods. She told us that they found her with a broken wing and they were taking care of her, she let me pet it. Such an adorable little thing. Ferry trip was nice, calm waters, nice breeze, more then welcome in the heat. We sailed by Hvar and Korčula, more specifically Vela Luka, where if you're paying attention lately their beloved singer Oliver Dragojevič was burried just a few days ago. A burrial unlike any other I ever saw. But I suppose only fitting a send off worthy for a legend.
With all the ''pit stops'' the ferry arrived to the island we were headed to after 5 hours. I mean jesus christ I could possibly swim faster. Well maybe not then but today? Most likely. Not to mention we had quite a drive before us before we got to where we were headed. Meeting old family friends somewhere in the center of the island, which btw is not full of people, mostly thick nature and we only got lost three times. There were no GPS devices then you know. I speak fluent Croatian mind you but people over there I had a difficulty understanding. Accents. Worst thing on the planet. I saw a pink lizard there. Come to think of it I think it was a Croatian gecko.
We spent a couple of days there on the island with those family friends, their house was always full of laughter and people, like Italian families you know. I made friends with their youngest son Mateo and we played together with all kinds of animals they had there, goats, chickens, hens…especially enjoyable was watching sailboats and their owners, wanna be sailors, trying to dock or anchor a boat and not to mention their knot tying? I was 9 at the time and I could do those knots or lowering an anchor better then they did. It's not rocket science people.
Ocean there was really nice and clean but filled with sea urchins, I can't stand those. And we also saw a tiny electric ray, it wasn't dangerous given that it was just a baby. Of course family ate their full of seafood there, I wasn't a vegetarian at the time but some things really disgusted me, boiling lobsters in hot water alive? Are you all insane?! So the family we were staying at made pizza for me instead, on olive oil and you know what? It beats any Italian pizza I tried and I have tried a lot of them.
We used a day on the island to go to town and see the old city center. Which is something else no modern architecture and nothing but fields and vines around it. Completly different people too, super sweet and nice. That night there was possibly too much wine when all the neighbours joined us and all the women started singing, very loudly and off key may I add.
Family was all busy trying rose booze which I was clearly too young to try but the smell alone was amazing. It's made from a special type of rose that only grows on the island. Don't think I didn't try it when the family wasn't looking by the way.
On the way back we were literally sleeping in the van at the side of the road somewhere in the port like a couple of gypsies because we couldn't risk missing the ferry that only leaves once a day. I think we got up that night at 4 in the morning. What did I just say about vacation? None of it. We saw dolphines in the water that morning. Morning light, calm waters and dolphines following the ferry jumping out. Can you wish for anything nicer? I only saw them once later when we were sailing with our sailboat they were also following us and when sitting at the very edge of the boat you could touch them. It was really amazing. When anchoring in a small bay then we saw them jumping out of the water. Such a perfect kitchy scene, ocean, sunset and dolphines playing.
We left the ferry in Vela Luka then and found a camp site in Korčula. Korčula is beautiful, the trademark cannons, old city center, church and of course Marco Polo house. They have a specific ''fish bone'' type of houses because of the winds. There was a special boat docked there ''Vip net Broadway show'' we could listen to the music while walking through town and all the way to the camp site.
After a few more days there we left for Dubrovnik. It wasn't the plan but we weren't far and I was nagging daily that I want to go there. I was there years before and fell in love. Literally. Of course waiting for another ferry was endless. It really is, I felt like 90% of the vacation was waiting for those damn boats. And generally I wouldn't care but when it's noon and 40 C on the sun, then it's no fun. The road back on the mainland is amazing, by the ocean and all you can see is crystal clear water. On the way to Dubrovnik we stopped in a town called Ston, a city with the longest city wall in Europe. Family decided to ''taste test'' raw clams that are world famous there. I was smart enough to avoid that but do I need to point out that those clams ended up in paper napkins? Nasty. Who would eat them cooked let alone raw?
It was hot as hell in Ston and while the family was busy probably tasting out just about every animal living in the ocean I was making friends with the city's dogs. They were all half dead due to the heat.
