Croatia | Sea | Kayaking | Tours | Lifejacket Adventures - Adriatic Expeditions

Marilyn, John and I crossed the border into Bosnia yesterday to visit Mostar.

Mostar is a mixed Serb, Croat and Bosnia town in south-west Bosnia, known for its 16th Century bridge, which crosses the Neretva River, and the crazy guys who dive from it. The town is named after the bridge - most means bridge in Serbo-Croatian.

The practice of diving from the bridge dates back to the time the bridge was built, but the first recorded instance is from 1664. The diving platform is over 20 metres above the water, but the river is only 3 metres deep! Plus the temperature of the water is freezing - the shock of entering it on a hot summer’s day has been known to cause heart-attacks.

A town in Mostar’s current location was mentioned in literature in the early medieval period. In 1468 Mostar came under Ottoman rule and they greatly expanded the existing small village.

The current bridge was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1557 and built in 9 years by Mimar Hayruddin. It replaced an earlier wooden suspension bridge. It is made of local stone known as tenelija.

During the war in Bosnia Herzegovina (1992-1995), on 9th November 1993, the bridge was destroyed by Croat forces. Just as the walls of Dubrovnik symbolized the barbarity of the Croatian War, the bridge’s destruction came to represent the wanton destruction of the Bosnian conflict. After reconstruction it was reopened on 23rd July 2004.

Most tourists, including us, come to see the Turkish markets, houses and mosques. The local Croat community has had to adapt to this commercial fact - to make money they must now lead tours through the streets of their former enemies.

In the markets many Turkish trinkets can be found - coffee and tea sets, copperwork, rugs, slippers and fezs.

The best food is typically Bosnian - burek (meat or cheese filled filo pastry) or ćevapčići (skinless sausages served with pita and onion).

Many things in the town are still segregated (though the local government is not). There are even 2 football teams where there was just one previously. FK Velež, named after a nearby mountain, is supported by Bosniaks from the east-side of the river. Their fans are called the ‘Red Army’ - you can see their graffiti everywhere.. HŠK Zrinjski Mostar, named after a local creek, has supporters on the western (Croatian) bank of the river.

It was a little disconcerting to visit a mixed town after living so many years in ‘Catholic’ Croatia - the landscape was the same, the people looked the same and they spoke the same language - but instead of crucifixes around their necks they had crescent moons, instead of bell towers there were minarets, the death notices were in green instead of black and instead of bells ringing out there was the call to prayer. Essentially there is no difference between the people, no great divide, which would help explain the ferocity of the war.

Joško Božanić plus his friends and the boats they took to France arrived safely home. They unloaded everything at the Kaštela Marina. It was a very successful trip to the International Maritime Festival for Croatia. Joško is now planning his next events.

Summer is definitely the ‘festive’ season in Croatia. To attract as many tourists as possible an almost infinite number of events are now organized. Below are the ones we have bumped into over the last 2 weeks.

Motovun Film Festival

Celebrating its 10th birthday is the Motovun Film Festival. What started as 5 guys with 5 films has grown into Croatia’s most interesting festival.

From its press release:

“For its jubilee-edition, Motovun Film Festival has prepared the most ambitious program so far. From 28 July to 1 August, the tenth anniversary of the festival and the 100th anniversary of Russian film will be celebrated in this small Istrian town on top of a hill. Screening of more than 100 films will heat projectors up until they turn red. Numerous guests will have a chance to have fun on concerts and on the opening of the new cinema and make a toast with vodka for at least this many birthdays more!

In gratitude to the audience who has been coming to Motovun from all over the world for ten years, we made sure this year’s program would break a number of records. We will show more than 100 films, 28 of which in the main program. We will open another day cinema, dedicated to the grand jubilee of a great cinematography – the 100th anniversary of Russian film.

With 16 screenings on 5 screens every day, the Motovun theaters will be working non-stop from 10 a.m. almost to the daybreak of the next day. The night from Thursday to Friday, they will be working absolutely non-stop: film reels will keep turning for 40 hours.”

