Feeling the warmth in winter: Croatia

Today marks five months on the road for me. However today is no more or less significant than any other day I’ve lived since I left home. But it’s come to my attention I’ve been a bit behind in my blog posts. A lot of wonderful things have happened since I last wrote so I figure it’s a good time to share. 

It’s been about a month since I left the U.K. and followed my curiosities to the Balkan region. My first stop would be Croatia…and I’m still here. I’m writing this from the warmth of an incredible apartment on an island off the coast which me and another traveler have for at least the rest of this month. Fate invites you to amazing opportunities, especially when you plan on having no plan. 

I guess I’ll back up a little bit to explain how I got in this current predicament. 

I flew into the countries capitol Zagreb. To be honest I had really no expectation or knowledge of Croatia other than the pictures of beautiful coastline and a national park called Plitvice Lakes. Other than that I was kind of winging it. It’s seems to be a bit more fulfilling when I leave a bit of mystery to a place, not being plagued by someone else’s critique or perspective of a place. But to be honest it wasn’t too much of a risk considering the development that has taken place over the past couple decades and it’s great safety/crime record. 

The person that I was staying with in Zagreb (a fifty something male French artist) would prove to be, let’s say my most politically vocal host I’ve had thus far. Despite receiving a four and a half hour lecture/borderline scolding of why the US government is the evil of this world, he was actually very kind and welcoming to me as an individual. He just wanted to share his strong political opinion, but then again who doesn’t these days?

The city of Zagreb itself has a beautiful downtown, with beautiful architecture from past empires, a towering cathedral, and markets to sample the local tastes. 
If you know anything about my interests in travel you know I LOVE going to the food markets. As I passed one of the older ladies selling the local cheese my eyes must have been a dead giveaway as to my desire to taste because she took her knife, sliced off a piece and handed me a sliver with a smile. We didn’t speak the same language but she knew I thought it was delicious when I returned her the smile she’d given me after I’d eaten her offering. 

Inside Zagreb Cathedral

Overlooking Zagreb

Dolac food market

Zagreb Cathedral. It’s been under construction for a long time.

After four days of exploring Zagreb it was time to hit the road. I was headed to a small town called Šišan outside of the bigger “city” of Pula on the northern coast of Croatia in a beautiful region called Istria. Much like my last host my next one would prove to be unforgettable, but for different reasons. 

Šišan

I was staying on a sustainable farm in progress that actually doubled as an animal rescue and adoption center for stray animals. If you didn’t know Croatia has a lot of strays. Let me just say it was very much a work in progress and little more than a make shift shack attached to a trailer with dozens of animals…including a turkey. There was no running hot water. Showers were behind a curtain in the “living room” using hot water boiled on the stove. The bathroom was a hole outside. Now that you have somewhat of an idea of the place I should explain the other side of things. This place has an undeniable beauty and character. An infectious gritty way of living where everyone is existing together. A community…a family. I’ll put it this way; I was intending to stay two days, I stayed a week and a half. I’m not the only one who shares such a positive view of this unique place. I know this because there are countless writings on the wall from hundreds of travelers who called this place a temporary home. Mementos of beautiful memories made, and I am one more of those curious wanderers who fell in love with this dirty, pieced together, work of magic. 

To Pablo, Anouck, Sasa, Marcin, and Jannik; you should know that you guys are the reason it was such an incredible experience. 

On one of the hikes we made by Pula

Where the dogs go if they misbehave. They misbehaved a lot, but it’s hard not to love them.

The turkey of course

Saša and home in the background. I should note this is Saša’s place and his operation. Thank you again for everything.

Oh and it didn’t hurt that I was always surrounded by puppies and kittens.  

After the week and a half hastily evaporated into memory it was time to head south with my new travel partner and German counterpart Jannik. 

Two Italian guys who were nice enough to pick us up. Damn we had a view.

Enjoying the view and a beer before the ferry arrives.

