Life in a year full of Saturdays: Croatia

Dubrovnik (Croatia)
27 August - 28 August 2016

I was impressed by the coastline in this part of the world. Crisp, clear colours, wave like mountains that are sparse, intermittently doted with trees, almost in that semi-arid type of way, and then, when the sun beats down on that intimate Adriatic sea, it's beguiling and dreamy.

Driving south out of Zadar in our Renault Laguna (thank you to Inga's parents), we headed south down the coast. Not the sexiest car ever but one that should have been given more credit than it actually received. That beast managed to transport us on several occasions between Riga & Belgrade, plus undertook its own wild trek in the middle of Bosnia one type. This things was like a good 'ole Clydesdale, a real working horse that was surprisingly dependable.

Dubrovnik - Croatia

Our first stop on the coast was Split. This was like taking a step back in time for me. It had been 30+ yrs since my last visit here. On that occasion it was a family holiday, I was 9 years old and I didn't have the understanding or the ability to realise the wonder that Split was then. Of course the whole Croatian coastline has been 'discovered' since the mid-90s and it's become one of the darlings of European travelers. Coming back now, I see the city in a very different way and my appreciation for it has sky-rocketed. I think now that it's still a very under-rated city. Exuberant, buzzing, the atmospheric centre of town bounded by the old city walls is a nexus of intrigue and mystery. Shops, bars and restaurants of all types. My memory of Split didn't quite align with the thriving tourist destination that it is now. Of course it drew people from other areas as a kid, mostly Eastern Europe, and commercialism + consumerism hadn't quite made the impact that it was going to, but now, I can appreciate that there is something really cool about it.

Stradun - Dubrovnik - Croatia

Dubrovnik - Croatia

Inga & I stayed a few hours. I did make an attempt to take Inga to my grandmother's flat(s) and retraced remembered steps from my nine year old mind. We didn't get there, although I think we may have been very close. There were moments of deja-vu and clear memory recollection but still, the goal on this occasion was just beyond our grasp.

Our destination for the evening was the globally renowned location of Dubrovnik. The first error I made however was making the attempt to drive through the streets surrounding the town (idiot!) - ancient streets were made for horses and donkeys, perhaps an occasional cart, but not a clunky Renault Laguna...absolutely brutal, something of the toughest and trickiest driving I've done.

Dubrovnik - Croatia

So we were in the fabled Dubrovnik. It was both iconic and symbolic in the old Yugoslavia. I'd seen many posters hung up in the offices if Belgrade travel agents that showed the famous walled town nudging out into the gorgeous Adriatic sea. Still, from my own internal bias against all things Croatian I had assumed that Dubrovnik was simply overrated, not worth the trouble unless fate had put it into your path....how WRONG I was! One of my greatest travel underestimations of all time!

Dubrovnik is beguiling, utterly enchanting. Having past through a few 'old towns' in Europe I'd have to say that I haven't experienced anything like the limestone streets and baroque architecture of this town. The small narrow lane-ways, the immaculate medieval stone walls that surround it and the enigmatic Adriatic, this place is picture perfect, made to be photographed and 100% instagrammable.

On the night that we entered the old town, inevitably it was full of tourists. On a warm Summer's day with the restaurants buzzing and the bars beckoning it's easy to understand how the masses would get punch drunk on all its charms, its so easy. There's a way that the sun bounces off the limestone walls, especially later in the day under the setting sun. There's an intimacy, warm and energy. It's simply radiant and I think every visitor manages to feel that liveliness and vigour. The vibrancy and effervescence is palpable with every turn that you make, every alley that you climb, every doorway that you pass through.

Dubrovnik - Croatia

From a different perspective, it appears that the Pearl of Adriatic is fast becoming a victim of its own success. With the hordes of cruise ships & tourist buses that come to marvel at the pearl, so to do they deliver crowds en masse, noise & mess, elements that have not historically been part of this town. For those of whom that still live in the old town, all 1157 of them, this is price to be paid for economic prosperity. It appears now that Dubrnovnik is being chocked, a slow death derived from populism. With that said, the authorities have realised the need to act on the detrimental impact caused by tourists. Additionally, only the year prior UNESCO warned Dubrovnik of the potential of losing its heritage status by letting the numbers pass through unchecked.

