Summer 2014: Croatia

Over three years since our visit, and I'm finally getting around to documenting our time in Croatia, based on the rough notes I made at the time. Now, the eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that the blog is called the "Am-Asian Adventure" but, seemingly inspired by our time in Mongolia, we've decided to invade Europe! I was originally going to start a new blog for each new continent, but I didn't for the last two summers in South America, so I guess it just makes more sense to keep our quest for world domination all in the one place. And so the European leg of our travels starts here - along Croatia's sunny Dalmatian coast!

We flew into Zadar on the afternoon of July 26^th 2014 (That's a long time ago...) and after a brief walk around the town and a quick bite to eat, we were ready for a nap. That might seem like the tamest of starts to a holiday ever but in our defence, we had travelled down to Cork the previous day for a wedding and, with the party still in full swing, we had to drive through the night back up to Dublin to catch our flight early the following morning. So, an extended snooze was certainly called for.

We were back up and out again soon enough to see what Zadar had to offer, and there was certainly enough to keep us entertained for the 24 hours we were in town. 

Being honest, the main reason why we were here in the first place was because it was the only place in Croatia where Ryanair fly direct! But it was actually a charming destination in its own right, and I'm glad we did get to see it. Its main attraction is the Morske Orgulje (Sea Organ), a set of pipes located on the marble steps of the main promenade, which play music naturally with assistance from the wind and the waves.

It was quite cool actually and like nothing we had seen before. It was just random sounds of course but they were oddly soothing. The whole promenade was very nice in fact, and we just so happened to be there for an annual event called the Millennium Jump, whereby thousands of people line up along the waterside and take the plunge, one after another, like a chain reaction stretching for hundreds of metres. You'd probably have to view it all from above to get the full effect of the spectacle, but it was still enjoyable to watch.

1,001 Dalmatians would've been a catchier name though…

Zadar was equally as pretty at night with most of the tourists flocking back towards the Morske Orgulje, to see the multicoloured lights of the promenade's circular floor. Though with so many people there, it was nigh on impossible to get an uninterrupted picture of the whole thing.

That night brought with it an endless barrage of thunder and lightning, which was incredible to watch, except for the accompanying rain that lasted all throughout the next day, giving us the unfriendliest of welcomes to our next destination of Split. Despite the rain, we were still able to have a wander around and enjoy what is a really beautiful city. The next morning, our still-wet socks were the only trace of the previous day’s downpour, as the sun was back out again in full force. Talk about a Split personality!

We actually returned to Split a couple of times as we went on mini-trips to other nearby locations, so I'll just group all of our time here together.

The centre of Split is built around the remains of the Diocletian Palace and is made up of tall towers, narrow alleyways, and marble arches and pillars, giving you the feeling that you're just walking through a model reconstruction of an old, Roman city.

And that's just one small aspect of the place. There's also the beautiful, tree-lined Riva promenade on the marina, with market stalls during the day, and street performers at night. Marjan Hill offers nice walks and a panoramic view of Split. And the bell tower of St. Duje's Cathedral, lifts you above it all, right in the centre of the city. All in all, it's probably one of the most charming destinations to walk around aimlessly and spend a few days doing nothing in particular.

And I know what you're thinking, "Yes, it looks nice and all, but do they have a frog taxidermy museum?". I'll stop you right there; welcome to Froggyland!

So many questions, so few answers, but sometimes in life you just have to admire the beauty of something, rather than wondering why it exists.

From Split, we had two mini adventures to the islands of Brac and Korcula. We only had a day on each, so I'll just go through them both briefly. 

If you Google Image the island of Brac, 90% of the results will be of one single beach, and this was the reason why we visited the place too. 

This (seemingly) luxurious, white sandy beach is called Zlatni Rat, located in the southern town of Bol, which I can only assume is short for Bollocks because it was a pile of shit! Firstly, it's not sandy, those are pebbles. Next, it was so crowded that you could barely even see the pebbles. And lastly, the beach is just that little sliver, which at ground level, is not a lot of space at all. So imagine seeing that photo above on a tourist website and then arriving on this this tiny, cramped, crowded, rocky beach. No wonder the only photos you see of it online are aerial ones.

I was planning on putting up a photo from my camera to show what it was really like, but it turns out the only one I took that afternoon was of the food we ate!

Great berries though...

The island of Korcula was nicer, similar to many of the coastal towns we visited in Croatia; beautiful coastline, ancient buildings and charming alleyways. Overall, a better choice of destination.

And that sunset...

From Korcula, we made our way across to Dubrovnik; another stunner on Croatia's never-ending Adriatic coastline. We loved Split, and actually most of the places we visited in Croatia were incredible, but Dubrovnik comes in top of the pile. Croatia as a whole is just a great place to travel on a budget as the majority of its charm comes simply from walking the streets, admiring the architecture and gazing out over the seas. And Dubrovnik had a giant tick in all of those boxes.

And, as if Dubrovnik didn't need another string to its bow, it's probably now most famous as the filming location of King's Landing in Game of Thrones, drawing a fresh flock of tourists inside its walls. And unsurprisingly, local guides have jumped on the opportunity to run Game of Thrones walking tours around the city. We didn't go on any, but eavesdropped on a few while making our own way around.

