THE DALMATIAN ISLANDS

SAILING THROUGH DIAMONDS

Do an online search of the Dalmatian Islands and you will be amazed at the stunning array of beauty stretching into the Adriatic Sea. There are major islands like Hvar and Korcula with towns of weathered stone buildings, and breathtaking islets of white sands surrounded by azure water. You’ll look at the pictures and you may think that is inaccessible. It is so far away, the price, etc.

 

ELAPHITI ISLANDS

There are many excuses, and but one reason to go; it’s a big world out there someone has to see it.

Don’t worry, if you decide to go to Croatia you will not be alone. Millions of tourists descend on this beautiful slice of the world each year, with the hordes peaking in July and August. Since the 1991-1995 Croatian war for Independence the tourism industry has steadily grown to become a major source of income for the country. As an American you’ll get to mingle with people from all over the world. Croatia is a popular vacation destination with Germans, Austrians, Poles and the English, just to name a few of the countries.

 

PAKLENI ISLANDS, CROATIA

Team VFH is especially excited about this particular trip because it will be an adventure, one might say this will be out of our comfort zone. We’ll just not be lolling about on the beach, walking the boardwalk hitting the arcades. Going to a foreign land that is quite safe for travelers, but with a completely different culture is always exciting and one that we don’t do quite enough. 

DUBROVNIK

Most of our traveling will be on the southern half of the 200-mile Dalmatian coast, from Dubrovnik to Split; two wonderful destinations. Dubrovnik is a medieval walled city fortified first against the Turks and then the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Split is where the Roman Emperor Diolectian had a palace built in the 4^th century. The palace is a tourist drawn today. These are the destinations, but everyone knows the journey is as important.

THE GO BETWEEN

To get between here and there we will be sailing with Unforgettable Croatia on their luxury cruise ship the MV Infinity. With a maximum capacity of 38 passengers the Infinity is just 3 years old and the company claims this will be an intimate experience.

UNFORGETTABLE CROATIA SAILING

STON OYSTERS

Our travels on the Infinity will include several stops. After leaving Dubrovnik we will head for the Elaphiti Islands, known for pristine beaches for a swim, and then to the coastal town of Slano for a visit to a fisherman’s village, then to the village of Ston on the Peljesac Peninsula to visit an oyster farm and some oyster sampling. This is where Croatians get their oysters. Perhaps we'll get enough energy from eating all these oysters to walk the Walls of Ston, a defensive fortification started in the 1300's.

WALLS OF STON, CROATIA

Then it's the Captain's dinner on board.

We will visit the large island of Mljet and the Mljet national park there and then see the salt lakes Veliko and Malo Jezero where we’ll have the chance to visit a 12^th century former monastery on Melita Island in the middle of Veliko Jezero. Mljet was once an important maritime stop for ancient Greeks and supposedly there’s great diving here. On the western side of the Peljesac Peninsula where my friend has his summer home, Mljet is called Croatia’s Greenest Island, and boasts some of Croatia’s best beaches. We’ll have plenty of time to explore as we will anchor in the port of Polace.

MELITA ISLAND

We will sail next to Korcula, the island where Marco Polo, the famous explorer and creator of that pool game was born. I had been to the island once before and I am looking forward to returning to this lively island. Again, we’ll have plenty of time to explore as we anchor overnight here.

 

KORCULA

Other islands we will visit are Vis where first we'll have breakfast  before quickly moving along to a local winery to sample some very good white Vugava and the red Plavac. 

The 2017 film, "Mama Mia: Here We Go Again!" was filmed on Vis. Once a sleepy island real estate prices have soared on Vis with the release of the film.

Bisevo Island is our next stop where, if the conditions are good, we’ll get to visit the Blue Cave.  At certain times of the day and seasons sunlight reflects through the crystalline water and bounces off the white floor of the cave to bathe the area with a blue glow. A boy can dream.

