Croatia is famous for its sunny Dalmatian Coastline which is located on the Adriatic Sea across from Italy. It was part of the Yogoslavia Federation but won its independence in 1991. Croatia now is a Republic under a parliamentary democratic government. Twenty-five percent of its national income comes from tourism and its citizens’ living standard is one of the highest among the Mediterranean countries.
Our Road Scholar group consisted of 23 people from various States and Canada. We received a big surprise when our neighbors Barbie and Jerome who lived 5 minutes from us in Columbia walked in during the orientation. Neither of us knew that we were on the same trip. Our tour guide Ivan Boban has 10 years of experience leading the tours for Road Scholar. We were also joined by Ana who works at the RS regional office.
Our first stop was Montenegro (means Black Mountain in Italian) which is a small country with rugged mountains. Yugoslavia dictator Tito used to come here for spa treatment. We took a tour of the medieval town of Kotor by Boka Bay. Kotor people love cats and we saw many under the tree, in the streets. All the cats were well-fed, friendly, and neutered for population control. We visited Our Lady of the Rock, a catholic church constructed on an island in the bay when a fisherman found an icon of the Virgin Mary in 1452. Now there is a tradition for locals to throw rocks to widen the island during a festival every July. Ray and I enjoyed our first fresh seafood dinner at a restaurant near our hotel.
Montenegro to Dubrovnik was just a short bus ride and crossing the borders was easy. The Old Town Dubrovnik, dubbed as the ‘Pearl of the Adriatic’, is a popular destination for tourists. We were there on a Sunday and saw many “wedding” groups celebrating on crowded streets. There was even a dressed-up dog helping his master to purpose. With red-tiled roofs, miles-long city walls, and narrow labyrinth alleyways, this place is full of charms. We did a city walk, learned some history, and then returned on Monday to visit the ethnographic museum on our own. This museum is inside an old underground Granary and has some intricate hand-crafted garments and traditional folk musical instruments
From Dubrovnik, we boarded the beautiful sailboat “My Barbara” – our home for 8 days and enjoyed island hopping along the Croatia Coasts. The sailboat was the true reason that we selected the Road Scholar program for touring Croatia. The view of coastal old towns with brilliant red tiled roofs under the sun was breathtaking. Sailboats, yachts, and cruise ships went in and out of the harbors, trailing by white waves. The shimmering sunlight reflected from the Adriatic deep blue water was not a sight you would appreciate from a bus on the shore.
We stopped at several islands, some big ones like Hvar, Split, and Sibenik but I enjoyed the smaller ones like Korcula and Sipan because there were a lot less crowds around. While on Hvar, we visited a Benedictine monastery that is known for its agave lace made by the nuns. The fabric was extracted from young Agava leaves, kneaded, and stretched into threads. Long needles then were used to weave the intricate patterns. The 5 nuns who resided in the monastery were the only people who knew how to make these laces now. Hvar Harbor was full of yachts and sailboats. It also has many pebble beaches. We took a bus to Sbinik through the mountain. Along the way, we saw ancient grids of stonewalled plots where locals now grew lavender. We also visited the birthplace of Nicoles Testler (the inventor of AC) The most interesting place we visited was this 13-generation farmhouse ” Jurlinovi dVori”. We met the head of the family who is a priest. He was born and raised on this 7 room farm. He offered us the products and wine they made there and we enjoyed a wonderful Croatia’s traditional Peka meal prepared at their kitchen.
Road Scholor’s main goal is education so we had several lecturers presenting the history, the arts, language, and the economy onboard My Barbara. We also were entertained by a Croatia acapella group and a band performed both folks and American show tunes. We were sad to say goodbye to the crew of My Barbara after such a wonderful time. For all my friends who want to visit Croatia, I highly recommend that you consider going by boat with Road Scholar.
Plitvice Lakes National Park is the most popular tourist spot in Croatia and it did indeed deserve its reputation. The Park’s upper and lower lakes are interconnected with natural dams resulting in hundreds of waterfalls. Some are wide and powerful while others are tall and narrow. The cascading waters are mesmerizing while the calm emerald lake reflects in the sunlight like a mirror. Our guide was knowledgeable about the plants and wildlife in the park and pointed them out to us. We spent about 5 hours in the park and it was not enough time. We could use another hour or two to meander around this beautiful place. It reminds me of Jiuzhaigou in China, another gorgeous waterfall place.
