Croatia

So, in my rush to sort out my life and my journey to Bulgaria, I forgot to include a bit of commentary on culture and politics in Croatia.

Observations:
1. Don’t talk about the war….unless you have a great deal of time and patience. We had brief discussions with a couple of our homestay hosts at one point, but their comments were fairly limited and the memories appeared painful. Our Dubrovnik host remarked – “we tell the tourists not to go into the hills because there are many snakes. There are not snakes.”
There are landmines. He described how the Serbs had attacked from that hill, blowing the neighborhood to bits while some 90 people huddled in his basement. He was very distant and a bit standoffish, so we ended the conversation. Later, while walking in the street in Croatia, I noticed a hub-bub nearby and I asked a nearby police officer about the commotion. He answered cordially that some VIPs were attending a concert. A middle-aged bystander chimed in: ‘not for tourists!’’

He was a little curt about it, which I didn’t appreciate, so I responded, “well of course…I was only curious.” I don’t remember how this conversation transformed into a confrontational discussion about limited western involvement in the war, but I do remember having eyes the size of dinner plates and flaming pink cheeks. Croatians are very, very bitter. He accused us of ignoring the atrocities committed, because we believe (apparently) that Croatia doesn’t matter to us or to the rest of Europe. I replied, “well, I am sorry, but I was only about six years old.”

His tone softened a little – only a little – and I used my irresistible wit and charm (ha) to wear him into affability. I remarked that I certainly would have done something if I were not in primary school – to which he was a bit skeptical – and that I was hoping to work against such atrocities in the future. In the end, he seemed convinced and we even had him smiling and shaking our hands.

I let out a tremendous sigh of relief as we walked away. Don’t talk about the war…unless you have a great deal of time and patience! We should have ignored him, but I was just too damn determined to break through that bitterness. Mission accomplished? Well, for now. I suppose it must be frustrating to see the droves of indifferent Western tourists stomping all over your city.

2. There are no Dalmatian dogs in Dalmatia. At least, I didn’t see any. Many people had dogs of every other persuasion, and they enjoyed flaunting them in public. Leash laws are seemingly non-existent.

3. Park anywhere, please. On the sidewalks, on the medians, in the grass. In fact, be sure to block in everyone else as you wedge your vehicle into the last remaining three inches of space.

4. If you’re just married, you’ll join your friends and family in a long, loudly honking car procession through town. If you’re having a really good time, your friends and family will hang out the window, perhaps waving bottles of champagne. If you’re dead, on the other hand, your picture and short biography will be plastered all over town, so that everyone may know you’ve passed.

5. Pizza…pasta…pasta…pizza…*sigh.* The gastronomic options can be tiring. The seafood, on the other hand, is quite delicious…though sometimes surprisingly expensive.

6. Fruit and vegetables do taste better without scientific tinkering and pesticides!

7. Croatians appear to be avid gardeners. Virtually every home boasted flourishing rose bushes, fruit trees and grape vines. Having the blackest thumb known to man, I was very impressed by the seemingly effortless cultivation of even the smallest plots of land. I kill plants just by looking at them.

I look forward to returning someday to explore several of the more remote towns and villages. It will be fascinating to observe the drastic changes Croatia experiences in the next ten years – though I hope it never loses its irresistible charm and breathtaking natural beauty.

I apologize for the delay in updating the blog...after my exhausting (and very, very writing intensive) senior project, it appears that my brain is reluctant to keep working...

So, we're now in Dubrovnik, which is cheerfully dubbed the 'Pearl of the Adriatic'....one of the most beautiful cities in the world. We arrived about fourish days ago (I think?) and have been thoroughly enjoying our stay. Before Dubrovnik, we spent a lovely two days on the island of Hvar. We intended to do some diving, but the phone lines were down due to rain, and we were unable to call ahead and make a reservation. Feeling lazy, we walked around the town, marvelling at turquiose water that never seems to get old, drinking wine, and searching for an off-the-beaten track beach.

After a bit of walking (up and down, up and down...the entire place is built into a mountain, just like the rest of the country. My gluts are screaming sore!), I spotted a couple occupying a rather tantalizing and spot next to the water. We spent about an hour there, I even had my first topless sunbathing experience (so chic, so european...she was doing it, so I thought I'd join). It was invigorating...until a boatload of tourists sputtered by and a couple of people blatantly 'snuck' a few pictures. If I end up on the internet...sheesh! I put my clothes back on and we spent the rest of the evening enjoying life.

The next day, we headed to Dubrovnik by bus. The ride was 5 and a half hours short, with a twenty minute stop in part of Bosnia. I bought some ice cream and that was about as exciting as it got. We were utterly swarmed by 'private room' touts as soon as we arrived in Dubrovnik...I finally felt like I was in more familiar territory, after my experiences in India and Africa!

We settled on a room/apartment with a cooky old woman and her cookier old son. The apartment is fine, it just reeks a bit of mildew and we share our space with several resident spiders and a load of pesky little flies. We're not complaining The woman is just too jolly...