BLUE CAVE BISEVO

We’ll have lunch at the Pakleni islands, a chain of strikingly spectacular islands, before heading for the revelry of Hvar and anchoring overnight. Hvar calls itself as “the sunniest spot in Europe,” and it a popular tourist destination with yachts filling the harbor and hard partying going on late into the night with young crowds filling the discos. Don’t worry I ain’t busting a move anywhere near them. Hvar is also known for vast stretches of fragrant and beautiful lavender fields. Perhaps a tour of the lavender fields is more our speed; don’t want to break a hip dancing….

TOUR OF LAVENDER FIELDS, HVAR 

LAVENDER FIELDS FOREVER

The last island before we hit Split is Brac and a swimming stop at the famous Zlatni Rat. Sometimes called the Golden Cape this spit of land that extends into the Hvar channel, is listed as one of the top beaches in Europe. When I first saw pictures of this beach, I knew I had to someday visit it. Extending about 2,000 feet into clear blue waters it is quite a remarkable place for a swim!

We’re not off the boat once we anchor in Split. We get a tour of the city and we stay in our stateroom until the next day where they will then drive us to a rental for the next part of our journey to Croatia, the Plitvice Lakes National Park.

 

THE GOLDEN CAPE CROATIA

This will be quite unforgettable.

PIVO DINGAC AND SLIVOVITZ

WHEN YOU’RE DRINKING THE WHOLE WORLD SMILES AT YOU

When you’re lingering around the backyard pool and celebrating this 4^th of July with many Americans… sadly not all, remember you’ll never drink alone, at least in Croatia.

They like to drink in Croatia. According to one study Croatia is in the top 5 of alcohol consumption per capita.

CROATIANS ARE DRINKERS

BUZA II DUBROVNIK

So, when I belly up to the bar at Buza II in Dubrovnik to get an adult libation and then sit out to admire the Adriatic at this cliffside aerie, what am I going to savor?

BEST BARS IN CROATIA 

Pivo

Beer / pivo is the most popular beverage in Croatia with breweries like Karlovac, Osijek and Daruvar. These larger breweries are found throughout the country, but for the past number of years craft brewing has become increasingly popular. Most of the micro-breweries are located near the country’s capital, Zagreb, but they are now popping up everywhere! Lucky us we’ll soon get to drink something from LAB in Split, Vunetova from the island of Hvar, or Sibenska pivovara located near the Krka National Park!

Molim Vas dvije pive. (May I have two beers)

BEER IN CROATIA  

Dingac

To exclude other wines is a disservice to you my dear reader, because though Dingac is a highly rated strong red from the Peljesac Peninsula, where my friend thankfully has his summer home, Croatia has a number of exemplary wines. Just across the Adriatic from Italy, Croatia has the perfect climate for producing wine. Another is Posip, a white made on Korcula and Hvar. Babic is a full-bodied red from Sibenik and Bodanusa whose name means “gift from God” has a light refreshing taste and is from Hvar.

But, a very fond memory of my last visit to the Peljesac Peninsula was from 1984 when Zeljko, my friend with whom we’ll be staying, stopped at some farmhouse and with some collected coins bought the wine produced here. No idea where it was, but it was someone’s home brew and it was delightful!

7 MOST POPULAR CROATIAN WINES

Now, you may be wary about wading into Croatia without a strong command of the language. This primer may help.

HOW TO PRONOUNCE CROATIAN TO GET YOUR WINE!

Slivovitz

Croatia is an Eastern European country and spirits are extremely popular and often distilled at home! Chances are the neighbor is making rakija (fruit brandy) or slivovitz (plum brandy) or something like that, or knows someone who is distilling.

 

A BOY AND HIS STILL

I’ve had slivovitz before, and when I say that it’s a cure all for what ails you, including skin boils, please imbibe with discretion. Of course, you can purchase a bottle from a liquor store, but you’ll probably offend your hosts!