Back on the road

 

We had the intention of making it to one island and ended up on another. Spontaneity on the road uncovers the most incredible things. We found ourselves in a small and I mean small village called Lubenice. With Jannik and I’s arrival we increased the population of the village by over twenty percent. If you haven’t yet you should google this place. It’s the kind of place that post cards were created for. This town was inhabited by people for over 6000 years. I’ve never seen a place like it. We were staying with the youngest person in the youngest building. Romano is nearing forty and the building is around 500 years old. Everyone and everything else is much older. When one of the citizens here passes away the next family member in line comes to stay in the families house to keep the village going. Everything about Lubenice is excessive in its poetic and historical beauty. Everything done there seemed to revolve around preserving it, and everything should be done to preserve it. 

Sunset from Lubenice

Pathways of Lubenice

The Young building where we stayed with Romano. It’s actually an old school house that Romano refurbished. Here he works with wool

View down to the closet and very beautiful beach.

The gate to the village cemetery overlooking the Adriatic

Roman Archway

On a hike with Romano

A cave outside Lubeince. Was actually a home to people thousands of years ago.

Jannik in the cave asserting his dominance. At least he thinks he is

Walking down old Roman roads

Had to walk an hour to the nearest town to buy food. Was beautiful though

Lubenice!!!

A garden overlooking the sea in one of the families homes

Feeling the cracked stone under your feet as you walk through the scattered sun light of hollowed out centuries old buildings, running your hand across the ancient walls of homes for countless generations past is simply put, surreal. Lubenice is an ode to our past and a priceless gift to our present and future. 

Romano thank you for everything, for sharing the unparalleled beauty of the place you call home and the knowledge and history behind it. 

Days passed and it was time for Jannik and I to head south to another island. I guess I should mention it was Jannik and I’s intention to island hop our way south until we reached the city of Split. We reached the town of Mali Losinj looking to take a ferry to the island of Pag to enjoy a fun New Years. After ten minutes of being here we found out there was no ferry. The only way was to go back the way we came 130 kilometers to the mainland. The thing was we found ourselves in an unexpectedly incredibly beautiful town on an island off the coast of Croatia. We liked it here. We decided to stay. One problem though, we had nowhere to stay. We started scrambling for ideas. We tried Couchsurfing and found only one viable person who ended up not responding. We then looked around for hostels and guest houses which we found to be a bit out of our budget. We knew we had a tent, but it was going to be a cold night. By a little stroke of luck and out of the box thinking we (Jannik) found the couch surfing host on Facebook. Here name is Ana and she said she had family staying at her place so didn’t really have room but she’d be happy to meet us for drinks later. As the sun began to hang lower over the horizon and the cold started to invade a bit further Ana mentioned she might be able to host us should we not be able to find anything. By the time it was time to meet for drinks we had NOTHING. The moment you met Ana you were reminded what kindness was. She offered her families apartment to us for a couple days. Jannik and I were saved from the cold and instead found ourselves in a luxurious apartment far beyond anything we’d expected or experienced so far in any of our travels. I mean we actually had a hot shower whenever we wanted and could wash our clothes when we wanted and had all the cooking supplies we could ever ask for. I can’t tell you the appreciation I’ve gained for a warm shower and clean clothes whenever I want since I left. I should also mention the place has a balcony with an incredible view. Jannik and I quickly realized we loved this place. We decided to make an offer to have the place for the next month. We didn’t have much to spend but offered what we could. We have the place until at least the end of January. Yes, we are damn happy. 

Jannik, Ana, me and her cousin Robbie

I got a bit cold so Ana being nice as she is lent me her scarf. I wore it quite well.

Mali Losinj!

I have to jump in at some point.

We enjoy fiery sunsets quite regularly from our balcony

The top floor is ours

Looking across the sea to the snow capped mountains on the mainland.

Had to get the balcony selfie.

Love the pathways here in Mali Losinj

I want to note the kindness of Ana and her family. She offered what is typically a vacation apartment for travelers, initially to us for free. Then accepted a beyond (way beyond) fair offer from us to stay the month. They have invited us in to there home downstairs for the most amazing home cooked meals, and they even bought us a damn bottle of wine. Seriously, they bought US a bottle of wine. I hope Ana you and your family know how thankful we are and how much this means to us. I have a million more thanks to give you. 
As always I could write on and on about what I’ve experienced since I last wrote. So much left unsaid, so many thank you’s to give, and of course so many incredible people to reflect on. I guess I’ll just have to be content with laying here on the couch looking out of the window on a sunny day over the town of Mali Losinj. 

-roamthegiant