Dubrovnik - Croatia

For Dubrovnik there is no easy way out that doesn't cause some sort of disappointment. Either for tourists on one side or locals on the other. Estimates suggest that by turning away many of the cruise ships that stop there is tantamount to losing 1 million euros a year. Still, for the sake of preservation and the locals, these are the steps and sacrifices to be made if they want to buy back their city.

Zadar-Sukosan-Sibenek (Croatia)
20 August - 27 August 2016

The Croatia that inhabits my mind has no alignment with the stunning country that it actually is, or to be more specific, how unbelievable the Croatian Adriatic is. There’s quite a complex and crudely formulated kill machine in my head that for most of my life has cut down in haste anything associated with the red & white chequers of Croatia. Unfairly treated and harshly judged, for you, I’ve always admitted that. Never did I have one good word to say about Croatia or its people, there’s history and angst with me. Where this story takes a severe turn is however is where my DNA joins the party.

70% that’s my ‘highly probable’ association to North-eastern Italy, Croatia & Bosnia.

That says enough, 70% with a focus on Northeast Italy, Croatia and Bosnia

This shows the main areas that contributed to the DNA mix

The yellow areas are coincide exactly with the areas we sailed in

This result of course is of no real surprise to me, anecdotal evidence for most of my life has suggested (or should I just call it evidence because it’s known), that I have strong ties to this part of the world. My mother, aunt, uncle and grandmother are all from Split (Croatia), the link therefore is not tenuous. And additionally, for all those that cast aspersions on DNA tests and the integrity of those tests, well I respond right back, how is it that the scientific evidence matches the anecdotal evidence so thoroughly? I rest my case, go talk to somebody else about your conspiracies and oddly constructed arguments.

Somewhere in Croatia - on the road to Zadar (Croatia)

I’ll not discuss my near hatred of Croatia here but I will say that when Inga & I were seconded to join a crew of Latvian yachting enthusiasts for a week of sailing in Croatia my excitement levels never bubbled to anything more than lukewarm. My consideration and response was along the lines of tolerance, it was going to be something that I’d allow myself to tolerate.

I ask you now, join me in in transgressing through the art of seven days of overt persuasion, Croatian style.

Onboarding in Zadar

Our rally point was the town of Zadar, the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. In total we were a group of eight, all vaguely known to one another in a Kevin Bacon few degrees of separation kind of way. Our Captain, Valts Butans & his partner, Veronika Butane, were known to us via a connections through Inga’s mother. When the call went from them, through their own network that they were on the hunt for crew members to join them for a week of sailing in Croatia, well we thought, why the hell not? Actually that was more Inga, I was more, ‘freakin’ Croatia, well, at least I’ll be able to swear at them in their own language’.

All other members of the crew were known to Valts & Veronika, but not to us, so it was like blind-date travelling – look out for the reality show coming to a late night time-slot near you soon.

Adriatic Coast - Croatia

Adriatic Coast flyer

Day one of our program on How to live a life like a millionaire, for all of 2 minutes, was a stunningly beautiful sail down ‘the channel’. Pulling out of Zadar we headed south under sail, baked under some gorgeous sky, cutting across deep blue water and skittling the channel with ease. I call it the channel as this part of the Adriatic is bounded by islands of Ugljan and Pasman on the leeward side and the Croatian coastline on the windward. The sailing was calm, peaceful, cathartic. How could you not enjoy the sound of the boat cutting through the water, the sight of other sail boats zig-zaging (tacking) down the coast and stretching out on deck, catching all the rays of the day. It was the epitome of the leisure lifestyle and it was an absolute joy. No hassles at all, only the coastal breeze hitting you in the face and the blue sky above you, as blissful as it could be.

Adriatic Coast - Croatia

Your reality check – don’t get cocky

On our first night we made anchor at a little bay around 6-8kms south of Biograd Na Moru, almost directly across the channel from the southern tip of Pasman island. After a movie star type of day out on the water I think we were all feeling a little too comfortable for our own good. Obviously we’d taken the art of sailing for granted because that night Mother Nature came out with an unequivocal statement that made us all take note of our environment and the requirements of managing a boat under pressure.