Grožnjan Jazz Festival

Since 19th July and with plans to finish on 3rd August, at 9pm each night, the Istrian town of Grožnjan has been hosting jazz music performances.

Grožnjan became known in the 1970s as an artists’ and musicians’ colony. In those days none wanted to live in the towns from which the Italians had been removed at the end of WW2.

Today, during the summer months concerts and music events are held almost every day - everything from classical to jazz. Walking through the town during the day, youngsters can be heard practicing in many rooms as Grožnjan also houses an International Cultural Centre of Young Musicians.

Diocletian’s Days

Over last weekend, numerous Splicani ventured out into the streets in their bedsheets. They were celebrating the life of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, whose retirement palace stands at the centre of their town. Music was played at various sites around the town and then a large banquet, featuring accurate period meals, was held in the palace’s basements. This year’s attendance was down, as instead of the meal being free, a ticket cost 650 kuna.

A new pizzeria just opened in Motovun - Propeler, for which they had a party last weekend. It means Motovun now has 3 places to eat year around - Pod Voltom, Propeler, Mondo (as it is now named - it was Barbacan).

Pod Voltom is standard Istrian konoba fare - thick soup, steaks and pastas. In the summer they have tables with the best view in town underneath the town’s loggia. Mondo is slightly more experimental, with dishes such as steak with banana sauce.

We had an excellent meal with some fellow expatriates-and-now-Istrian-home-owners, Michael and Marijana, at Rino’s in Momjan. Rino’s has a simple menu of soups, pastas and meats - no complaints at all.

Other favorite Istrian restaurants of ours are Plavi Podrum and Le Mandrać in Volosko near Opatija or Valsabbion near Pula (try their tasting menu).

Michael and Marijana wrote down their tips for dining in Istria. They included Pietropelosa and Tonćić in Zrenj, Dolina near Livade, Toklarija in Sovinjsko Polje, Astarea in Brtonigla, Maslinova Grana in the castle above Buje, Nono in Petrovija and Agrotourisme in Završje. It is good to hear about others happy dining experiences in Istria. We had become a little concerned that Istrian restaurants weren’t performing to their reputations, after we had bad meals at Zigante, Ponte Porton and Konoba Oprtalj. We will have a bit of research to do next time we are in the area.

This week we returned to Motovun and Istria; it has been a long time since we were there in the summer.

Our house renovation continues under Gino’s supervision in Motovun. The exterior rendering has been completed and the floor structure is in. They have added the interior plasterboard walls and ‘roughed-out’ the electrical and plumbing work.

Ranko Bon, the town’s dilettante, held one of his famous Terrace Sundowner Parties. The terrace in front of his house has a unmatched view across the Mirna Valley below Motovun. For a small town, Motovun has a real international community during the summer months - Americans, Australians, Germans, Italians, Danes and even Iranians.

In the small village of San Mauro near Momjan is the Sinković Winery. In the valley near Momjan are the 2 local wine producers that we like the best - Kozlović and Kabola. Now we can add a third. The Sinković Zlato just received the Champion’s Medal at the recent Zagreb Fair - making it apparently the best wine in Croatia. Zlato is made from the local white grape - malvazija. While there Aklie made a new friend, Jack the 12-year-old truffle-sniffing pig - though it took them some time to warm to each other. Truffles are usually unearthed by dogs in Istria, but the Sinković’s use Jack.

Hidden down below Motovun, on the road to Brkač, is the Motovun Ranch. It is run by our friend’s ex-husband. The ranch is over 10 hectares set in an undeveloped valley. They organize lessons, single-day and multi-day tours.

Stephan and Verena, two vagabond German artists, held an opening party for their latest work in a previously dis-used space in Motovun. Each year they arrive in a different town and rummage through its history, rubbish bins and closets looking for usable information, ready-mades and skeletons. Their Motovun-inspired artwork (collages, oils and sculptures) can be seen on their website. The summer-swelled population of Motovun all turned in support.

