Top 10 things I miss:
1. Fam & Friends
(obviously!)
2. Access to a kitchen fully stocked with dishes and utensils
This now one of my key requirements when booking hostels, it makes all the difference in the world. If not, eating gets really expensive (or unhealthy) really fast.
3. Hair straightener & nail polish
So far I'd say I'm doing a great job of channeling my inner dirtbag, but sometimes I like to feel girly.
4. Peanut butter
There are all kinds of nutella and jam here but peanut butter is scarce. I've seen it at a few grocery stores but there are usually just a few jars (glass) of it, which aren't very backpack-friendly.
5. Having a phone
It's actually kind of nice to not have one, but the fact that I can't call or text anyone, ever, sometimes makes me feel lonely. Luckily I can check my email & facebook fairly regularly, which helps.
6. Canadian currency
Still mentally converting everything I purchase into dollars. There's really no need, I don't know why I keep doing it.
7. Listening to the radio
I have pretty much no idea what the 'hot new summer jams' are these days, such a bummer. My ipod playlists are sooooo 2 months ago.
8. Ice
This one was unexpected, but I definitely miss having ice cubes readily available.
9. Avocados
I guess I don't miss them THAT much, but I have yet to see one at a grocery store or outdoor market. Haven't seen any broccoli either.
10. Driving
It's bad for the environment and gas is expensive, but...
Speaking of kitchens, I've also been mentally comparing each of the hostels I've stayed at, and made a list of all the requirements of what would be the perfect hostel: Kitchen with fridge, stovetop, toaster, & kettle; common area; wifi; nice bathrooms with hooks to hang towels; fully functional lockers in the dorms that can fit a big bag; reasonably priced self-service laundry; and breakfast included. Other perks include a bar, bedside tables, friendly staff, organized activities and good location. So far I have yet to find the perfect place, but the hostel I stayed at in Bratislava had almost everything, just no breakfast.
So, Croatia! I've been here just over a week and I LOVE IT. Exploring all those neat European cities has been incredible but spending time on the coast is exactly what I want to be doing right now. It's very hot here, on average about 35 degrees. It's only been clear and sunny, I'm starting to wonder if they ever get rain.
I arrived in Zagreb (the capital city) from Ljubljana last week, and spent just one night there before I took off to the seaside. Zagreb is pretty nice, not a whole lot to offer for tourists but there's a pretty 'old town' area and some interesting stories about the history of the country. At noon everyday, a canon is fired from Lotrščak tower in the old town, which I made sure to see. In hindsight, I maybe should have stood a bit further away because my ears were ringing for about 20 minutes after it happened, that thing is LOUD.
My bus ride to the first island, Losinj, was super long (7 or 8 hours I think) but it included a ferry ride, which was a nice way to break up the journey. The town I stayed in on the island is called Veli Losinj, and it is absolutely stunning. I had no idea it would look so tropical!
I could go on for days about how blue the water is, I still can't get over it. And it's like that everywhere on the Adriatic coast. I should look into why it looks this way, I think it has something to do with the white limestone underneath helping to bring out the colour, but there has to be some sort of plankton or something that gives it this almost fluorescent hue. No photos I take will ever do it justice, but I've posted a few anyway.
I stayed here for 4 nights, and spent a good amount of time on the beach. I use the term 'beach' loosely here, there is no sand, just big, mostly jagged rocks. But still awesome.
On my second day, I wanted to go hiking because I heard that there were lots of trails on the island, which is fairly small. I found a map and planned out a route, which I clearly underestimated because it took me NINE HOURS. This was, hands down, the most intense hike I've ever done. First of all, it was roasting hot out. Second, the trails were pretty empty. I encountered less than 10 people the whole way. Next, the terrain was very variable, sometimes a nice little dirt path through the woods, sometimes huge boulders on a steep slope. Then there were the bugs. These huge, shiny, green, winged beetles that buzzed really loud were constantly around and kind of freaked me out (update- just googled this, they're called Cetonia aurata and they're in the scarab beetle family, super). And luckily I don't have a serious fear of spiders because they were everywhere. Big ones too. I started carrying a stick to knock down the webs that spanned the narrow trails so they wouldn't end up in my face. There were so many that I felt like I was walking into Shelob's lair half the time (Or if you prefer a Harry Potter reference to Lord of the Rings, Aragog the acromantula's lair). Other local fauna spotted that day include lots of lizards, a few mountain sheep, a couple small snakes, and later in the day (inexplicably) a donkey, just meandering down an asphalt road.
I was filthy and totally exhausted by the time I finally got back, and my feet were unhappy with what I had put them through, but I was really proud of myself! If I were to do it all over again (not anytime soon) I'd wear long pants, leave 2 hours earlier, bring more water, and have bug spray. Parts of the trail were along the coast, so I got some incredible views.
My original plan was to go to the next island (where I am now) straightaway, but I needed to go back to the mainland, take a bus further south, then another ferry, so I decided to break up the travel and spend a bit of time in a few coastal towns along the way.
I had never heard anything of Zadar, but the folks at the hostel in Losinj told me that it's a city definitely worth seeing. They were right. Not only is it a beautiful, clean town, not too touristy, it has a Roman ruins site right in the middle, and two other very unique quirks.
The first is the sea organ. In one part of the harbour, there are some long marble steps going into the water. Underneath them (you can't see) is a network of glass tubes that resonate when the waves hit them. It's not exactly music because the notes are random, but the harmonic sounds are mesmerizing.
Right next to it on the harbour promenade is a large circle (flat on the ground, you can walk on it) of solar panelling with LED lights that collect sunlight during the day, then produce this amazing lightshow at night. They call it the Salutation to the Sun. It's sort of hard to explain but I've never seen anything like it. I found this video clip that has both this and the sea organ in it, to give an idea of what I'm struggling at explaining here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myV3E9uREuI
The next day I went to Split. The main downtown/old town area of this lively city is dominated by Diocletian's palace. I hesitate to even call this a building because it's more like a walled-in network of narrow streets lined with shops, restaurants, market stands and apartments, with a square in the middle called the Peristyle. There's a cathedral in there too, and each of the 4 walls has a gateway: the iron gate, the bronze gate, the silver gate and the golden gate. It's quite a sight, but overwhelming this time of year with the heat and all the tourists. There are also a lot of in-your-face vendors selling flowers or offering walking tours.
The night I arrived, Croatia was playing Spain in a UEFA game, which the whole city was watching at the outdoor bars along the main promenade. I found a large screen to watch the game and at halftime walked along the street to soak in the nationalist hype.The funniest thing about my last-minute decision to check out Split was that the one night I was there, I literally ran into Andre from Ottawa! We know each other from a few years ago through a couple of mutual friends, and I knew from facebook that he was also doing some travelling in similar areas this summer but I didn't know he was in Split. I watched the rest of the (disappointing) game with him and his friends and the next day we met up for a bit and he showed me some of the city's highlights, including the green market and a gorgeous beach, where we met up with some more of his new buddies.
The sun that day (and everyday) was merciless. I put on sunscreen 3 times and still got a bit of a burn. I'd been doing well till then with SPF diligence, but you can't win 'em all. On the plus side I now have just about every sort of tan line imaginable (and when I say tan line I mostly mean old burn line or freckle line).
That evening I took a relaxing 2 hour ferry ride to the island of Hvar, where I am now, but more on that (and Dubrovnik, where I'm off to tomorrow) next time!
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