The entire part of the old city is surrounded by hugely impressive walls built around the 17th century. For a mere 20 kuna, we walked the walls (no easy physical task, I might add) and enjoyed gorgeous views of the ocean and the red-tiled city around us. We were even treated to a suprise air show by five planes of some kind (I know my brother and dad would have been more appreciative).

The next day, we decided to splurge on one of the many boat tours offered here...there are three popular islands nearby and we (well, porter) wanted to do something besides walk around the city. Unfortunately, we made a very bad choice...and the entire experience was laughable. First, we expected to be boarding the large, stately boat promised to us in the brochure. Instead, we were nearly left behind, because we didn't see the glorified dingy we were actually using. Stuffed beyond legal capacity I'm sure, we were hoping to transfer to something more respectable sometime soon. Alas, no such luck.

The captain was a large, sweaty, greasy toothless fellow, and our boatmates a wide variety of nationalities. Hell, there was even a dog aboard. I think my jaw hit the floor when the captain had porter do a bit of the driving while he served us some crappy soda and juice.

The rest of the day was progressively worse, though adventurous to say the least. We didnt stay on any of the islands as long as promised, we were taunted by the other groups enjoying their time on the nice boats, and we were furious to find that our 'real boat' apparently blew a pipe the day before, and the company had blatantly lied to all of us.

We were even more angry to find that we had to pay for our drinks at lunch, even though the brochure proclaims drinks are included. Luckily, the third island was quite beautiful and the beach helped me to forget my frustration.

For awhile at least. The boat broke down about a half mile before we made it back to port. I'd even made some sarcastic joke about the smokey engine...it was so bad, it was laughable!

To say the least, they didn't give much of our money back...we were able to get refunded for the drinks at lunch...but the ticket hawker who had done all the lying was conveniently absent upon our return.

Alas, buyer beware. Porter and I bought ourselves some cheap and wonderful wine to make life a little better.

The day after, we finally went diving in a very wild sea. Some of the waves seemed taller than I, and the current was strong enough to toss us around a little violently at the surface. Upon leaping in, we were lucky not to be bashed to death against the rocks. Once we were fairly deep, it wasnt so difficult...but swimming against the current was certainly a workout. We did two dives, both quite lovely. Shhh...it was porter's first open water experience.

Today, unfortunately, it's pouring rain. We were hoping to go to the beach, but we're taking care of errands instead. Porter leaves for the states tomorrow, and I've been frantically attempting to arrange my departure for Bulgaria. It seems that my plan to go through Macedonia is only possible in the summer months (it's spring, apparently), so I'll have to go to Sarajevo, then Belgrade, then Sofia. *Sigh*...at least it will be an adventure? I'm trying to be optimistic!

Overall, we've had a wonderful trip together, and it will be hard to say goodbye for the next two months. I am increasingly nervous about my time in Bulgaria, but it's an excited sort of nervous I suppose. I will write again soon!

If you want to seem some pics, here's the URL to porters site:

http://personal.utulsa.edu/~brian-porter/

Greetings again, I apologize for the delay in writing. Until today, the sunny weather certainly discourages indoor activity

We left Pula fairly reluctantly, our homestay was very comfortable and we made a visit to the beach our second day...which was certainly enough to encourage anyone to stay forever. It was not the same sort of beauty as Zanzibar (stiff competition, to say the least), as almost all beaches in Croatia are far more rocky and rugged. The water in Pula was a deep blue fringed with turquiose and bright green; we stretched out on a fairly flat bit of the rocky beach, soaking in the sun and scenery...entirely content and wonderfully lazy. The rocks may not be the most comfortable, but the beaches seem utterly pristine, and the water is absolutely crystal clear. *sigh* After seeing such beautiful beaches in my life, how will I ever live in landlocked oklahoma again???

I was absolutely set on seeing the out-of-the way (but totally worth it) Plitvička National Park, near a hub called Karlovac. We were unfortunately unaware that Karlovac was so tiny...with no internet, no public transportation, no reasonably priced hotels, and no tourist office after 12 in the afternoon. We arrived, exhausted, at five. Damn.

Karlovac was fairly charming; I was hoping to get in some rafting (too cold, and unfortunately the off-season), or to visit the Medieval faire at an actual medieval castle just outside of town. But time was flying, so we went ahead and left for the park.

In a word, AMAZING. In two words, COMPLETELY BREATHTAKING. Here's the website for a sneak peak of just how beautiful this place was:

http://www.np-plitvicka-jezera.hr/cpage.aspx?page=default.aspx&pageID=87

As the most-visited national park in the country, we were suprised to find that all the tourists were Croatian. In fact, our host family said we were the first Americans they'd encountered in over three years...(I hope we made a good impression!)