Monday, 7th July

End of the Tour in Hvar Town

For our last day together the plan was to sail the southern coast of Hvar Island. But the jugo (southern wind) had blown in during the night, meaning it would be impossible to anchor in the small exposed bays. Instead we enjoyed (well some of us!) a good sail before returning to the Pakleni Islands and finding yet another beach-side konoba.

For the evening we found space in Hvar Town harbour. Hvar has become a jet-set hangout. All the hotels have been renovated by Sunćani Hvar and numerous bars crowd the waterfront - including the infamous Carpe Diem.

The nobility that controlled all the vineyards and olive groves on the surrounding islands lived in Hvar. They built several grand houses and Europe’s first public theatre inside its old walls. Other highlights of Hvar are Dalmatia’s largest piazza and the Arsenal , which was used during the Venetian occupation to repair the commune’s war galley.

After a sunset walk to the Spanish Fort, which crouches above the town, we settled down to our last meal together before trying out several of the bars.

Post-Mortem - With several days of winds on the nose, the kayaking was strenuous, but even with all the exercise, due to the gourmet food and wine imbibed, everyone will need to go on a diet!

(For all the pictures of the kayak tour - click here.)

Sunday, 6th July

Sailing Across to Hvar Island - Exploring the Pakleni

Tove unfortunately had to leave us early, so she caught the ferry back from Vis Island to Split. The rest of us enjoyed an early morning coffee or three on Vis Town’s riva - waterfront. Then it was time to cross the channel to Hvar Island.

With not much wind and the sun beating down a swim and a rope swing was taken in the middle of the 12km crossing.

The day was to be spent on the Pakleni Islands, a small group just off Hvar Town. Pakleni means hell in Croatian. Boat builders used the islands in the past for making pine tar, a sticky material produced by the high temperature distillation of pine wood. The tar was used to preserve boats’ wood and rigging. The many fires used to make the tar gave the islands a hellish appearance.

Anchoring in a small cove, we swam ashore and walked to a hidden restaurant, Dionis. Our hosts had prepared us an eggplant pie and octopus salad for starters and gregada for main course. Gregada is another fishermen’s stew, but unlike brudet, it is made with white wine, potatoes and garlic. All this food was consumed whilst sitting on Dionis’ huge terrace, which over their vineyard towards Vis Island, from where we had just sailed.

The sandy bottom bay of Palmižana was our port-of-call for the night. For those looking for a romantic week, see the Meneghello Family website. Over the last 100 years they have built beautiful bungalows amongst their gardens. We enjoyed cocktails into the wee small hours at a beach-side bar.

(For all the pictures of the kayak tour - click here.)

Saturday, 5th July

Completing the Circumnavigation of Vis Island - Stončica Bay

A serve of fried eggs and a cup of coffee gave us all the energy to begin our last day on Vis Island.

A short kayak had us at the first stop; the sandy beach (not typical for Dalmatia) of Stončica Bay. While some of us soaked up the sun, others combined two favourite pastimes - drinking beer and playing soccer.

Lunch came from the grill - squid, veal and vegetables were all thrown on it, and as usual too much was ordered - no one lost weight on this tour! The simple food was drizzled with olive oil and garlic - excellent!

The short paddle to complete the circumnavigation of Vis Island was again into a stiff sea breeze, and we were happy to complete it.

Dinner was at the best pizzeria in Vis overlooking the harbour.

(For all the pictures of the kayak tour - click here.)

Friday, 4th July

Kayaking along Vis Island’s Southern Coast - Stiniva Bay and Mala Travna

Because of geological reasons, the southern sides of the Dalmatian Islands are the most interesting - towering cliffs with narrow pebble beaches slicing into them. The day’s paddling was the most enjoyable with many nooks and crannies to be explored. The wind gods were against us again with a slight head wind, which almost doubled the excursion time.

