Tales of Croatia. Part Thirteen.

Entire story takes place from late May to late June in Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Makarska, Omiš, Split, Vodice
and Tribunj, Croatia, as well as Slovenia.

Continued from part twelve...

To recap; I'd spent about three weeks in Zagreb. Sasho Maleev joined us and we flew SouthEast to Dubrovnik, hanging out there for three days. We then rented a car and drove north to a small fishing village called Tribunj.

Click any pic to go to a gallery with all photos.

Krka National Park.

After that, we headed back North, to Krka National Park, to visit the waterfalls. The waterfalls were the site of the second waterfall based power plant, after Niagara Falls, having flipped their switch maybe a day later. Something like that. Beautiful place.

They have a nice wood walking path, raised above the water all through the marshy lands. There were little bright blue, iridescent dragon fly like bugs all over the place.

Esad gives me love.

After this, we headed back North to Tribunj and went to the cafe again. We had food there that night, watching the World Cup and eating more fish. Their catch of the day was some kind of smaller fish. Not as small as sardines, but not much bigger either. Breaded and fried. Nice. We'd pop them in half, remove the bones and eat them. Calamari, fries, fish, bread, olive oil and beer. We didn't go too crazy that night, just drank out there by the water in Tribunj, chatting, listening to the donkeys and watching the fish swim around.

I like this one of Sasho.

The next day, we headed home to Zagreb, an uneventful drive. I slept a bit. I left Zagreb two days later to return to Southern California, sad and not at all ready to leave. I hope to move to Zagreb in the fall sometime, if my permit for residency goes through. Thanks to Esad for hosting so graciously, and to Sasho, for joining us in our travel fun.

Tales of Croatia. Part Twelve.

Entire story takes place from late May to late June in Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Makarska, Omiš, Split, Vodice
and Tribunj, Croatia, as well as Slovenia.

Continued from part eleven...

To recap; I'd spent about three weeks in Zagreb. Sasho Maleev joined us and we flew SouthEast to Dubrovnik, hanging out there for three days. We then rented a car and drove north to a small fishing village called Tribunj.

Click any pic to go to a gallery with all photos.

We got burek to eat, with yogurt and got in the car and drove South, to Split. We saw a Roman Aqueduct in Split, alongside the highway. The city itself has a large area enclosed in an old walled Roman town.

Split.

Very old buildings, and the world's oldest (1800 years old, Esad tells me) Cathedral. The inside was ornate as one would expect. The old doors were there, intricately carved with many religious images twisting in the wood. The cathedral went up very high indeed, more and more narrow as it went up. Sasho and I climbed up the bell tower, maybe ten or 15 floors up. We went into the tombs. They were selling candles outside, so I bought one. Inside, near one of the alcoves, was a metal framed candle holding stand for maybe 50 candles and a few were burning. I stuck mine on a pike and lit it in honor of the woman who had killed herself, to honor her in her belief system, as a catholic would. Or so I assumed, as I'm ignorant.

Sasho and me, up at the top of the bell tower in Split.

We went for a beer, decided to grab lunch and walked towards the car watching for a restaurant. We came upon a place in a side alley. The signage in Croatia is very poorly designed, and it was a cheesy sign, but the restaurant was really great. We had more fabulous seafood, the usual suspects. Great stuff. And the environment of the restaurant, seated outside amongst a garden, was very tranquil and comfortable.

The view at the restaurant.

Sasho and Esad at the restaurant in Split.

End of Part Twelve

Tales of Croatia. Part Eleven.

Entire story takes place from late May to late June in Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Makarska, Omiš, Split, Vodice
and Tribunj, Croatia, as well as Slovenia.

Continued from part ten...

To recap; I'd spent about three weeks in Zagreb. Sasho Maleev joined us and we flew SouthEast to Dubrovnik, hanging out there for three days. We then rented a car and drove north to a small fishing village called Tribunj.

Click any pic to go to a gallery with all photos.

The beach in Tribunj.

We woke, grabbed some burek for breakfast along with yogurt, and walked north to see the beach. The path wound around to this beach with a lot of concrete and rock platforms to lay on. We continued around the bend and went up a hill for a view. Nice area.

Tribunj beach areas.

We walked all the way back and then headed south, all the way to Vodice. We went to a cafe and met some of Esad's friends from Zagreb and joined them for some waters. They own a house on an island just offshore here, called Prvić. They invited us to join them later for dinner. They went back to the island with their groceries and we went off for some beers. We went to the beach to swim a bit. The sea here has these little black sea urchin thingies that sting you, or more like they break off in your feet. The poison doesn't kill you, but it fucks you up a bit. So, I wore my Teva's in when I swam and no trouble.

Esad and Sasho on the ferry.

The ferry came and we boarded. The guy said we were too late for tickets and happily accepted our bribe, letting us board.

Esad can fly.

Tribunj, Vodice and Prvić

The island was only maybe a couple of kilometers offshore, not very far at all. Inhabited, but tiny. No cars at all. A tiny dying village, where the young people are moving away and the populace is leaving. Or, people own the homes as vacation places and are only there during summer, for weeks at a time.