Unfortunately, they weren't filming any scenes while we were in town, but that doesn't mean we didn't see any famous faces slacking off in the sun.

Those toys aren't going to make themselves!

Our last stop of the holiday was originally meant to be one of our first, but the weather in Plitvice National Park was so bad on the day we were planning to go here from Split, that we decided to juggle things around and do it at the very end. And so when we finally did make it here, the weather was... even worse! So bad in fact, that the first hour and a half was spent huddled inside the bathroom at the head of the walking trail, waiting for the rain to die down.

It didn't, so eventually we just had to bite the bullet and go for it. All the rainfall also meant that the path was completely flooded, so most people just trudged through the puddles with wet shoes and socks, but we hopped along from stone to branch to ladder, like a little obstacle course, and managed to make it through clean and dry.

Rain aside, the park itself was really great, with lakes, waterfalls and forest paths, and eventually the sun did come out a bit and we could enjoy it properly.

And here's our first European video diary:

So, we're back travelling in the comfortable surroundings of our home continent! I'll try to zip through the rest of our undocumented journeys in the coming weeks (just so Eur-ope to date!), starting with our snowy new year trip to Romania.

There really is a huge difference between travelling in Europe and most of the places we visited in Asia. There’s a stark contrast between the relaxed atmosphere of Croatia and the hectic nature of somewhere like China - it’s European sophistication versus you’re-a-peein’ on my shoes. And yet, you do miss that sense of unpredictability that Asia gives you. Let’s hope Europe has a few surprises up its sleeve…

South America Part Two - 5th Stop: Uruguay

Last blog of the summer and another new country! Uruguay marks Aisling's 60th and my 57th country visited, but it's also a first for us. We've entered new lands by plane, train, bus, car, taxi, but surprisingly, never by boat. Uruguay is positioned directly across La Plata from Buenos Aires, so all it takes is an hour long ferry and you're in the town of Colonia del Sacramento. And that's exactly what we did!

Edit: I just checked back over my previous blogs to confirm this, but it turns out we also got a ferry from Malaysia into Brunei, so that opening paragraph is utterly worthless. Do not read it.

As the name suggests, Colonia del Sacramento is an old, Spanish, colonial town, and so, quite different to all of the other destinations we've visited this summer. And it was lovely! We only spent a day here, which is all you need really, but it's a very nice place just to walk around. It's by the sea, there's a cobbled-stoned, old town with original city walls, there's a nice walkway along the coast; it was just a pleasant place to spend the day.

  

There was also the ruins of an old bullfighting ring in the north of the town, which is about an hour's stroll from the centre. 

And I know I'm repeating words, but Uruguay as a whole was just... pleasant. That's the best way to describe it. It didn't have the wow factor of Argentina, or the mediocrity of Paraguay, we just had a very nice time, with no major occurrences. Unfortunately, a "very nice time" doesn't make for the best blog post. I guess this summer just proves that nice guays finish last.

After Colonia, we got a bus to the capital, Montevideo, and coincidentally, we were staying on "18 de Julio Avenue", on the 18th of July. Streets and plazas all over South America seem to be named after dates (that, or Irish immigrants), which is something I haven't really seen anywhere else in the world.

We spent a day in Montevideo, and I liked it a lot. Similar to Colonia, it was by the sea, so you could walk along the water side, and the city itself had a positive vibe to it too, with nice buildings, more street art, and couples dancing in the park.

The final of our three stops in Uruguay was Punta del Este, the biggest tourist hotspot in the country, with people even coming from Argentina and Brazil to sample its beaches. Luckily for us, seeing as it was winter here, it wasn't that crowded at all. Though having said that, it only takes a handful of people to ruin a photo...

This is probably my second biggest travel pet peeve (after people who recline their seats on planes). It's people who stand in front of tourist sights. I have no problem with people jumping in to get their photo taken, but it's those who just stand in the way, oblivious to the others around them. Or run in to get a picture and then don't move out of the way after it's taken. Or those who spend 10 minutes getting pictures taken in every pose from every angle! Let's just all take a turn, get a good photo, and go home.

Imagine what it must be like in the summer!

Punta del Este as a whole was lovely, just like everywhere in Uruguay. Obviously, the hand is the main attraction (French pun!), but it was a nice town to walk around, again like everywhere else in Uruguay. I don't have much else to say other than that!

So, that was Uruguay, best summed up as 'unspectacularly likeable'. As I mentioned, it's only an hour from Buenos Aires, so definitely worth a few days if you're in the area.

And here's our video diary from Punta del Este too (we never did make a Monte-video diary!)

And that was also that for our second stint in South America! Between this year and last, we've spent 2 months and seen 6 countries in total, so we're chipping away, but still a long way to go yet. When we first came here, I did the Spanish Duolingo to learn a few words, and it was certainly a help, as most people would only have basic English at best. Aisling though, has been doing proper language courses and she has been carrying the team for the past two summers. Actually being able to say full sentences makes a big difference!

No immediate plans yet for our next trip, so that'll be a surprise for all of us. In the meantime, I'll try to go back and start a few blog posts from Europe that I never got round to writing. Don't quote me on that though, as it may never happen...