Just before lunch we visited the most photographed beach on Vis, Stiniva Bay. From the mouth of the bay there is no evidence of the hidden cove at the end - its an incredible little space.

On a per capita basis, Vis Island is the poet capital of the world - everyone describes themselves as a one. Our favourite is Senko. He operates a small restaurant on his terrace above Mala Travna Bay. Senko is one of a few chefs to push the boundaries of Dalmatian cooking. He is not happy to serve the standard fare, but is always experimenting with local herbs and the preparation of fish. We happily sat as Senko placed course after course of small dishes in front of us. Of course there was his domestic wine with which to wash it all down. Senko only cooks if you call him in advance.

To get to the campsite we had a short sunset paddle to a small island off the town of Rukavac. In celebration of the 4th July, we had a big BBQ on the beach - plenty of steaks and salads!

(For all the pictures of the kayak tour - click here.)

Thursday, 3rd July

Kayaking around Biševo Island - the Monk Seal and Blue Caves

After rising relatively early, we cruised across to Biševo Island. Its name is derived from the local word for the worm-holes found in wood because of the numerous above and under water caves that run through its limestone.

Our first stop was the Monk Seal Cave - the scene of the last sightings of the Adriatic Monk Seal. Unfortunately due to a reduction in fish stocks and attacks by fishermen the seals have disappeared. The cave that they used to inhabit is large, with a high initial chamber and a low passage leading 60 metres away into the dark. It is possible to paddle almost to the back - with headlamps of course.

For lunch we kayaked to our friends’ (Davor and Lili) house on Salbunara Bay.

Several years ago Davor and Lili decided to escape Zagreb to almost the most remote island in Croatia. They have built several bungalows for guests hidden amongst the oil trees - its real get-a-from-it-all stuff. No television or telephones or even mains water and electricity. Dismayed with the amount of trash on their small beach, they started an organization for its renovation - Bisevo.Org. That have held several clean-up events and have managed to improve the local environment - all without the help of local government.

They made us an excellent risotto from freshly harvested molluscs (much to Gabe’s chagrin) and we drank several litres of red wine produced from grapes directly out their front door.

Davor showed us his dog’s (Bura) puppies. She is a tornjak - a Bosnian Sheep Guarding Dog. Similar to other sheep guarding dogs, these large breeds would live amongst the flock and protect it from wolf or bear attacks. Because of this protective pack instinct tornjaks make excellent family pets - if you have a large enough yard. They were never bred for herding.

Davor and Lili joined us for the journey to the Blue Cave (Modra Špilja). We kayaked and swam in to what was one of Dalmatia’s first tourist attractions. Eventhough it was late in the afternoon plenty of light was reflecting from the cave floor to cast a turquoise glow around the room. A local artist had installed some of her sculptures - wire human forms hanging from buoys - in the space, making for a surreal scene.

Due to the over consumption of food and wine at lunch, we opted for the tow-back method for the return to Komiža.

For dinner we were invited to Mateja’s house. Mateja is the sister of Joško Božanić. She made us a large pot of brudetto (brudet) - a typical fisherman’s stew of eel, red wine and tomatoes. It was again washed down by large carafes of domestic wine. Joško also dropped in for a quick chat before leaving for the Brest International Maritime Festival.

(For all the pictures of the kayak tour - click here.)

Wednesday, 2nd July

Ferry to Vis Island and Kayak to Komiža

Wednesday was the day we started paddling! After a 2 hour ferry crossing to Vis Island and a healthy meal (the last not to involve wine for the whole trip), we organized kayaks and, following a quick explanation of a wet exit, headed out.

Immediately from the boats it was possible to see evidence of Vis’ historically important role in controlling the Adriatic Sea. The Adriatic gets its name from a colony, Adria, on the Po River Delta in Italy, founded by Illyrian King Adrias. Adrias’ throne was on Vis. His son, Ionius, then gave his name to the Ionian Sea. Until relatively recently the border between the two seas was Vis Island.

