Last Friday I arrived in Croatia! The plane arrived on-time, but it was after dark so I decided to take a cab rather than some combination of bus and walking. I felt very savvy walking away from the taxi that wanted to charge me twice the going price; he turned to the rest of the all-male taxi drivers and basically said ‘will anyone take this girl to this place for this price??’ mockingly and to my (and possibly his) surprise a lady driver comes up from the back of the stand and says ‘I will, come with me.’ I’m sure she got a very hard time from her male peers for taking an obvious tourist for a fair price, and I’m sorry I didn’t have change to tip her.

That experience combined with my comfort the next morning walking out the door without a map and wandering around to get a coffee made me realize I have changed already on this trip. I would do the same things a year ago, but it would take much more mental/emotional work. I’m just more comfortable now with whatever comes my way. A delightful realization. I may be able to call myself a Traveler soon.

I met my cousin Ellen at the bus station the next morning and away we went! We spent Saturday at a town called Bibinje just outside of Zadar, about 50 feet from the water. Sunday we explored the old part of Zadar and had a wonderful dinner of calamari and shrimp risotto. They have some 30+ churches in the small walled-in area including some quite old ones. It also has some of the most beautiful sunsets in the world, according to the locals.
Church of Saint Donat, built in the 9th Century
Inside Saint Donat, looking up

On Monday we took a bus to the town of Vodice. Also very quiet; I’d almost describe it as sleepy. I wanted to take a trip out to see the Kornati Archipelago, but the whole tourist situation was a bit weird. Everyone here speaks very good English so they’re obviously accustomed to having tourists. But both a private and the municipal tourist information places told us only one company will bring you to Kornati (which is a National Park) and they weren’t going until next Friday. Ellen and I were both surprised; in Central America every small-time fisherman would be hanging out on the dock, jockeying to take you to whatever island you wanted. A lot of potential here, but I think not enough gumption.

We did the only logical thing and followed our nose to a seafood grill place and ate the best seafood of my life (grilled mussels!! and grilled squid!!!), and a complimentary shot of a strong local digestive; and then took an early bus in the morning to Dubrovnik.

The bus ride was absolutely beautiful. I hadn’t realized how mountainous Croatia is. We also passed through a little bump of Bosnia, complete with two passport checks and a bathroom break. Fact for the day; I just learned that Croatia and Montenegro (which we’re going to in a couple days) were part of Yugoslavia. Makes me want to play some RISK!

We’re in Dubrovnik tonight, the famous southern walled city. We’re planning to explore an outlying island and tour the town a bit before continuing on to Montenegro!