Korcula, Split, and the Coastline, Croatia

The past few days we have spent driving north from Dubrovnik (which is very south in Croatia) along the coast. The first day driving up the coast we were met by rocky rocky land with some grape vineyards (great wine) and small towns. We then took a short ferry ride to the picturesque island and town of Korcula. The old town of Korcula was extremely quite as the tourist season is over and thus all of the shops and restaurants were closed for the winter. The town is very senic and if you have a chance you can checkout a few pictures that I posted on facebook of the town. I look forward to returning to this island in the spring as the hostel (which was closed) looks awesome.

The next day we had a longer drive up the coast as we took two car ferries and then drove up to Trogir which is about 20 minutes north of Split (both on the mainland). The landscape breathtaking and unlike anything I have seen; enormous rocky mountains that are met by the smooth clear adriatic sea. I envisioned Croatia to be overrun by tourism which I know it is during the summer months but what has surprised me is that you still see that life is very modest here with old houses along the road with wonderful orange, pomegranate, kewi, and olive trees along with vineyards filled with fruit. Croatia is not a resort location but a natural beautiful place that is impossible for a tourist to refuse.

Today was a beautiful day with the warmest weather I have seen since my time in Lisbon and Madrid. We spent the day exploring Split which is the second largest city in Croatia. Split is quite modern with a promenade that reminded me of the French Riviera along with a large food market. Walking through the market my dad said to pay attention to the faces of those selling the goods. The faces were beautiful and aged. You could tell that they all had worked hard and had been through struggles over the years but their eyes sparkled and their faces glistened with joy and you could tell that each had a special story to tell.

Tomorrow on Thanksgiving we head further north and inland to Plitvice Jezero national park and the following day we will head back to the coast. This weekend we will take a translator with us out to the village of Kukuljani where my great grandparents and thus our lastname came from. We will have the chance to reconnect with some relatives and hear their stories which will be very exciting.

Happy Thanksgiving to all and enjoy your turkey and stuffing which I will miss dearly.