Behind the present tennis courts is a Greek necropolis. Dionisius the Elder, the tyrant of Syracuse in 397 BC established a colony, Issa, on Vis. Later, it became an independent city-state, minted its own coins and founded other colonies elsewhere on the Dalmatian coast and its islands.

In the 3rd Century BC, the Roman Empire saw an opportunity to conquer all of Dalmatia after an argument developed between the Greek colonists and the Illyrians. The foundations of the Roman baths are still visible across the road from the INA petrol station.

As we reached the mouth of the harbour on the left are the ruins of the English Fort St. George. In 1805 the Napoleon had taken the island from the Austrians. But the English weren’t too happy having the French in control of the ‘Gibraltar of the Adriatic’, so in March 1811, they attacked and occupied the island until 1814. This gave them enough time though to do what the English do best - setup a cricket club.

Just around the corner we kayaked into the next fragment of military history on the island - a Yugoslav Navy patrol-boat shelter. After WW2, Tito upset both the Russians and NATO, so not knowing who to trust he turned Vis into a massive fortress - riddled with tunnels, gun emplacements and this large, concrete, watery cave. Civilians (except those with a special allowance) were not allowed on the island until 1989.

Leaving the shelter behind we began an up-hill slog into the sea breeze (or maestral). I tried to explain, but the wind just carried my words away, that before us lay the site of the world’s last battle fought under sail between the Austrians and the Italians in 1866.

The head wind exhausted us all, so once we reached Zukamice Bay it was decided to pile onto the falkuša for the last 3kms into Komiža. There were more important things on the agenda, such as dinner at Roki’s Winery!

Komiža is a small town on Vis Island’s northwest. It is home to the falkuša and was the only place in Croatia to make its living purely from fishing. Gabe, as the tour’s resident beef-eater, was happy to hear that sea-life was going to provide most of the meals for the next few days.

Nik Roki shuttled us up to his winery where we enjoyed octopus and lamb cooked under the dome, and several bottles of his plavac mali (red wine) and bugava (white wine).

(For all the pictures of the kayak tour - click here.)

Tuesday, 1st July

Arrival in Split

The Vis and Hvar Islands Kayak Adventure starts in the evening of the first day - not with getting into the boats but a stroll through the 1 700 year old ruins of Roman Emperor Diocletian’s retirement palace. Eventhough Deanna, Gabe, Tove, May-Lill, Jodie, Warwick (call me ‘Waz’) and Fred were all coming from different directions at different times, and with Tim and me still on Vis Island organizing the falkuša and kayaks, Jules was somehow able to get everyone in the correct place for a walk with Maja, our knowledgeable guide.

Diocletian was known for several things - as reformer (of the Roman legal, financial, administrative and military systems), as a persecutor (of Christians) and as a constructor. The biggest baths in Rome (over 30 000 sqm) were built by him - though he never visited them - and he built of 20 000sqm of palace just for himself on the shores of the Adriatic Sea. It only took 10 years to build (completed in 305), but anything is possible when you have 20 000 slaves working for you. And only 2 000 were killed during construction! Its good to be the king! The palace forms the centre of Split old town and locals still live amongst its ancient stones.

The irony is that when the Christians inhabited the palace after 640, they turfed Diocletian’s bones out of his mausoleum and turned it into the Cathedral of Sveti Duje (Saint Dominus).

After the tour, dinner was taken at Konoba Maslina - a good-value, hidden-away restaurant.

(Thanks to Deanna and Gabe for these pictures. For all the pictures of the kayak tour - click here.)

As mentioned previously, the usual support boat for our sea-kayaking tours has been in Brest for the last 10 days. So we needed another for last week’s adventure around Vis and Hvar Islands. Tim and I headed north to Murter to borrow the only other replica falkuša, the Mikula, from my friend Tomislav. Murter is home to one of the last fleets of traditional lanteen-rigged boats.

The boat needed to be in Vis Town for the start of the tour. To start, we motored down to the town of Primošten for the night.

