Croatia-the South (via 1 day in Bari, Italy!)

Arrived safely back in Italy – the port city of Bari.  We had requested that we sail on “Open deck”  (able to sleep in the camper) a facility given to campers only in season, that is from 1^st April.  We were assured that being only 30^th March would be no problem.  We were sent up to the top of the ship barely making it up the last ramp as it was so steep, onto this massive OPEN DECK!  They insisted we parked at the far edge which was wonderful as one looked out of the window and saw nothing but ocean seemingly 1000’s of feet below!  We pleaded that they parked us in the centre……after some time we just moved there.  Guess they thought the deck might be PACKED with other campers, oh yes, ha ha……no-one else JUST US!  It was pretty weird being the only vehicle there, kind of agoraphobic!

So we wimped out on Albania!

Knew we were back in Italy by the fact that we got cut up within minutes of arriving, cars parked sideways, people hooting you for no apparent reason – it was good to be back! 

Bari was a pleasant surprise, a lovely city with a beautiful “old” city.  We were further surprised by the fact that the Irish were in town for a World Cup Quali vs Italy and we were going to miss it as we were booked to sail on a once weekly service only to Croatia.  The sea of green around town was great to see and we wished them luck!  (And luck served them well we learnt later as they equalised in the last few minutes, they must have been ecstatic!).

Bari lies in the Apulia region or Puglia.  Its an area that has come under a variety of civilisations from Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Norman, Swabians and Aragonese.  It’s a “seaside” town with an old town surrounded by a boundary wall.  The heart of the old “quarter” is a town in itself with a maze of alleys and small squares, walking on black and white lava stones.  Most buildings emanate from 11^th-16^th century.

Our Croatian ship “Marko Polo” (a cut above the Greek tug we’d taken 2 nights before from Greece!) sailed at 10 pm and we found a comfy corner to settle for the night arriving in Dubrovnik at 7 am the next day.  We found the only campsite “Camping Solitudo” easily on the opposite side of the bay to the port which had just opened or the season the day before!  Reckon people must have been waiting for it to open as 7 vehicles from Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, UK and us were here, the most vehicles we’d seen in one site since Sicily way back in mid November! 

Campers continued to arrive like bees to a honeypot – over our 3 nights in Dubrovnik there must have been more than 15!  Seemed like high season to us!  2 landrovers were on their way to Africa a few on their way north like us but most northern Europeans were heading south.

We waited for a clear sunny day and caught the bus to Dubrovnik.  What a MAGIC city it is!  Although the old town was hit badly in the 91-92 war it had reroofed those buildings effected and it all looked like a fairytale town, cross between Tuscany and Venice.  We walked the walls surrounding the town and poor Mike suffered badly as, in places, it was horrendously high.   The views from the walls, out to the islands and beyond was magnificent.  The old town itself, a myriad of red clay tiled rooves packed together tightly with streets climbing to both sides creating tiny alleyways and millions of stairways. 

Dubrovnik originally called Ragusa has been a jewel in many a crown due to its strategic position lying on the eastern Adriatic.  From Romans to Slavs & Avars, not forgetting Venetians and having been defended by the Franks and Byzantines from the Arabs it has had an amazing history.   Founded originally by Greek refugees 1300 yrs ago and part of the Byzantine empire in the 5^th & 6^th century it went on to shake off Venetian control in the 14^th century.  Its importance declined in 1667 due to a large earthquake and the ending of many of its trading routes.  In 1806 Napolean ensured its autonomy.  It was annexed by the Austrian Empire in 1814 and from 1860 its modern place in tourism began.  It has recovered well from the 1991-2 war although the odd bullet holes can still be seen in the sides of some buildings.  We believe this to be even more apparent towards the north of the country. 

After a few days we headed north following the Dalmatian coast and crossing to a promontory of land called Peljesac virtually as island that runs parallel with the coast.  We drove towards the northern point to Kuceste just beyond Orebic which is the jumping off point for the island of Korcula,  but once again had been unaware of how high the road went!  The views were stupendous though and with the weather now warming up and the smells of the pine trees it felt as if summer was truly on its way!  Found a great camp site alongside the ocean although very windy!  Seems strange that just across on the mainland is a “tiny” piece of Bosnia & Herzegovina adjacent to the ocean about 10 kms wide only!  Maybe Croatia felt they had to leave them with a piece of ocean access!

Had a restful few days in the Peljesac area – one day we spotted a Dalmation (in Dalmatia!) and in fact before we left the area, we saw a second one!

Weather became less windy and it was quite warm the day we took the ferry to the island of Korcula – only 20 mins from Orebic.   Korcula old town is a “tiny” Dubrovnik old town although it had a massive Italian or rather Venetian feel to it.  We walked in both directions checking out the town’s back streets and deciding to walk to the port, about 3-4 kms away to take the vehicle ferry back.  A lovely walk around the bays and we could’ve been in one of Sydney’s little coves like Mosman – it had that very same feel about it!

One day we walked towards the end of the peninsular – an abundance of camp sites although most still shut.  The area advertises its suitability for wind surfing but it was very peaceful, pristine clean stone beaches and all in all a pleasant area.

Next stop was the Split area.  The ‘book” said if we could get past the quote “stupefying ugly apartment blocks surrounding Split” it was worth the visit!  We found a very cheap and small camp site in Omis which lay about 18 kms south of Split.  It was on the coast at the head of the Cetina river which entered the ocean via a beautiful gorge.  Once again there was an “old” city which was a good thing as the new part wasn’t anything to rave about.  We parked up and took the bus to Split which ended up being a nice surprise!  Splicani (as Split people are called) are made up of 3 groups of people, the “fetivi” those descended from “old” families, the “boduli” those from the Adriatic islands and lastly the “vlaji” who migrated from other parts of Dalmatia and live in those horrendous high risers.  What totally amazed us was the height of at least 50% of the people there, not just 6 footers but way taller than that……even the women!    Ask a Croatian where to seek the most beautiful women and they will say Split….a strange and almost mystical aura surround them with their height, ample bosoms (as the guide book says!) and Mediterranean Slavic features.

So what of Split itself?  Honestly you could’ve been in Venice, Padua or Florence in the old town of Split – buildings were the same narrow Romanesque streets, gothic and renaissance houses, passages, gate arches and windows.  Wandering thru the old town you come across little squares with corner cafes and then via the cellars of the Diocletian Palace you emerge onto the lovely white paved wide seafront promenade with rows of palm trees.  Traffic free it faces the busy port with large Jadrolinja ships plying the islands.  Yes, it was a very pleasant surprise – Split.

So after a week in Croatia we headed thru the gorge and inland to central Croatia – so many people “hug” the coast and the islands we decided to venture elsewhere.    We found, after climbing (which we hadn’t expected AGAIN!) to be on plateau after plateau which only a month or so back would’ve been covered in snow.  Landscapes went from green and lush to dry arid and bearing many a scar from recent skirmishes with bullet scarred houses and many villages completely destroyed.  We were heading for the Plitvic Lakes