Another nice day of hiking. In and out of the forest looking down at the labyrinth of stone fences below. Some were still being used for sheep. Another we passed was currently unsuccessfully being used for cows. The cows had found a fallen part of the stone wall and seem Ed to come and go as they please.
Lunch was at a hut that wasn't in the best shape. I had mentioned before we were following another girls blog for information about this trail. She posted a picture of the hut owners dog. He spoke no English but the three of us managed just fine. I showed him a photo of his dog from the girls blog on my phone. He was shocked to say the least and we all had a good laugh. We sped through the remainder of the day and made it to the road by 3pm. A hostel was perfectly located across the the intersection.
We got a room for the night, showered, and had something to eat. As usual no one knows about the bus schedule here. We had the same problem trying to get into the last town. I Googled and found the schedule for tomorrow. We will see if it's right. Before bed we washed our hiking clothes and hung them on the open window with hangers. Around midnight the wind picked up and began to howl. I woke to the window opening and closing. Windows here open like doors. I'm half awake when I walk over to close the window before realizing my clothes were gone! Seriously? I stuck my head out the second story window to see the hanger holding my clothes about 6 feet down the roof in the gutter. Great. I woke Shadow and extended my hiking pole as long as it would go. Shadow reached out with the hiking pole and plucked my hanger from the gutter. The shirt and shorts were there, but no bra or underwear. I raced outside to see if they were on the ground and found my bra racing down the parking lot in the wind. The underwear was still no where to be found. Shadow reached with the stick again and found my undies! He must have played the game Operation as a kid.
The next morning we fought the wind and low clouds a half mile down the road to the "bus stop". We were lucky to make it in last night before the weather. The transport website said the bus would pick us up in front of the church. I was skeptical since there didn't seem like enough room for a bus to pull in. The whole time I'm hitching just in case this doesn't work out. A minivan pulls over which turns out to be the bus. He speaks no English. I try to communicate, but the curvy cliff side road he has driven a million times freaks me out and I decide to let him concentrate on his job.
The small seaside town of Karlobag, is busy with tourists. Like most of the towns in Croatia, the architecture and infrastructure is good, but you can tell the best days are gone. I can only assume this is the result of war.
The food here is a lot of grilled meat, veggies, and fries. I know what you think, and no the ketchup is not the same. A red bell pepper condiment with fresh sliced onions normally comes with the dish. When we arrived hungry at the hostel last night, I ordered a burger and Shadow ordered a pork chop. A large platter came with fries, 2 pork chops, and a hamburger. No bun. This morning when we arrived in Karlobag it was cool and windy by the sea. We slipped into a restaurant for breakfast. The menu had ham and eggs, ham and cheese sandwich, bread with jam and cheese, etc. Shadow ordered the eggs and ham. I saw the sandwich and asked if I could get an egg added to my ham and cheese. "No." She said. OK, maybe it was lost in translation. I get the sandwich. It's a hoagie bun with cold cheese and cold ham slices. She was right. A fried egg would not go well with this sandwich.
As I'm writing this, Shadow reads a new post on the Via Dinarica's website that says the Croatian section of this trail is not "Officially" open. It's a shock to us. A little too late since we are almost done with Croatia. They have topo maps and GPX files for the complete trail. It's not perfect, but no new trail is. Shadow and I are doing our part by making more detailed notes about the trail for next year's hikers.
Karlobag, Croatia
1 comment:
Can't believe your clothes almost blew away!
You are telling the best stories!!
Post a Comment