As I continue recounting my time in Croatia, I'm on the move again this time with a bit of exploring nature, wine tasting, and wandering through a small seaside town on the road from Split to Zadar.
September 16th, 2020 After my eventful yet relaxing two and half days in Split, I felt like I had finally reached my solo traveling groove. I'd explored two new cities, met new travel friends and was the most relaxed I'd felt in months. Looking back, I think it was then that I realized how much I had truly needed this solo journey, long before COVID entered and shook up the lives of everyone in the world. After spending a few years on group tours, yoga retreats and work-related travel (all of which were fabulous in their own right), I needed to"find myself again" through the exploration of places I had not visitied before. I was on a high, and quite frankly in disbelief at how smoothly everything had gone so far and felt like the world was indeed my oyster. If you think this is the part where I'll admit that everything went wrong...well, that's not it as my journey continued to go very smoothly.
After another hearty breakfast at my fabulous hotel, I met Hrvoje's business partner, and my driver for the remaining three legs of my journey, Marin at 9am and we set out for very busy day ahead as we made our way to Zadar, where I'd spend the next two nights. Just as personable as his business partner, Marin was an easy conversationalist and provided me more information about what it was like to grow up and live in Croatia and the places I'd visit during our journey. First up was Krka National Park, not to be overshadowed by Plitvice National Park which I'd visit in a few days, it was known for its' waterfalls and natural beauty. We arrived mid-morning and thanks to Marin's "smooth-talking" he was able to drive me down to the entrance to the path leading through the park rather than my having to wait for the tourist bus. Although I don't understand any Croatian, I couldn't doubt his negotiating skills. He provided me with an idea of how long the walk through the park would take and where he'd meet me at the end following a short boat ride to the town of Skradin. The walk through the park was peaceful and a much-welcomed change from the small cities where I'd spent the last several days. The boardwalk type path throughout the park made it easy to find my way around, taking in the views of the waterfalls and trickling streams. It was also the most amount of tourists I had seen in one place, and by that I mean I wasn't wandering the around the park alone- there were actually other people there! But nowhere close to enough to make it seem crowded, aside from the one tour group of teenagers I ran into at the prime lookout point of the main waterfalls.
It was my first taste of nature in Croatia, and although I am usually more of a coastal girl, my trips to my then top two favorite places in the world, New Zealand and Switzerland gave me a new appreciation for how beautiful the world can be, away from the the picturesque views of rugged coastlines along the sea. Krka was well worth the few hours I spent there enjoying the beauty of Croatia.
After a short boat ride from the park to the small town of Skradin, I met up with Marin and we headed to Ante Sladic Vino, a small family-owned winery where Marin had arranged for me to have lunch and a guided tasting. While not looking like much from the entrance of the small-town street, I was greeted by the winemakers sister, Marina and their family cat then guided to a table in their quaint and peaceful patio area. I was served bread and introduced to their two olive oils while she prepared foods to accompany my wine tasting. Many wineries in Croatia also make olive oils as olive trees also grow and thrive quite well in their climate.
Over the course of the next few hours, Marina, provided me with a history of their family's journey in wine making. Like I had learned a few days before on my wine tour with Mario through the Peljasac peninsula, nearly all of the wineries in Croatia are family owned and have been for generations, though their ability to produce wine to sell to the public is only about 30 years old. Hearing the stories and history made my time spent there during my tasting all the more authentic. I tasted six wines; three whites, a rose' and two reds that afternoon in addition to two after dinner liquors which is also quite common for wineries in Croatia to produce. I most enjoyed the Rose', Lasina Opol, and the Marastina, a white, both on the drier side. Marina and I talked about my work at a winery in the U.S. comparing similarities and differences; there were not many of the later. It was an absolutely lovely afternoon doing something I enjoy immensely and learning a little bit more about life in Croatia. I continued to find the Croatian's hospitable, kind and genuinely friendly willing to share stories of their lives. Before leaving, I bought a bottle of their Rose' to take with me and was graciously gifted a bottle of their Marastina by Marina. If you make it to Skradin, an afternoon spent tasting at Ante Sladic is well worth it. I know I'll go back someday.
After leaving the winery, we headed to our last stop of the day before arriving in Zadar, the small seaside town of Sibenik, also highly recommended on Trip Advisor. Like the towns of Ston and Markaska in my travels the days before, it also was void of most tourists making for a pleasant and relaxing wander through the town. By this point I had gotten used to the quiet and peacefulness of the smaller towns I visited in Croatia. But, while it was nice to be able to explore and wander without mobs of tourists and get some fantastic pictures without having to wait for anyone to get out of my perfect shot, it still was sad knowing the effect that this pandemic was having on tourism and small businesses during a time when there should have been tons of people around.
After about an hour of wandering around the deserted streets of Sibenik, we headed up the coast for my final stop of the day, Zadar, where I would spend two nights. Having learned the day before while in Split that my time in Zadar would be different than I had originally planned; after a very full few days of sightseeing, I was looking forward to a lower key day wandering around yet another Croatian city. After all, the world was my oyster, and I had more exploring to do! To be continued....
"It's better to travel well, than to arrive." - Buddha
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