Crystal Clear Croatian Waters

6fartsinacart
Apr 22, 2017
4 min read

17 April 2017, Monday: It is a beautiful sunny morning after some good rain during the night. We cross the border into Croatia at 10am. This is the first border crossing where we have to present our passports at customs. This is a quick and effortless procedure. We aim for a camper-stop at Senj as the rates are not as expensive and it has washing machine facilities. On arrival we discover that the rates must have tripled since the book was published. It’s a very pretty setting and we have lunch there. Soon after leaving we stop and do some of our washing by hand. Dad creates some hanging space and we are happy to wait for the washing to dry in the sun while chilling on the beach. We put in a last short journey for the day to Stinica where the ferry crossing takes place between Stinica and Misnjak (on the island of Rab). Right in front of us the water is a ‘brochure turquoise’ blue and we are blessed with a beautiful sunset on the horizon. We go to sleep with the gentle sound of water lapping on the rocks below. 18 April 2017, Tuesday: We have an exceptionally quiet and peaceful night. After a short spell of sunshine the clouds close in and it starts raining... no...pouring. We would have loved to stay another night, but regretfully leave our peaceful setting in search of water (not rain water). We stop for lunch along the coast and continue to Zadar where the park4night app promised us water at one of the parking areas. To our dismay we can’t find any tap. We move to a quieter stop and Dad makes a plan by collecting water with an umbrella we found along the road. He speeds up the process when finding a broken gutter at our parking area. We finish our supper before we make our last move slightly closer to town just opposite the marina. 19 April 2017, Wednesday: This morning we pack up and move closer to the sea organ which was another attraction we kids stumbled upon during our research. We walk a few kilometres to the old town centre which dates back approximately 1 BC. As we turn to take photos of the sea organ we realize why we are so uncomfortably cold. The mountain peaks are covered in a fresh layer of snow which happened over the last 2 days while it was raining! Not that we South Africans moan, because we are c-c-c-c-cowboys and we don’t c-c-c-c-cry. We treat ourselves to some Croatian pastries and pizzas. Yum! We also discover a self-service laundrette in the centre of the old town of Zadar. I offer to bring the washing all the way back from the camper (a round trip of about 5km) but the old farts decline. As we exit Zadar we see another laundrette, but with no parking close by. When we see the third one, we get the hint and park on a building site with permission from the friendly builders and do our laundry. An hour and a half later, we depart smelling of lavender heading towards Primošten. Here at our park4night stop we are able to get rid of the last bit of our gutter rainwater...spoiled with a tap right next to Merzy! We fill up with fresh water enabling us to clean our bodies so that we well and truly smell of lavender. Okay, maybe not lavender, but soap. The parking is right next to an old people’s marble pitch and we spectate from within the camper while they are having fun outside in the cold. 20 April 2017, Thursday: Our little Mielie-pit makes us Polenta, the equivalent of mielie-pap in South Africa, to get our day started. As us girls have long hair and the tap is dead handy close-by, we decide to have a hair job. Although it is sunny there is a fresh ‘icy’ wind outside. After filling every container we can find in Merzy, we leave. Our next destination is Split. Along the way we stop at Trogir and go for a stroll through this ancient little village which was built on an island. After walking through this quaint town we continue to ‘split’ (get-it?). We buy fresh bread and park Merzy just after 14:00 at the peninsula of Split. It is a beautiful place and we relax for the rest of the day. Split itself is surrounded by small islands, which means the water is very calm. Later in the afternoon we stretch our legs and go for a walk exploring the bay. Upon returning Dad lights the barbeque and we have a variety of braai’d pieces of chicken. This delicious meal is complimented with our Granny’s special potato salad.

21 April 2017, Friday: This morning we are so besotted by the lovely spot, that we unintentionally stretch our time causing us to leave later than normal. We decide to have a short journey to a park4night stop just past Ploče. We cross the Neretva River and take the last few kilometres to park on the other side of the Neretva Delta, a wind-surfer’s paradise.