Croatia is a place I had never even dreamed of going but once I started researching sexy beaches, it wasn’t long before I started hearing the buzz about how beautiful it is and I knew it was a “must do” on my list.  I looked into it and found that not only is it a unique place to visit, it is rich in culture, history and of course great beaches and sexy people. It is quickly becoming a European hot spot and once I got there I immediately fell in love with its beauty and charm.  The people are friendly, the food is good and the scenery is like no other beach I have been to.

DUBROVNIK
Dubrovnik was our first stop in Croatia.  The old city is still there enclosed by the ancient walls and complete with a moat, canons and a drawbridge but don’t be fooled it is not a museum but a thriving quaint little city where people actually still work, live and play.  Sara and I took a tour around this amazing city with a local guide, Luka.  After learning the history of the city and seeing it from the inside, we decided to get another view of it from the water so we took a boat ride in the Adriatic to get a better view and ended up on Banje Beach where we met a group of Croatian guys playing picigin a local beach game with a small ball.  The object of the game was to keep the ball out of the water.  Sara and I were not very good at it.  Later that night we had drinks at Buza Bar.  It was kind of hard to find and when we first found the entrance it looked a little scary and uninviting.  Boy were we wrong!!!  The bar is nestled on small terraces just outside the city walls overlooking the Adriatic Sea.  We got there just in time for sunset and it was sooo beautiful I literally cried.

Just a 10 minute boat ride from Dubrovnik is the Island of Lokrum.  Lokrum is said to be haunted and I love anything haunted or spooky so I knew we had to check it out.  It is a very small island and no one lives on it.  It is home to an ancient monastery and when the monks were forced to leave many years ago they cursed the island so that bad luck or even death would come down upon anyone who tried to own the island for pleasure.  While there we got a tour and heard all of the ghost stories, we went swimming in a really cool looking swimming hole they call a “dead sea” and then went cliff diving!!  Well…I should say cliff jumping!  It was amazing.  We walked to the other side of the island and saw a few local guys literally jumping off what looked like the end of the earth into the vastness of the Adriatic. We started off with a small jump of around 10 feet and before long we were conquering the higher jumps with no problem.  Don’t get me wrong, it was a little scary at first but soooo much fun!!!

BRAC
A trip to Croatia wouldn’t be complete without going to the island of Brac.  Brac is home to Golden Horn Beach.  It is a beach point that jets way out into the water and literally changes the direction it is pointing due to the winds.  And once you are out there you can tell why!  Between the hours of 2-7pm the winds really pick up speed making this beach a destination for sailboats and kite surfers.  Watching the kite surfers is incredible some of them can propel in the air up to 30 feet and they get going at great speeds.  Since kite surfing requires a lot of practice and know how, it was out of the question for Sara and I to try that so we opted for a sailing lesson.  Out there we were able to get up close to the kite surfers and when Sara tried to High 5 one of them she nearly got her arm taken off!!!

When I’m visiting a new place I find that one of the best ways to understand the geography and really get a feel for the place is to see it from above so I decided to take a flight lesson with Marin.  This was a little scary because for part of the trip I was actually piloting the plane and at one point my instructor was talking on his cell phone and text messaging!!!  I thought you weren’t allowed to do that!!  I thought it messed up the instruments in the plane!!!  Let’s just say I was so relieved to be back on the ground again!

NIN
Sara and I were told that there is a special mud in Nin known for curing ailments.  I didn’t really have an ailment in mind that I wanted to cure but I was interested in this mystery mud and its healing benefits.  So we went and had a mud bath with a physical therapist Igor. At first things seemed a little strange…we drove out to the middle of nowhere, went for a really long walk and it didn’t seem like he knew exactly where the mud was…but then alas, we found the mud and covered ourselves in it.  We sat around to bake in the sun and let it dry but truth be told, our luck it was actually a very chilly day and Sara and I were freezing trying to let the mud dry and finally gave up and ran into the water to scrub it off.

Later that night we had dinner at local place that is actually someone’s house yet a place you can go to have dinner.  We were interested in trying authentic Croatian food and that is exactly what we did!!  Sara and I had figs (I didn’t love them), and we tried maraschino a cherry liqueur famous throughout Croatia.  The traditional drinks seemed to keep coming but luckily so did the food!  A tray full of delicious meats and cheeses and breads arrived.  And we learned the Croatian word for “Cheers” is “ziveli”.

PALMIZANA ISLAND
Our last stop on our Croatian excursion was a private island called Palmizana.  When we first arrived by boat there was a small group of local men (one was actually the owner of the island and the others worked in the harbor) and they were singing beautiful operatic songs we stopped and listened and were invited to sit and have homemade wine with them.  Later, one of the ladies gave us a tour of the island and showed us to our little bungalow hidden among the foliage.   That night Sara and I decided to go on a hike, while out we happened upon the most beautiful little cove with pristine clear water.  It was so private and so beautiful and although we didn’t have our swimsuits that didn’t stop us.  We decided to go skinny-dipping and got caught by a group of boys from Sweden walking by…woops.  While frolicking in the water I accidentally stepped on a sea urchin.  I finished the scene and then warned the crew that I made need a little help out of the water.  When they saw what I had done they told me how painful/bloody pulling the prong out of my foot could be.  But, lucky for me I pulled it out without incident.  Shew!  That was a close one!
The next morning we took a fishing trip with a fisherman who didn’t seem to speak much.  We caught some really weird things including some sort of squid thing and a mini, little shark!!  After setting a few things free I decided that was enough fishing for me and we headed back to the mainland.

My Croatia trip was amazing and it definitely ranks in my top beaches so far.  It was an educational, relaxing, beautiful and unique place to go.  I highly recommend it as a must do beach destination.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 11th, 2009 at 11:33 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.