December 30, 2013

our house, is a very, very, very fine house...


..........with two (four) cats in the yard, life used to be so hard....



I'll light the fire, you place the flowers
In the vase that you bought today
Staring at the fire for hours and hours
While I listen to you play your love songs
All night long for me, only for me
Come to me now, and rest your head
For just five minutes, everything is done
Such a cozy room, the windows are illuminated
By the evening sunshine through them
Fiery gems for you, only for you
Our house, is a very, very, very fine house
With two cats in the yard, life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy, 'cause of you
Our house, is a very, very, very fine house
With two cats in the yard, life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy, 'cause of you
I'll light the fire, while you place the flowers
In the vase that you bought today

Happy New Year All !

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December 29, 2013

biokovo stone igloo, in and out


Outside

Inside

Close to the place where the wolf cage is (see blogpage about it),
we discovered this stone built igloo.
Already interesting from the outside, I was delighted to see he inside.
Brilliantly built from rough material, dome shaped strong,
and plenty of space to find shelter on a lesser day.
And (or but)....no wifi, tv or airco :-)

Click on the inside picture, a priceless painting without a painter.
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biokovo, year round a beauty !!!



I'm not gonna spend many words on this one,
just click on the picture to enlarge it.
Robert ( my good friend from mali mlin agency ) and I,
once every week or so, get out on a tour, trip, hike.
Always impressed by the wealth of nature around our houses,
this time again we went to Biokovo Nature Park.

And again it was fántástic !
This giant area is so full of rough beautiful nature,
you are a complete idiot (sorry, but true), if you do what many visitors do.
Drive to the top, look around and return to the beach or a beer.
No, nó, NÓ.

Forget about the top at Sv.Jure, stop anywhere, and get going !
And if lucky enough, like us living here, of season it only gets better,
between summer and summer :-)

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biokovo, and how to catch a wolf



How to catch a wolf, you might want to know ?
Build a trap like this one, with doors that close after entering.
And again, as the further a wolf enters, the narrower it gets,
till there is hardly any space left, and no chance of escape.
Do not forget to put a hamburger inside :-)

The trap on the picture, we discovered on Biokovo,
and however a bit neglected, it still shows very well how it works.
Entering on the front side, it ends in the right side, and there,
poor wolf, there is no escape no more.
Better than being shot illegally, return it to where it came from,
being Bosnia or Serbia, tagged, measured and registered.

Currently there is a discussion going on about the increase of wolves, and the problems they seem to make.
For centuries wolves have been feared, sometimes fair enough,
much of it however pure "hear say".
Same goes for the risk of snake bites here, all talk about it,
but asking for names of people who got bitten, or worse, never a name occurs.
Wolves are well protected in Croatia, along with lynx and bears,
and seem to increase in number.
Which is good, in my opinion, but most hunters are less amused.

This is pure and pristine nature, so it makes sense to take care, however the chance of seeing a wolf is more a moment to be delighted, rather than to be scared.
In other words, you might discover where this cage is, the chance you'll see a wolf is zero, as they see, smell, hear you long before,
and hide away from human eyes.

So when they manage to eat a dog, goat or sheep,
a mistake was made in the first place.
As those animals should have a safe shelter for the night anyway.
As goes for humans :-), because when wolves are around,
better take care, both of yourself ánd the wolves.


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December 28, 2013

Total Inland Dalmatia (thank's Santa for bringing it)



Details to follow, but thanks to Paul Bradbury,
the guy behind Total Hvar and Total Split, there now is:

www.total-inland-dalmatia.com

The website focusses on áll those less known, but véry inspiring spots behind the coastal mountains.
And believe me, there are thóusands, pure, original and undiscovered.
For those of you using Facebook,
also there you'll find Total Inland Dalmatia.

Wishing the people behind it lots of success ánd pleasure.
And of course you readers of my blog a lot of new inspiration to both enjoy the Adriatic Coast ánd all gems behind it.

As this is Croatia, and this is Dalmatia,
and the better you get to know it, the more you'll love to return.

And again, and again, and again.
(Or like us, immigrated from Holland to enjoy our retired life here).
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December 25, 2013

sretan bozic, merry christmas, prettig kerstfeest


Is this tree going in or is it going out ?

Whatever the answer you wish to hear, 

or what you believe,
it's Christmas, wherever you are.

Wishing you a peaceful Christmas, and every next day.

Nives and Pim.
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December 20, 2013

beautiful bosnia (sorry, but it's herzegovina :-)


Yesterday, because we had to bring our car to the service station in Imotski, we decided to cross the border into Bosnia-Herzegovina.

First I must tell a small joke, made by one of the border officials:
after our papers had been checked (a formality), and were allowed to continue, my wife said "so now we're in Bosnia".
The friendly officer answered however "no, you're now in Herzegovina".
You may say "oh well, big deal", that's like going from one state to another in the US, but it's not.
The Dayton agreement may have ended the war, creating a new country called Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH), there is a húge difference, but that would lead me to explaining politics, and I promised myself to nót use this blog for politics.