The park is an awesome natural wonder of several lakes connected by lliterally hundreds of waterfalls and turquiose lagoons. Every bit of water was intensely blue-green and totally pristine; we could see to the bottom of nearly every lake! I think Porter is working on posting the pictures to give you a better idea. I've never seen anything quite like it. We walked all afternoon, opting for the 4-6 hour route around most of the park. Absolutely worth the trip!

The next day, we caught an early bus to Split, the largest and oldest coastal town in Croatia. Even more interestingly, this is considered one of the earliest 'resort' towns, as Roman Emperor Diocletian built his retirement palace here, (which now makes up 'old town', with much of the structure still standing). We were exhausted upon arrival, because the bus ride was about 2 hours longer than it needed to be due to unusually lengthy stops in random towns, (I suspect the driver was a pack-a-day kind of guy, there was no other justification!).

After settling in, we explored a bit of the town - totally in awe of the many ancient pillars and remnants of roman civilization throughout the town center. We spent most of today lounging on the beach, enjoying the cool adriatic and a very warm sun. We were hoping to do a bit more exploring of the actual city once we were sufficiently sunkissed, but it is now torrentially pouring for the first time in our trip. Thus, because the city is still beautiful regardless, I imagine we'll find a (covered) terrace cafe, sip some wine, and wait away the rain.

We hope to visit Hvar tomorrow and do some diving...weather permitting. If worst comes to worst, I suppose I could do some shopping instead...

We are now in Pula, Croatia by the way - we just arrived by bus last night. As we expected, Venice was extremely expensive (even internet was 10 bucks an hour) so we only stayed for two nights. Our first look at the city was a tantalizing view of the Grand Canal just next the the train station. There is something purely incredible about Venice, even if tourists outnumber the locals. The architecture is seemingly ancient, with a gorgeous mix of rennaisance, baroque and gothic. Flowers adorn nearly every window sill, the streets are cobblestone, the canals snake through the entire city, the public buses are noisy, bloated boats. It's certainly a sensory overload, to say the least.

We spent our days wandering the labyrinth alleyways, hopping around to the typical sites, and sampling the local fare. Our stop at the Murano glass factory was fantastic - we watched the masters blowing the glass into (expensive) works of art. Luckily for me, all the jewelery was half off...so I was sure to pick up a little souvenir.

We also stopped by the ornate Basilica di San Marco, which was certainly beautiful, but disturbingly so. Something about gilded catholic churches makes me uncomfortable. We decided not to pay the rip-off $15 entry fee, so we payed one euro to play with the pigeons instead. Although I am a firm believer pigeons are little more than (damn persistant) rats with wings, Porter and his bag of bird feed were soon drowing in them as the birds swarmed all over his arms, chest, back and shoulders. One particularly ambitous pigeon took a perch upon his head. Okay, okay, I tried it too...but they definitely liked porter more than me.

Overall, it was a pricey but lovely experience - we could have saved a bit more money if we realized that only gullible tourists actually pay for the local transportation (no one ever checks for tickets) or frequent the mildly expensive restaurants (the street food was far tastier and more affordable). We also had to leave on the once-a-day bus before I could visit the Peggy Guggenheim art collection, so I suppose I will have to return someday (a bit wiser and wealthier, perhaps.)

Soooo....we boarded a comfortable bus (nothing like Africa and India, to say the least) for Croatia, passing through a very green Slovenia and barely-there customs. I find it very strange that I've not had my passport stamped since I entered the Munich airport. They take a look at them (appearing official and mildly skeptical), and then hand them back...nothing fancy. Apparently I was too awed by the gorgeous scenery, because I managed to leave my passport on the bus - which was long gone before I even noticed.

In a mild (okay, extreme) state of panic, I found some other driver hanging around the station who made a call to the now off-duty driver of the runaway bus, who hand-delivered my passport in his BMW. He was sporting fancy shades and a ˝stupid annoying American˝ expression. Very, very close call.

Croatia has been fantastic and affordable....we're staying with a lovely local family. The husband makes his own wine and served us fresh cherries from his orchard. The wife speaks only croatian (my few phrases are a little insufficient), but she is very kind and jolly. We sat on the porch until quite late, enjoying wine and fruit and chatting with the husband and a permanant tenant - a retired naval engineer/skipper with a bad knee and a world of experience. We talked about the war, the Serbs, the croatian economy, his career memories, and his jaunts around the world (including Cuba!). We ˝ordered˝ a pizza from some local woman, chowed down in the kitchen, and went off to bed.

We awoke this morning to fresh coffee (which neither of us like, so porter downed both of our cups so as not to be rude..haha) and an extremely adorable, snorting female pug. After a breakfast of bread and jam, we made our way into town, stopping at the awesome first century ampitheater and this lovely internet cafe. I must say that I very much miss the clean air laws of the USA, as everyone...everyone smokes here. Anyway, I apologize for the stream-of-consciousness nature of this entry, but I am suffocating from lack of oxygen...I believe the only cure is a relaxing trip to the beach...

bye for now!