Five weeks here, three to go. Tuesday. We just get up whenever and skip the crappy breakfast, heading 30km south to catch the ferry to the island of Rab. Famous for its beaches, you can Google it to see why. This should be a fun couple days!
We were on the 7:00 car ferry, and Rab island is about a half hour ride over. Realistically, they could build a bridge if they wanted. The ferry was about $20US. We drove blindly into Rab town, figuring it is too early to stop at our guest house, and just looking for a cafe. We parked, picked up a roll and warm apricot croissant, walked over to a cafe on the waterfront for cappuccino and water, and noticed we were sitting in front of Astoria, where we are staying. Dumb luck.
Rab Island looks like a hot, rocky desert from the mainland, but when you drive over the crest to the interior it is pretty green, like SoCal green. The town is quaint with the typical walls, winding streets and tall church towers (we seem to have left the mosques behind in Bosnia), kind of Italian looking really. Rab town sticks out on a narrow pointy peninsula, inside is the harbor, outside it points right into the Adriatic.
Huh: it is cooler here than in Senj, but still pretty hot. We are eating breakfast outdoors on the harbour, and in front of the café there is one little house fan on an extension cord, slowly waving back and forth, I guess to cool off the entire outside patio area.
We have an "apartman" here. Funny thing, this trip, we are mostly staying with families and a lot of them have apartments instead of a room. We always like the small, family run places, but these "apartman" are often cheaper than just a room. This one we have for two nights is two-story; downstairs the kitchen, dining/living room and bath and a great front view over the harbour. There is a spiral staircase up to the bedroom and a nice patio with a view over the old city of Rab. This is a really a nice place. They normally rent for a week, but the owner is letting us stay just two nights for a small extra charge. So I brought her a chocolate croissant and got on her good side! Since we are too early to actually check in, she lets us drop our bags, gives us a litre of very cold mineral water, and tells us to go explore. We spent the morning walking the alleys and lanes of Rab. This town is just so cute my jaw hurts from smiling. These are the places that ruin a perfectly OK place like Senj. It is hard to describe what a surprise it is here. Rab shows such a barren, rocky face, yet hidden inside is such a diamond. It is my favorite place in Croatia so far.
We drove north on the island 14km to the most famous beach (voted best beach by residents, so say the signs) Paradise Beach, in Lopar, way at the other end of the island. Well, it sure is named correctly, a wide golden sand (yes, sand) beach, a little island offshore, mainland visible behind, packed with umbrellas, bars, people... we finally found an open umbrella and two beds, and swam, read, drank and slept the afternoon away.
The beach is backed by pine trees, and the air is humming with the constant pulsing din of the giant grasshoppers. It is so loud that even driving here, curvy road through fields and forests, you hear the hum over the car and wind noise. I think it is the sound you would hear if you could be trapped inside a baby's rattle.
So weird, I stop at one tree and just stare into it... the grasshoppers are there, I can hear them, by moving I can even tell about which part of the tree they are in, but damned if I can actually spot any.
Dinner was at the restaurant our apartment owners operate. Our waiter, Damien, was very interesting. He grew up here, went off to the university and worked away, came back in his 30s and now he raises canaries and the occasional goldfinch. Not just any canaries, his are the direct line to the world champion canaries. We talked birds for a good half hour, saw photos, and learned a lot. He has birds at his place, his parents, grandmothers and uncles house. Canaries are his passion, and it was amazing to hear about them. Later, the conversation drifted into working too hard, not having enough time to do the things you want, those Bastard Europeans who have bought out and moved the good paying, local jobs so that he must choose between being a low paid waiter with a masters in economics living here in Rab, or making more money but having to relocate to a big city in another country. Wages are too low, pensions getting smaller and retirement age pushing back, his friends think he is nuts spending money on birds, but it is his corner of life, what he loves and returns to every day.
Sounds familiar, and suddenly we have a connection with another person.
Well, the final nail in the coffin is the food for dinner. Really, I could die tonight, a well fed, happy man. The owner's homemade red wine (smooth, big flavor), wild olives (little more bitter but really tasty) and homemade olive oil and bread kicked the meal off. A litre of good white wine, two litres of wasser mit gas, then: scallop au'gratin. A scallop, served in shell, in melted cheese. Oooooo. Spaghetti with Adriatic shrimps and oranges. Can you even imagine that? I don't know how to describe it. Refreshing and light? Damn. The final kicker was steak of tuna, slightly grilled (like seared tuna, but a whole steak) so simple yet served up so elegantly and tasting so fresh. I spent hours on this meal, lingering over every bite, wishing it would never end. Oh yea, Gail had this fantastic turkey breast in plum sauce with grilled white bell pepper and veggies. I guess the good food tempted her vegetarian side a little too much. (Side note: how affordable is Europe? This has been our most expensive meal this trip. Guess what it would cost in San Francisco? But we are in Croatia. It is 400K here, about $65 US total. This was a real big splurge for us. We are normally spending that for an entire day's meals.)
So right now I am writing this, relaxed from the beach, slightly buzzed from the wine, the taste of the food still fresh on my tongue. The sun has long since set, it is 23:30 the harbor lights (song by Bozo Skaggs) are shimmering, the restuaran is packed, everyone out on a warm night.
I think now I understand why the Europeans have been telling us for the past three years that we MUST go to Croatia.
Time to go for an evening walk.