Dubrovnik is gorgeous mind you. The old city center, the stairs that lead to it. ''Stradun'' it's called. The main street. The most beaufiful part. George Martin knows what's up is all I'm sayin. I remember calling grandmother who nearly had a heart attack when I told her where I am. It was really unplanned. But isn't that the best? Just freedom to go where you want to go, not planning every damn second of the trip? I was feeding pidgeons in front of the church, a ton of them there, I know they were becoming an issue as of late but props to Croatians, instead of killing them they decided to ''deport'' them. Yes using Trumps words.
Having lunch in a tiny restaurant in the inner part of the city was nice, the waitress was once again the sweetest woman you could meet, she got food that wasn't even on the menu for me and she'd touch and pet my hair everytime she walked by me. I think she called me ''Kiki'' too. Hah. We watched a flamethrowing / eating show before leaving to look for a camp but due to being extremly tired and kind of sick of the hot van we got a room by some locals and slept like ''kings'' that night. Guess what? We even had a shower!
Way back was sad because it meant that the holidays are slowly coming to an end. That's never a good thing. We stopped in a huge park with the oldest tree in Europe? Or even the world maybe. And then we drove through the Green Valley of the Neretva river which in case you don't know is the home of amazing huge orchards or mandarines and oranges and all kinds of other vegetables. But mandarines are most famous, there's even trips to go there just to pick those for a week each year, every travel agency offers them.
Next stop ''Makarska'' and bloody welcome stop too, heat plus exhaustion in a van doesn't mix well. We stopped in the first open camp we found where this huge closet of a man gave us his best spot and pretty much adopted us. We ended up staying not one day but five days. Super warm water, amazing beach, great food, nice people nobody wanted to leave so fast. That camp was the first time I actually slept in a tent, I wasn't easily persuaded to get out of the van till that point. You know bugs…but it was nice gotta admit.
We made friends with so many people there, a hippy riding a really old BMW and smoking pot. I sat on that bike all afternoon after he told me I can. Great machine. We met people from back home, a group of nice boys from Sarajevo (where I haven't yet been but I'd really like to go), a couple of Polish people that only ever ate soup and had kids that got severe heat stroke after they dragged them up some mountain where you're supposed to see Mother Mary. The owner of the camp called the doctor and yelled at the parents that the entire camp could hear. In Croatian of course so no idea if they understood a word of it.
There was also a nice (I think he was from Czech republic) guy he was the same age I am now, we made friends I used to sit on his lap and help him beat all his friends in poker. He was super sweet and good looking, and we didn't understand eachother at all but language didn't matter much then. Don't you miss that? Simplest moments like that? People not caring about language barriers or religion or color…
We were managers of the camp for a day even when the owner had to leave on an emergency. So much about what great friends we've become in the time we stayed there. Of course on that exact day a French man had to bump an olive tree and scrape his car, jesus christ was he annoying, he made a huge fuss wanted money for his car but the family wasn't having any ''this is an old tree who is paying us for the tree?'' hah.
We took a different route home. Mom told me to stop being in the mood ''there's always going to be other vacations, ocean isn't going anywhere'' well neither am I am I mom?
The road back was rather…horrific…Knin and Kninska krajina, entire villages abandoned and torn down. Just horrible vibe.
The national park I mentioned Plitvice was a stop we made on the way back home. The only cool (cool as in not hot) part in entire Dalmatia. Swimming though strictly against the law. We spent more then three hours in that park with no water. Water all around but you can't drink it. We came home that day at around ten at night. Our borrowed van was ''booked'' to leave the next day again. We borrowed it from a friend that still has it by the way. I see him often driving it around town.
These were one of my best vacation I had. It's a bittersweet memory today. The ''family'' as it was back then doesn't exist anymore, the man that I called stepdad than had passed away and I find myself thinking about him sometimes. Missing him even, missing the good times, the sea side. Easier life.
Good times pass but memories remain is true but sometimes I wish I didn't have to live on memories alone but have a chance to make new ones, better ones even. Maybe someday, not losing hope is the key I've been told.
Bonus;
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