After finding Split cloudy and cool with less charm than Dubrovnik we decided to make like a banana and…

Hvar welcomed us with sun and warmth and after easily finding our host we explored the Old Town with our accommodation right in the centre, and the rest of the small island. Hvar is the second most visited place in Croatia, receiving 30,000 visitors a day in summer! It was the start of the season for us so while we got the warm temperatures it was very quiet and we got to experience the brand new bars and cafes that set up each season.

On our first night we had a local dish of black ink squid and more mussels overlooking the bay, and who should we see at the restaurant but the kiwis again. Although our accommodation had a kitchen that we could use we never found it in the 4 storey house so ate dinner out most nights. It wasn’t the height of summer and it’s cheaper than London, although I don’t think we ever tried the freshly caught pricey fish, sticking mainly with shellfish. As we trekked into the parts of the Balkans less visited by Westerners the prices got even cheaper.

The next day we walked up the hill behind the old town to explore the fort and look down on Hvar Town. The blue water, green islands, and orange roofs were in hyper colour to our grey London eyes. We quickly got our beach fix again spending the afternoon on the pebbly beach with the chilly but refreshing water, where Ben had his second animal fix by standing on a sea egg and getting spiked. We later learnt to do what the locals do which is to swim from the very shallows and not stand on the bottom. Apparently the authorities tip lots of salt in the water to try and dissuade the sea eggs from living there, but they always come back.

Hvar picnic spot

After pizza and wine on the beach (we seem to always be the only people ever having picnics in Europe – it must be a kiwi / English thing) we met the Jazz Bar folks and had such a fun friendly night with cherry shots and the locals. We missed the kiwis that night but met up again a few mornings later after they’d had a night at the Jazz Bar, as we all left Hvar for the mainland and a bus back to Dubrovnik. I was very impressed with the buses, after being warned by fellow travellers in London about Eastern European public transport… however we were travelling the well trodden coastal route and its probably a lot more set up for tourists now than previously. There were very few trains on our route so we travelled 90 percent of the way in buses, with tickets cheap and available enough to buy on the day.

View from our bedroom in Hvar

We are now in Montenegro, I will go back and fill in the magical island of Hvar but I’m getting behind on our trip.

Today we had a brilliant day hiking through Montenegro (black mountain). Starting in Budva which is our beach town we’ve been staying in for 3 days in an apartment above the local community officer,  we got a cheap bus to Citenje and then a taxi to the start of Lovcen National Park. The visitor centre was closed and we weren’t sure we were in the right place but there were some snappy new signs so we picked a location and started off.

The sun was shining and it was easy going, though we were looking out for snakes and bears and wolves which we read were in the park. We hiked up the sacred mountain to one of the peaks through snow and sun to come out on top of the world. We could see the coast (about 40km away) and surrounding black mountains, including the mausoleum which is the local beauty but we didn’t have enough time or money to get there in the taxi (to the dismay of our hosts).

We hiked back down and around the peak through limestone rocks folded and faulted, telling each other scary stories through the deserted trails covered in snow in some places, until we came down to a low village with crumbling walls made only of stone. There were a few new houses dotted around the valley that looked like it was out of a Mediterranean painting it was so beautiful and traditional. We passed a couple sowing potatoes and after finding out we were from NZ they called us down to their small house for a drink. The wife got out the local beer and biscuits, and then brought out a plate of domestic cheese, ham and bread. The cheese was as creamy as butter, and Ben said the prosciutto was the best he’s ever tasted. We sat on their stone wall under the shade of trees after 4 hours hiking in their special mountains and found out more about each other.

The husband was a former seaman who had visited NZ and spoke perfect English so it was easy for us to chat. He showed us the stone hut he was born in that his great grandfather had built, right next to his new house built in the same style.

It was so idyllic and precious after our long walk. After reminiscing about Tito and former Yugoslavia he pointed us on our way and we headed back down to the visitor center, and hitched a ride to Cetinje with some Russian tourists.

Back at home we are now sitting in an internet cafe with our neighbours trying to track the best route from Budva to Ohrid in Macedonia, as we think it might take 2 days across Albania tomorrow.
Wish us luck!

After exploring Dubrovnik we took a 4 1/2 hour bus ride north to Split. The bus wound around the coast, one of the best bus rides we”ve been on, despite a local lady falling out of the moving bus and requiring an ambulance (!), and it reminded me of the Marlborough Sounds as the Bay was filled with green islands and mountains coming out of the misty haze. We had one border crossing in and out of the tiny coastal tip of Bosnia and Herzegovina where we had our passports checked. We passed many more olive groves and small churches set into the hills.

We arrived in Split tired and hungry and walked along the glamorous waterfront and up into the old town to find the Aussie-Croat hostel called Booze and Snooze. It was really central but full of rowdy Aussies drinking in the sun. We dropped our bags and went to explore Split (or Spalato in Italian) and ate more bread and cheese for dinner, as well as Burek which are cheese filled pastries that can be found everywhere in this part of the world.

Palm trees and yachts line Split's main boulevard

We left the Aussies to the beers and had an early night with a plan to get a catamaran to Hvar, one of Croatia’s most beautiful islands. We first walked up to the lookout above Croatia’s second biggest city and reminisced about the Mt Vic lookout in Wellington.  Before leaving Split we scouted for a travel agency to help us book accommodation on the Island as the main Information centres are not like the NZ I-sites we know and love. We found Daluma travel by the port and he set us up with two nights on the island in private accommodation, and the hosts would meet us at the port. It sounded all good until the wind was too strong for the catamaran and we had to catch the car ferry, and then a bus to get to Hvar Town.

We didn’t realise that Daluma travel was running around trying to find us because apparently the bus from the car ferry to Hvar Town only goes in Summer, and we are travelling at the very start of the season. It’s perfect for us though as the temperature is in the low 20s, we keep missing the rain and it’s still warm enough for us Kiwis to swim, and there are very few tourists around. There were a few bus loads of Octogenarians in Dubrovnik but there aren’t throngs of other visitors getting in our way!!!

On the bus from the ferry port to Hvar we found a two other kiwi couples who had just got to London and decided to come over to Croatia for a trip around as well. We were to bump into them often on the little island of Hvar.

It”s been a year since we left NZ and a week since we”ve been in the Balkans on our latest big trip away from London. We left London on a rainy Sunday in early May and landed in Dubrovnik. From the bus ride into the old town we could tell we were in a new country with the warm Mediterranean sun on our faces, and the dusty hills dotted with olive and cyprus trees, and the clear deep blue Adriatic sea.

From our first welcome at the airport by customs (Wellington! The 7s!) to the upgrade at our villa (from the tiniest studio room to the penthouse on the top floor) we have found the people so friendly, and the majority in the tourist areas so far have spoken English which is good because the language is very difficult for us. We have yet to master hello (Zdravo).

With two days in Dubrovnik we explored the old town which is a labyrinth of tiny cobbled streets and lanes, small konoba cafes and sobe rooms , with cats and dogs everywhere. We paid 700 kuna to walk along the old town walls and saw the most amazing deep blue sea as the old town sticks out over the coast.

We ate squid and mussels for dinner under umbrellas in one of the market squares and sat at one of the many cafe tables to listen to live jazz. It was a beautiful welcome to the Balkans after almost a year in London and a brilliant start to our summer.

Although summer was just starting up for the locals we thought it was time to get swimming, and after finding a quiet beach with concrete sunbathing blocks jutting out of the rocks over the water like a swimming pool, we enjoyed a swim. Ben even got his animal fix seeing a snake on our way down to the beach amongst the rocks.