From nowhere, or so it seemed, a violent storm struck the coastline and we had positioned ourselves smack in the middle of it. Even though we were in anchored in a relatively sheltered bay the ferocity of the wind, and then the lightning and driving rain made it night of madness. We’d been one of a few yachts that had sought to anchor in the bay but with the advent of the storm we all found ourselves drifting into the path of one another. There was potential for carnage. All the crew spent the night trying to manoeuvre the yacht out of trouble and hoping to all hell that our mast wasn’t the one to be struck by lightning as these ‘bombs’ were being dropped all around us.

The whole night and morning was spent flashing torches at other boats, yelling at other crews and generally having a sense of hyper vigilance about all things. We only really got to settle and feel comfortable about our situation at close to 5am but at that time the lesson had been learned. On the water there’s no such thing as comfort, you can rest on your laurels, you just need to be prepared. We later discovered, when we returned to Zadar, that the night caused significant damage out on the water, ripping sails, running yachts aground and lightening striking masts.

Adriatic Coast - Croatia

Southern tip of Pasman island - Adriatic Coast - Croatia

ACI Marina Piskera - Adriatic Coast - Croatia

ACI Marina Piskera – ACI Marina Zut – Sukosan

Drained from the prior night we still for some reason attempted to cross the channel with high wind gusts and made our way to the southern tip of Pasman island. I wouldn’t say that it was blowing a gale but the wind was certainly quite high and tacking across the channel to the island, on reflection was either brave or foolhardy. Still, even though Valts, I believe, was confident enough to take us across there were times when I think the wind even caught him off guard and did see moments of concern on his face.

After a couple of hours work we had made our way across for the greater part and the wind had also thankfully died down. We pulled into a bay at on the southern tip of the island, made anchor and we all ‘dropped off the face of the planet’ for a few hours. It was as close to a zombie boat as you could have imagined.

Recharged and rejuvenated after a few hours sleep, a relatively relaxing afternoon sail brought us to the outer islands on the coastline and we docked at the tranquil & sedate Adriatic Croatia International Club (ACI Marina Piskera in the Kornati National Park) – it was about this time that I was started ‘to figure out ’ the concept of what it was that people loved about sailing. Because not only is it the act of being out on the water but also there’s a sailing fraternity and camaraderie when you pulled into a marina that was obvious. I liked that, it was kinda cool. There were bottles of wine being opened, people chatting about their experiences, general banter, it was the type of event that I’d never experienced before.

ACI Marina Piskera - Adriatic Coast - Croatia

ACI Marina Zut - Adriatic Coast - Croatia

The following day we spent sailing in the Kornati National Park. Having made our way to the island of Zut we anchored for the afternoon and explored a little before gliding effortlessly to the ACI Zut Marina where we stayed overnight.

Our first real stop in ‘port’ or a town outside of Zadar was in Sukosan. Having sailed from the island of Zut and after navigating the small channel between the islands of Ugljan & Pasman we spent the day under beautiful skies and were lucky enough to havbe immaculate sailing weather once again. Our stop on shore at the end of a great day of sailing was a pleasure, and to my surprise, a real treat in the sense that Sukosan was my first contact with a Dalmatian town, (since encountering Split as kid), and hey, surprises to all, I found it to be quite the attractive spot. Whether it was my deliberate ignorance, or even my blatant ignorance to all things Croatian, but here we were, on the Croatian coast, in a very attractive town, and it didn’t suck. Not at all in fact. A small, quaint and quite charming small town, it just had a nice calm, breezy feel about it, the type that you generally associate with small coastal towns (just not in Croatia, or so I thought), and I liked that. More surprising still is that we went onto discover more of the Croatian coastal towns to be of the same elk, which automatically put me in the position where I needed to re-evaluate my whole Croatian proposition. Did I really do them just a disservice in my mind.

