Plitvitza and Vis with Paula and Ward

Traveling with Paula and Ward Aug 30 - Sept 6

The reason for this trip and these locations has to do with our friends Paula and Ward, who we consider family and call Anika's god parents. They have been talking with us about doing a trip like this to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary for years.  Paula's family is from Croatia and she is very attached to this part of the world, having spent time here in her youth. She planned almost all of the Croatia part of this trip. We met them for a short time in Budapest before they boarded a Danube river cruise.

We met up with Paula and Ward again on August 29 in Split and headed to inland Croatia to a national park, Plitvitza Lakes. A long drive there through hills and rock out croppings, a dry but green landscape, crossing lakes or bays a few times. We arrive to a park famous here on the level of the Grand Canyon in the US and full to the gills with tourists. Waterfalls and pools in shades of blue that look unreal.

The place we stayed over night was really comfortable, the mountain setting quiet and the air fresh. We were happy to be out of cities and crowds. Being in green is so soothing.

Unfortunately we had only one night there. We drove back to Split and got the ferry to the island of Vis. Now the real relaxation started and I even took my Fitbit off! 

Vis is the kind of place we could stay for a nice long while. We took a bus across the island from the main town to the second biggest town, Komiza, where we stayed. There are next to no cars, just narrow winding streets and stairs of stone. Old shuttered houses of stones. It is a laid back town. A promenade along the sea, lined with boats for tourists and fishing on one side and restaurants, cafes and shops on the other. Everything feels old but there are some newer buildings.

We had a great Air BnB two minutes from a rocky beach (with a cafe) near the center of town. Views from our our place and then the beach and cafe:

We had aperol spritz every day, my new favorite drink. The water is crystal clear and perfect temperature. No rip tides or strong currents, grabber waves or undertow. My kind of beach.

We mostly went to the beach and did some serious lounging.

We went to a yoga class taught by a young local woman, went to the outdoor movie theater, a Croatian tradition, and saw Mama Mia 2 which I could have missed. But it was mostly shot on this island so people here are crazy about it. And we did recognize many of the locations. We took walks around the town and to the outskirts.

One day we took a tour around the island. The family run boat tour was really sweet and entertaining. From the perspective of the water we saw the amazing and beautiful geology of the island. The boat captain told us history, myth and family stories as did the local teacher on board (called "the professor"). The island of Vis has been inhabited since the Neolithic period, before Greek time and then by the Greeks, Romans, Venetians, the British fought against Napoleon  here and etc. In WW2 Tito used it as a head quarters for his partisans. It was a military outpost until 1989 and closed to tourists. It was where fish canning was invented and had a thriving fishing industry until WW1.

The captain and his wife played guitar and sang to us when we ate lunch which she had made on the boat and was excellent, served with family made wine in unlabeled bottles. We stopped twice to dive off the boat and swim. Once at an over crowded tourist trap spot and once at an almost deserted sandy beach. Most beaches on the island are rocky so this sandy beach was a special treat. At one point we pulled into a huge cement man made tunnel from WW2. It was used to hide submarines. The captain said the acoustics were great and got out and started playing the guitar and singing.

We had gelato and/or fresh made crepes from a street cart every night. We made friends with the crepe lady and where sad to leave her. I have renewed my love for Nutella after googling what palm oil they use and finding it sustainable.

Only two bummers; people smoking everywhere and ABBA songs from Mama Mia stuck in my head.

We were in Vis for 6 nights and could have stayed much longer. It was so relaxing. It is the first place on this trip I wold consider revisiting if in this part of the world again. Now we are on to our next island, Hvar where Paula has relatives.