In the past Primošten was situated on an islet close to the mainland. During the Turkish invasions of 1542 the islet was protected by walls and towers, and a drawbridge connected it to the mainland. When the Turks retreated, the bridge was replaced by the causeway and in 1564 the settlement was named Primošten after the Croatian verb primostiti (to span).

Whilst there we discovered the best steak I have had in Dalmatia at the restaurant Torkul.

(For all the pictures of the kayak tour - click here.)

On Sunday Nicolas Sarkozy launched the Mediterranean Union, saying, “Our common Sea should bring us closer together, not separate us.”

Sarkozy’s idea for the union is of a community similar but looser to the European Union, made-up of 43 EU-member states and non-EU countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. He hopes the MU will become a vehicle through which peace between Israel and its Arab neighbours can be achieved. It is hoped that an institutional core will be established by the end of the French presidency of the European Union in 2008.

Member states would form a regular council under a rotating presidency similar to the current EU model. The Mediterranean and European Unions would also work together and share some institutions, including a common judicial area to fight corruption, terrorism, organized crime and people smuggling.

Sarkozy’s quote is very similar to a local Dalmatian saying, “Staviš prst u more i osetiš svet,” which is roughly translated as, “Put your finger in the sea and you are connected to the world.” The sea has always been a great bridge between cultures.

The working classes across the Mediterranean even had their own language - the original Lingua Franca. It was a mixed language composed mostly of Italian with a vocabulary drawn from Persian, French, Greek and Arabic. Lingua Franca literally means “Frankish language”, which came from the Arabic custom of referring to all Europeans as Franks. This language was used for communication around the medieval and early modern Mediterranean as a trade language.

Lingua Franca is the mother of all pidgin languages. As it was known by the Mediterranean sailors, when they started exploring the seas of Africa, America, Asia and Oceania, they tried to communicate with the natives by mixing a Portuguese-influenced version of Lingua Franca with the local languages.

The language was used until the 19th Century, when it disappeared, probably under the onslaught of the triumphant French language. It was never written. There was never any poetry, folktales, or translation of the Bible created using it. It was just a way to sell the merchandise you had to offer, or haggle for a better price on its purchase.

Komiski dialect (the unique language of those from Komiža) still contains many words from Lingua Franca. When Joško took the falkuša to Expo 98 in Portugal he was able to communicate his boat-handling commands to the local fishermen.

It is a paradox that the world isolated is derived from the Latin insula meaning island. Yet islanders have always been more open than those from the continent.

Split suffers even today from the conflict between these two mentalities - the world view of seafarers and the tribal view of land-lubbers. The Spličani (people born in Split) and the bodol (islanders) regularly clash with the vlaj (people from the continental-side of the Dinaric Alps). Split has gone from a population at the end of WW2 of 40 000 to today’s population of 250 000. The biggest influx has been from ‘behind-the-hills’. The vlaj suffered from 500 years of the fear of Turkish raiders cutting their throats as they slept. Their extended families (or tribes) were the only ones that could be trusted. This idea seems now to have been grafted onto their genes. Since moving to Split they still don’t trust strangers and act very much within their ‘tribal groups’.

Growing up around water definitely seems to make people more relaxed - maybe the Mediterranean can help finally solve the Israeli/Arab problem.

For our last kayak tour (see subsequent posts) we were not able to use the Falkuša Comeza-Lisboa as a support boat. Joško and the crew are currently in Brest, France for the International Maritime Festival. The Festival is like the Olympics of tall-ship regattas. It is held every 4 years, and at this year’s event they are expecting 3 000 boats and almost 1 000 000 visitors.

Croatia has the status of a special country this year. Joško rounded-up 10 traditional boats as well as 150 crew and performers. His idea was to create a Dalmatian village in the middle of the festival. His website is here.

The picture above shows the Comeza-Lisboa and the Molo (a half-size replica of the original designed for educating youngsters on) at the regatta. And below is a short documentary made by French television about the Croatian entries and their construction.