Kornati National Park - Adriatic Coast - Croatia

ACI Marina Zut - Adriatic Coast - Croatia

Entrance to Sibenek - Adriatic Coast - Croatia

Adriatic Coast - Croatia

Now, let me outline here THE ISSUE I’ve had with CROATIA for most of my life, or more pointedly, the issue I’ve had with the dumb, half-witted, overtly nationalistic nimrods that have infested parts of Australia with their ludicrous patriotism and exported hatred. It’s their unsubstantiated hatred that manifested itself into the dislike of me personally, like I was some beacon that was built to absorb their stupidity. As a half Serbian- half Croatian I went to a Catholic school whose Yugoslav occupiers came from the Croatian side of the divide. Their stupidity and dislike of who I was came directly from the fucked up outlook of their parents and hence, anything with a Serbian smell, no matter in what form it was presented, was something to be derided. I spent years negating their stupidity, taunts and dumb ass name calling. If not for them then certainly I’d have a different feeling towards Croatia, maybe even at some point I would have felt Croatian in part. Certainly my ancestry suggests that I have a right to do so, but obviously I don’t, and in some ways that’s a shame, but hey, at least I can learn to appreciate it for what it is rather than disregard it out of hand.

Onto Sibenik

The entrance to Sibenek was a bit of an unexpected highlight. There’s a long inlet before you get into the harbour proper but residing at the entrance of the inlet is one of the best preserved fortresses along the Croatian coastline.

St Nicholas fortress was built in the 16^th century and served as the first line of defence to protect the port from Turkish attacks. This place was built to look ‘serious’, as in a deterrent first and a real fort second. These days it serves quite rightfully as an historical feature and tourist attraction.

Sibenek - Croatia

Adriatic- Croatia

Cruising into the marina on placid calm waters we docked and made plans to head off as a group to investigate the Krka falls. A highly popular National Park in Croatia, the park affronts the Krka River and there is a series of 7 waterfalls in total. In addition to the cascades is also the Krka Monastery, built above what are known to be Roman catacombs.

All in all in was quite a relaxed afternoon and kind of nice to get off the boat for a little while and do a bit of exploring.

Krka National Park - Croatia

That evening we were all left to our own devices so Inga and I went exploring the town itself. What we found was a style of place that I really love. It was a stone labyrinth of steep backstreets and alleys, odd twists and turns that could bring you to a new view or totally different offering in a matter of a few short steps. A medieval style town that is both mysterious and intriguing, it’s not hard to figure out the appeal of Sibenek itself and why it acts as the perfect start point for excursions out into the Adriatic and around the Kornati Islands.

Wondering around this town was an absolute delight, and now, looking at the DNA chart supplied by Ancestry.com, it appears that I may indeed have been both walking (and sailing) in the footsteps of my ancestors. In fact, later that night, Inga and I were at a bar in town putting back some cocktails (known as Zombies….they were good), and there was a group of Croatians looking at me directly, commenting amongst themselves. After listening in a little and making eye contact with them occasionally I discovered that there conversation was about me and I looked ‘exactly’ like a friend of there’s, in fact the line was ‘On je isti, potpuno isti’, which translates as, ‘he’s the same, exactly the same’. Which now, knowing what I do, probably isn’t a surprise at all considering ties that I may very well have in this town.

Sibenek - Croatia

Return to Zadar

Our final day was another lesson in what the Croatian coastline can offer. A beautifully blue sky, deep blue Adriatic waters, the sound of the sails fluttering in the wind and a cook below deck (aka, yours truly) making his finest chilli con carne for the troops. Sometimes you just have to give a little bit more of yourself.

Adriatic Coast - Croatia

Zadar - Adriatic Coast - Croatia

It was a great way to finish the week, one which I’m sure we’ll leave long lasting impressions on us. Croatia was unexpectedly fun, along with being beautiful and engaging. I wouldn’t have admitted that at the start of the week, but certainly, I’m happy to admit it now.

Life in a year full of Saturdays

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Sunday, August 28, 2016

Dubrovnik (CROATIA) - a heroine in heels

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Zadar-Sukosan-Sibenek (CROATIA) - Sailing the Croatian Adriatic - via the ancestral travel division

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A year full of Saturdays