We’re following part of the beautiful Adriatic highway up the coast from Split to Rijeka, the Jadranska Magistrala in Croatian or more prosaically the D8. Various earlier sections of road were connected up during 1945-1965 to form a complete coastal route from Trieste via Rovinj and Pula all the way down to the Albanian border.…
It’s been seven years since we first visited Lake Vrana and explored the area around it. At that time, we saw the Maškovića Han from the outside, a 17th century project for a retirement home with guest rooms attached that was never completed. Over time, some of the more easily portable materials were snaffled to…
Here we are at the beginning of August and it’s been a doozy of a summer so far. Between the sweltering temperatures and the cloying humidity, it’s been difficult to breathe some days, let alone get up the energy to move. These are the days of the Dalmatian fjaka, sort of like a Spanish siesta,…
We’re very lucky in Vrboska to have such a thriving community of boat owners, enthusiastically keeping the heritage of the traditional wooden boats alive. Sadly that’s not so everywhere on the Adriatic coast, where generic fibreglass boats are now the norm. So, it’s good to have an exhibition of the next best thing – a…
It’s been nearly 5 years since we took the old Liburnia ferry from Stari Grad down the coast to Dubrovnik. That took a leisurely 8 hours, including stops at Korčula town and the island of Mljet. Things are speedier now. Krilo’s fast catamaran service does basically the same trip (leaving from Hvar, not Stari Grad)…
The very picturesque town of Omiš nestles at the foot of the high coastal mountains, just where the Cetina river breaks through to reach the Adriatic. It’s a spectacular location, a narrow gateway in the sheer mountain wall, with the town clustered on the flat area around the mouth of the river. We visited at the end of July, for the grand finale of the Festival of Dalmatian Klapa.
I wrote last year about the Dalmatian Black Pine, and the efforts to save this endangered species on the island of Hvar. In honour of Earth Day 2017 (22 April), here is my painting of a Dalmation Black PIne on Sv Nikola, the highest peak of the island. In the background is Mt Biokovo on…
Following our first afternoon of wine-tasting in northern Dalmatia, we spent a superb gourmet evening at BIBICh winery near Skradin. Winemaker Alen Bibich was on hand to guide us through the carefully created pairings of his wines, with wife Vesna’s gourmet creations. The whole effect is a sumptious extravaganza for all the senses. These feasts…
There are some extraordinary wines being produced in northern Dalmatia. Which is quite remarkable considering that this part of the Croatian coast suffered greatly in the war for independence in the 1990s. The vineyards here have been painstakingly reworked and replanted – some with local indigenous varieties, and others with international varieties. Back in May,…
A couple of years ago, we took a trip up to the summit of Sv Nikola, the top-most point of the island. It was January and a bitter wind was blowing, not to mention the odd shower of rain, but the scenery and the views were glorious! On the way down, we passed by a…
Go Hvar 
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