Croatia, land of blistering heat and cool blue Adriatic beaches
Croatia was a blissful vacation from my vacation, the kind of place you would want to escape to in the dead of a Canadian winter (except that technically it would be colder at that time in Croatia). Evidently the week before I arrived it had been pouring a kind of smattering rain for about a week, so it was perfectly primed to be as hot as possible for my stay. So hot, in fact, it was too difficult to sight-see, but perfectly easy to swim every day in the bright blue water of the Adriatic sea on the Dalmatian coast. Croatia uses the currency called Kuna, which was confusing to switch to after being so used to the Euro. Luckily things were fairly cheap here.
My time in Croatia looked something like this:
- 3 days in Split (trips to Hvar and Brac islands)
- 4 days in Dubrovnik (trip to the Elaphite islands of Kolocep, Lopud and Sipan)
Taking the ferry to Split from the sketchy port town of Ancona in Italy, I met a really awesome girl named Rossana (an Italo-Canadian freelancer) who ended up transforming my stay in Split.
Coincidentally we ended up in the same hostel and decided to see the sights together. I really liked Split… beautiful monuments, bright white stone on the main stretch close to the ferries, and proximity to some beautiful islands.
Our first stop was Brac island, which evidently has one of the top ten beaches in the world, called Bol beach. We ended up on the island very late in the day, not a good idea in Croatia, which I found to be very confusing in terms of navigating the bus system. We had to take a bus to get to the other side of the island where the beach was. A not very helpful tourist information employee advised us to “come back tomorrow,” since at this rate we would only get an hour on the beach itself if we took the return bus at its scheduled time. But Rossana and I decided to be resourceful. While on the bus ride there, I introduced myself to two girls from Finland and asked them if they wanted to join us in a taxi ride home since we were in the same boat. They agreed, and soon another passenger (a British consultant named David) approached us and asked if he could join as well. Having now 2 or 3 hours on the beach, we all made the walk together and ended up having lots of fun as a group of 5.
It was the best beach I have ever swam on: soft pebbles underfoot (no gritty sand to deal with), deliciously inviting water, surrounded by mountains, and not too crowded. I soon learned that the Adriatic sea is wonderful to swim in, since it is so salty that the water seems to cradle you. No need for strenuous swimming or worries about depth, you can essentially relax and float in this water. And of course, the perfect temperature for a hot day.
Laura, Rossana, David and Terhi:
Later, we watched the Euro Football (soccer) match between Italy and Spain, sadly in the minority since most people were cheering for Spain:
The next day, we made our way to Hvar island - much more touristy since it is a new favourite haunt of celebrities. It was very beautiful indeed, and we walked around briefly, before heading on a taxi boat to a close small island with a great beach. Again, swimming is the thing to do at this time in Croatia if it is not early morning or late afternoon when the weather is bearable. We brought David along this time since in his love for Croatia he is a return visitor and knows a lot about Hvar.
Cute croc-wearing couple on the ferry to Hvar island:
View of Hvar:
This is what the shore looked like when we pulled up at the smaller island in the boat:
On this beach we found a swanky set-up of bar, restaurant cafe, and hammocks with some very groovy, relaxing music. It all has a very resort feeling, and we proceeded to have a relaxing afternoon.
Dessert section:
Restaurant section:
David and I, notice how relaxed I look!
Beach (we purchased the luxury of the shaded hut chaises):
Risotto primavera for lunch. It was pretty good, especially with the lentils and beans mixed in there:
The bus ride from Split to Dubrovnik was extremely beautiful, all along the coast and well worth the 2 or 3 hours it took. Here is one of the shots I managed to get through the window:
I don’t really have much to say about Dubrovnik. It was lovely and picturesque with its walled in old town…
My hostel was near the top of the city so every day I had an exhausting walk up in the scalding heat. Also, I unfortunately invested in a not-so-worth it tour of the Elaphite islands. Here is a photo of some blossoms on Kolocep island:
I ate a few times at a great vegetarian restaurant called Nishta… but overall I found that the beaches were less satisfying than in Split since I found them more dirty and polluted from the boats and larger tourist population.
Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Croatia, and find it surprising it is so unheard of in Canada. It is a well kept secret! Shhh…
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