Maraska slivovitz is produced in Croatia, if you don't want to go to your neighbor's backyard…….

MARASKA

God Bless America. Happy 4^th of July everyone.

SAILING AWAY

CAROUSING IN CROATIA  

This July your favorite traveling duo is off to Croatia. I’ll warn you it’s a costly trip but we have quite a bit of freebees and mooching going on to make it happen.

  

DUBROVNIK

Here’s our itinerary. We fly to the walled city of Dubrovnik and stay there for a few days. We then board a luxury cruise ship that will sail us through the Dalmatian Islands for a week. Disembarking in Split we rent a car to travel a few days to see Plitvice Lakes National Park. Then it’s back to Split for a day and then it’s on to Trpanj to stay with a friend whom I worked with at the Sarajevo Olympics in 1984.

 

PLITVICE LAKES

Here’s the freebee.

Our airfare is free, because we signed up for an American Airlines credit card that gave us enough miles to fly to Dubrovnik. American Airlines just started flying into Dubrovnik this June. It’s quite a savings anytime you can get free airfare to Europe in the middle of summer.

Here’s the mooch. 

Through Facebook I’ve kept in touch with my friend over all these years and for years he’s been sending me pictures and imploring that I should come visit he and his wife during the summer. So, how could we refuse him?

We haven’t seen each other since I traveled back to Yugoslavia in 1987 after the Frank Sinatra Italian Tour ended and I took three days out to fly into Sarajevo. Lot’s of living and sadness for us both since then, and this will be our time to reconnect.  

Here’s the ouch.

The sailing is expensive, but that’s been a bucket list item for me, to sail through the Dalmatian Islands in the Adriatic Sea. It’s through a company called “Unforgettable Croatia”. They operate a small fleet of cruise ships with varying degrees of luxury. We could have gotten down and dirty with a trip, but that would have involved a lot of drunken naked younger folks, so we settled on a wrinkle in time…ahem.

Here’s the wow.

Our ship is the MV Infinity that has just a 38-passenger capacity and we will sail to islands like Mljet, Korcula (where Marco Polo was born), Vis and Hvar. There are many amenities included in our approximately $4,000 sailing adventure like meals with beer and wine included, tours to an oyster farm and a wine tasting, free WIFI, and all port fees are paid. It’s worth it!  

Much more details to follow! We leave soon, follow along

 MV INFINITY

CONCHS KUNAS AND BSD

NEW HORIZONS

Okay, Team VFH is serious now with the traveling. Janet has retired and my work has been thankfully sporadic. Life is good, but our time in this Garden of Eden is measured, and so your humble sojourners are going full monty with the destinations. New horizons are in the works and though we will continue to seek out the jewels amid the mundane, the world is waiting and in 2019 we plan to see a fair amount of what she offers.

HOW ARE WE GONNA PAY FOR THIS?

Truthfully, I don’t know. Hopefully the ghetto stock market (lottery) will help, but if not that whole adage about spending your children’s inheritance is ringing true. (I keep dropping hints that they should call more often…). I realize this may seem to be hedging on vindictive, but truthfully the sea change attitude of enjoying my life now, because the future is unwritten, has been a healthy dose of living for me. Too long for too many years I’ve plowed through work and Saturdays and Sundays were just two more opportunities to earn. I earned and earned, afraid an indeterminate future would not take care of me and my family. 

Now, in hindsight, I realize how we all suffered from my devotion to labor, but the past is gone and I must abide by the tenet taught well by my wife Janet, that life is good, but is fleeting and the Garden of Eden awaits us.

I’LL SIT HERE IN THE DARK

There’s a joke: “How many Jewish Grandmothers does it take to change a lightbulb?” The answer: “Don’t worry, I’ll sit here in the dark.”