Prvić, pronounced 'Per-Veech'.

Esad's friends took us to their place, which they'd renovated. It was a nice, tiny, stone house. Very comfy. The girl cooked us pork chops which were very tasty and juicy. We sat, drank beers and shared humor, returning home after a couple of hours.

The view from the house in Prvić.

Prvić.

Many houses on Prvić are abandoned and overgrown with plants. They're still owned, just not lived in currently.

Sasho on Prvić

Esad on the dock on Prvić.

We went back to Tribunj and the cafe and drank beers. Our group grew with new people joining us and we had a proper partying group. The girls in the group wanted to go dancing, so Esad and I went to a dance club with them and Sasho went back to sleep. The club was along the water, and packed. Lotsa loud music and hot, sweaty air. Drank and drank, danced and danced. And danced. And drank. After hours of this, I'd eventually had enough to drink. Going outside for air, I got the hiccups and began cursing at passersby as Esad tried to get me to shut up. I was too drunk. Ack! Off to sleep.

The cafe in Tribunj.

I slept a bit later than the others, joining them at the cafe. I saw the same waiter from the night before. He'd been at the dance club with us as well, drinking late into the night. I asked how he was holding up. He answered he was a bit tired but doing fine. Raising a bottle of beer and taking a drink, he said he was still going, was still drunk and had not gone to sleep at all. Nice.

End of Part Eleven.

Tales of Croatia. Part Ten.

Entire story takes place from late May to late June in Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Makarska, Omiš, Split, Vodice
and Tribunj, Croatia, as well as Slovenia.

Continued from part nine...

To recap; I'd spent about three weeks in Zagreb. Sasho Maleev joined us and we flew SouthEast to Dubrovnik, hanging out there for three days. We then rented a car and drove north to a small fishing village called Tribunj.

Click any pic to go to a gallery with all photos.

We headed north again. Eventually, it started to get dark. We decided to put off our stop in Split because it was getting late. We passed Split. Near Šibenik, we were sent on a detour up into the hills because of an accident. And, we became stuck in crazy traffic. The little road was too small to support normal traffic and there were buses on it. They were blocking traffic and everyone was just sitting there. By the time we cleared the traffic, it had been 45 minutes wasted in bullshit traffic caused by idiots. Basically, nobody on the opposing lane would stop for the bus or back up. So the bus just sat there, or got by one car every 5 minutes. Horrible!

North of Šibenik, Esad could not find the right road for Vodice, which is where Tribunj is closest to. We took wrong road after wrong road. And so the time passed. After a while, we found Vodice and went to a late 10:30 PM dinner. More fish, this time škamp, large shrimp that are more like crayfish than shrimp. I couldn't figure them out as they didn't pop open like shrimp when you tear their legs off and pull back, splitting them. It took more effort, Sasho had to show me how. They were tasty, though.

Tribunj.

Finally, we arrived in Tribunj. The house we were staying in, was in the center of a tiny island. The island is big enough for maybe 40 houses, all largely vertical and tiny. Around 8 cafes and restaurants. The island is maybe 20 meters offshore and connected by a small, stone bridge. It's beautiful.

Tribunj.

We went into the house, opened all the windows to air out the mildew and get some fresh air in there, then walked to the cafe, maybe 40 meters away. The houses get very moist as they're stone in this wet environment. It smelled like a basement inside the house. The cafe is pretty great. We mostly went to the same one every day and got to know the bar tenders.

Tribunj. This is the cafe we basically lived at while in Tribunj. Donkey Island to the left.

That first night, we just ordered a couple of beers and sat there by the water chatting. The cafe is literally right by the water. That part of the island has very little moorage for boats, it's not meant for that. So, the tables are right there, then the walkway ends and goes right into the water with no railing or anything. They put on two lights under the water there at night and we sat there watching the fish swim around and chase the smaller fish, trying to eat them.

Donkey Island.

There are two small, uninhabited islands right there offshore from Tribunj, maybe 200 meters distant. Not far. Esad told us the tale of the Donkey Island. That's the one on the right. The local area used to rely on donkeys for transporting things, manual labor, that sort of thing. But, when cars came along and tractors and such, the donkeys were no longer needed. When this happened, instead of killing the donkeys, they put them on the island. Then Tribunj would hold donkey races once a year as a tradition, using these donkeys. They'd boat over to feed them during the year. The donkey races became famous. Evidently they're funny, as donkeys don't exactly like to race. Esad told us they were wild donkeys and that you're not supposed to go onto the island, as they'll attack you. He told of one time trying to wind surf. As he got close to the island, a donkey was onshore snarling at him. He put the board down in the water, so as not to go ashore, and swam back with the board.

Donkey Island as seen from the roof balcony on the house we were staying in.

The next day, we saw one donkey on the other island. He'd evidently gotten bored and swam to the other island, and was now there braying across to his brethren, undoubtedly horny and lonely.

The second Donkey Island is on the right here, main Donkey Island further to the right, offscreen.

End of Part Ten.