Oct 11, 2017 - Split

We arrived in Split on a beautiful day, sunshine 20C with 0% chance of rain in the forecast and that is exactly what we got. We took a tour away from Split which took us to the famous Blue Lake, which this year ran dry because of hot, dry spring and summer. Apparently no rain from May 19 through to end of September with temperatures around 35C to 38C throughout that period. So this year no one swam in the Blue Lake but rather used the bottom for soccer matches between rival teams, the last of which drew 2,000 fans. Pretty neat given that...

Oct 10, 2017 - Korcula, Croatia

Today was the day we both anticipated and dreaded at the same time. A cycling wine tasting tour. First of all Korcula is an island in the Adriatic Sea with very few flat areas. Our guide, John said that there were only two hills to climb and the rest was fairly level. I gues he was correct, the first hill took 30 minutes to climb, the second 45 minutes. At least that's what it felt like although the grades were sometimes greater than other times. The fun part were the long downhills. I have got to say though that I forgot how much my butt...

Oct 9, 2017 - Dubrovnik Old City

Oct 9, 2017 – Happy Thanksgiving! Today is the day we walk the walls of old town Dubrovnik. We left the hotel shortly before 9am and waited for the bus that never came. I finally went and inquired at the front desk and found out that the road has been closed and we needed to walk to the Main Street to catch the bus. This we did and we arrived at Pile Gate around 9:30am. There is only one small ship (300+ passengers) in today so there are not too many people on the wall – yet. It is a total of 2km but it took us two hours to complete as...

Oct 8, 2017 - Dubrovnik

Spent the day in the Old City of Dubrovnik. It lived up to everything we had read or heard. Beautiful City. We walked the wall around the old city, about 2 km and took about two hours. Lots of people and lots of photo ops. After leaving the wall we wandered the streets of the old city. Eventually making our way outside the wall. We wondered some of this streets and came across an area where people were sunbathing. October 8 and people are still sunbathing here. Amazing. Try that at home. Had lunch and a lovely red wine "Plavca" in a...

Oct 8, 2017 - Dubrovnik Sightseeing Tour

Oct 8, 2017 – Happy birthday to my dear friend Charmayne! 𯎂𯎉𯎂 No schedule today, so I woke up without an alarm and was still the first one for breakfast. I thought either I was early or everyone was gone before me. Today we decide we will take a 2 hour sightseeing tour of Dubrovnik. The bus stops just outside our hotel and off we go. The tour was very interesting and we saw a fair amount of the city. There are only 50,000 permanent residents so it is not a very large city. At times there are 3 or 4 large Cruiseship’s in port (today there...

Oct 7, 2017 - Baska Voda to Dubrovnik

Boo hoo, the day has come that we have to leave this beautiful place. Our coach is picking us up at 7:30am, and all of us are downstairs well before that time. What a fantastic group it was, always prompt, full of fun and enthusiasm and a joy de vivre! We are well on our way by 7:30am and arrive at the Hotel Lapad in Dubrovnik shortly before 11:00am. Janine, Sharon, Dorothy, Martin & Mary are now off to the airport for their flights, and most of us are staying here for anywhere from 1 to 3 nights. Some decided to drop their bags and head...

Oct 6, 2017 - Hiking the Biokovo Mountains from Topici

9.5 km with 330m of ascent This morning dawns grey and there is scuttlebutt of rain. Most of us are happy with that as the days have been warm, and a little cool rain would feel nice. Today, we are leaving from the hotel and climbing up the streets to the abandoned Dalmatian village of Topici. The views, as always are amazing from here and once we arrive at the top of the hill, the sun is out in full force and not a cloud in the sky! So much for cool. Topici is being reconstructed, and has strict regulations on ensuring the village is as...

Oct 5, 2017 - Cetina Gorge Hiking

11km from the village of Kostanje behind the coastal range and down into the Cetina Gorge. Today our bus drops us off at Kostanje. The hike this morning is beautiful, sunny skies, quiet village’s, small farms and lots of beautiful flowers everywhere. The paths are gentle, although they do get a little more challenging underfoot as we ascend 240m up to our lunch spot with views of he Cetina River far below. We are a large group today and the conversation is lively as we eat our lunch. The views are spectacular from here. Ok, lunch is done...

Oct 4, 2017 - Day trip to Sibenik, Krka National Park & Skladin

Day trip to Sibenik, Krka National Park and Skladin with Pelican Tours – a long, but very fun day!! Another early morning – we are up at 5:30am, and in the lobby by 6:15am. The night security fellow very kindly retrieved our ‘pack breakfast’ and allowed us to have a quick coffee before our taxi arrived to take us to Split. We were very keen to see Krka National Park and booked a Viator booking on Pelican Tours well in advance. We didn’t realize that Martin & Mary would also organize a tour to the park, a shame as it would have been great to...

Oct 3, 2017 - Hiking in the Biokovo Mountains down to Tucepi

9.5 km hike today from the village of Makar on the hillside above Makarska. We have a small group today on both the easier and harder walks. Many of the group decide it is a rest day and some head off to Split, others to enjoy Baska Voda. We are driven up to Makar and start our hike at the base of the Biokovo mountains and wind our way through small villages, some abandoned, at a leisurely pace. Although a little more challenging today, the trail is lovely and we break at an old church and graveyard. Below the floor of the crumbling church...

Oct 2, 2017 - Baska Voda to Brac Island for the day

Today’s hike is on the Island of Brac and we are all looking forward to a great day. We leave earlier today at 8:20am and walk to the port to get on our chartered boat ‘The Marin’, named for the owners son. Shortly after leaving port, Marin came around with a ‘pick me up’ of schnapps or Slivovica (plum brandy) and figs. A little potent for first thing in the morning, but a nice touch. It is a gloriously beautiful morning and before we know it we are in Sumartin on the island of Brac. The plan is to relax, have a coffee and start the walks...

Oct 1, 2017 - Baska Voda & Makarska

What a beautiful morning. I can’t believe it is October. The sun is shining and it will be in the mid 20’s today. I went down for breakfast around 7:30am and before long the whole group was down. It is a full breakfast which is nice. Our coach leaves at 9:30am so we still have plenty of time to organize poles and get fixings for lunch. Everyone is on time and off we go, up, up & up to the drop off point – we are very happy they are driving us up to this point. One of the first comments from several people when we arrived was “oh man, look...