Okay, I don’t mean to simply wave off my family. I have struggled mightily with how to atone for my imbalance over the years. I can continue to guilt myself and beat my chest and bawl. I can attempt to guilt my children and become a nuisance and show up on their doorsteps and constantly hover. I can sit in the dark and wait, to no avail.  

Or, behind door number three, there is the road. It’s a big world out there you know, and in the words of Dedalus, a character in my second novel, “The Music Made Me Cry”, “someone’s got to see it.” As they have the right to live their life, so do I.

SPENDING THE INHERITANCE

  

“KEYS” TO SUCCESS

Team VFH has resolved to travel somewhere every couple of months and we’re not talking about trundling over to the mall. In this still young 2019 we have planned three major trips: carousing in Key West, sailing in Croatia, and lounging in the Bahamas.

1) GOD’S WAITING ROOM

In February, Team VFH will call the Florida Keys home for a few weeks. We fly to Miami, rent a car and drive to Looe Key Preservation Center to either dive or snorkel for a few days. Nearby is the incredible Bahia Honda State Park, considered one of the best beaches in the country, and on Big Pine Key, The No Name Pub.

LOOE KEY

 BAHIA HONDA STATE PARK

NO NAME PUB

After a few days we will stay in the Conch Republic, Key West and enjoy the revelry down there for a week. We've both been there before and though we're not sure what will greet us on this wacky island, I'm sure there will plenty for us to squint at.

One side trip I had always wanted to go on was to the Dry Tortugas National Park a 70 mile ferry ride out into the Gulf of Mexico, to see Fort Jefferson. DRY TORTUGAS

 

FORT JEFFERSON

We’ll be in the Key West area for about a week. On our return we will stay a few days in Marathon key.

2) BUCKET LISTS AND DEAR FRIENDS

A long time ago in a galaxy far far way I worked the Sarajevo Winter Olympics for ABC and since then I have often wished to return. I still have dear friends there and I suffered greatly when the former Yugoslavia was wracked with extreme violence when the republic broke apart after Communism fell. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, was crippled by the longest siege in history. When I visited Sarajevo, I was impressed by the myriad of peoples living cohesively. Sarajevo was renown for all the Muslims, Catholics and Jews living together in peace. The war changed all that. One fellow I worked with at the IBC (International Broadcast Center) fled Bosnia before the siege and settled his family in Zagreb, Croatia. Over the years we've kept in touch through social media and last summer he invited us out to visit. We’ll be out there in July.

 GEMS OF THE ADRIATIC

DALMATION ISLANDS, CROATIA

We will fly in and out of Dubrovnik and stay with Mr. Z and his clan in his villa in Trpanj, but before that Janet and I are sailing through the Dalmation islands for 7 days. We depart from Dubrovnik and visit islands like Korcula, where it is said Marco Polo was born, and Hvar. The trip ends in Split. We explore that area for a day or two before taking a ferry back to Trpanj. We won’t be traveling in-land to see Sarajevo, but I’ll bet my bottom Kuna there’ll be a lot of hugs and much pivo swilling. I have always wanted to sail through these beautiful islands and so here we go!

CROATIAN BEER

 

CROATIAN KUNA

IT'S BETTER IN THE BAHAMAS

We enjoyed our honeymoon at the Antigua Sandals enough to give this adults-only, couples-only, all-inclusive luxury resort company another swing. This time we’re off to their Royal Bahamian resort in Nassau in late November of this year. We were able to save a couple of BSDs (Bahamian Dollars) because we booked the trip very early, almost upon our return last month. 

SANDALS ROYAL BAHAMIAN

BAHAMAS DOLLAR

                                             

It may seem a bit anti-climactic to be lounging about instead of exploring new horizons, but this particular resort boasts their own private island to go along with the pampering that Sandals offers.

Thanks for reading. Keep checking back for updates on these and other trips that crop up.

Oh I realize I've mentioned my book in a shameless plug earlier. Here's where you can buy it:  THE MUSIC MADE ME CRY by Greg Dunaj