Better it is to make you see how f*cking beautiful this region is, and that not only means Dalmatia, and móst certainly not only it's fantastic Adriatic coast.

By the way, the picture was taken in Nature Park (park prirode) Blidinje.
A magnificent area, ánd, as soon as snow falls, a nice place to go skiing to !
Not a big piste, but sufficiently equipped for those who like to combine a stay in for instance Makarska, between palm trees at the Adriatic and a bit of snow fun, as it's less than two hours by car .


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December 19, 2013

cetina cave man


Between must do and have to, me and my good friend Robert of malimlin always plan some "expedition".
This time we went to have a look in one of the many holes and caves in our area.
This one, as you can see, is high above the Cetina River near Omis.

So, up, up and up we went, not easy, but worth the try.
Lot's of loose gravel on the slope, but also interesting plants.
After a while I reached the first "cave", just big enough to enter it,
so I did, and waited till Robert showed up.

As far as we could see there was nothing very special inside, but for someone looking for a cheap place to sleep during the crowded summer season it's big enough.
Waking up here at least rewards you with a splendid view.
As this picture shows.

For me it's all about getting to know the finest, unknown places around Omis, as is for Robert, but he also uses his detailed knowledge to inform his clients, making it a win-win, even for you in case you like to discover hidden secrets.
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December 16, 2013

from pig to prsut

 

For those of you who never eat meat,
please ignore this one and see my posts about domaci vegetables.
As being vegetables, meat, or eggs for that matter, here in our hidden valley all of it comes from local soil.
Domaci, remember that word, means home made.

To bad, the word domaci today is misused many times by clever marketeers, the origin however is truly home made food.
And thank God, in valleys and villages like the one we live in, people still take care of what they eat, much of it truly home made.
Being jam, wine, olive oil, vegetables, potatoes, eggs, chickens, meat and so much more.

These days, as the new wine is ready and olives have been pressed, it's pig time.
A simple reason why this is pig time, is that these cold(er) winter days are excellent for preparing meat, which starts with the last walk of these noble animals.
You may say pigs are not noble, like noble as horses are noble,
but no doubt they are noble !

The process starts already after summer has gone,
as that's when many people here go to buy one or two pigs
at the local farmers bazaar.
And already long before that moment figs are picked and dried and a variety of carrots and such have been planted,
all of it for them pigs to eat.
For months they get their daily meal of natural tasty food,
including those home made sun dried figs.

They even may loose some weight, no problem,
as long as they enjoy their food and lazy life.
As that diet increases the quality of their meat in a tremendous way.
(Think about this, when buying your pork chop, wrapped in plastic).

So, as all life is limited, so it it for those pigs,
as they are not kept for their friendly company.
No, sorry again to all you vegetarians, but when eating meat,
that also means killing it.

So face the truth and thank the pig,
as it provides us with truly fantastic meat.
Nót the industrial anonymous peace of plastic wrapped "meat" on a tiny pamper, but réal food.

I followed the entire process from last walk to the final cut,
and I must say I was impressed.
The kill is a less pleasant moment of course, we all agree don't we, but from that moment on the whole process is a true local tradition, ánd a traditional skill !

Each and everyone helps, resulting in a variety of ready cut meat, hanging in the cold dry air till it's processed in the next steps.
As nothing is wasted, truly everything finds it's way to the kitchen, now or later.

Sausages are made, dried and smoked over a daily fire,
and the prsut is prepared to ripen over time.
"Prsut" my dear readers, is the ultimate smoked, air dried,
ripened ham in Dalmatia.

And once you've tasted this HOME MADE ham, you're never ever gonna buy the industrial shit they sell in stores under the name
"domaci dalmatinski prsut".
!!! IMPOSSIBLE !!!

As it all started with a well selected pig, fed with natural quality food, butchered and prepared with care and respect, salted, pressed, dried, smoked and ripened, for a minimum of one, but preferably two years.
As thán, and only thán, the prsut gets it's deep red colour, it's intense flavour and overwhelming taste, a combination of sweet and salty, and however dried for two years,
still with a unique soft juiciness only domaci prsut has.

Thanks to them noble pigs, thanks to the people who care for traditions, and thanks to all of you who think a bit longer
about what you buy and eat.

Domaci is the magic word in Croatia, local the English name.
But whatever the name in your country, respect yourself,
respect your food.

"Domaci".

Remember that word, and ignore the marketing use of it.
As domaci means home made, and nothing else :-)

(Thanks to the noble pig and the people who kept it, 
there still is true prsut).

Say NO to Brussels, when they force you to eat other than the best !
And home made still is the very best.

(PS: the Croatian word PRSUT is pronounced as PUR-SHOOT).

Those of you who are truly interested, I took pictures of the entire process, 
showing how respectful and skilful a whole pig is processed.
If not afraid of some blood, look here:
https://plus.google.com/photos/117782136748269501249/albums/5957869470739439489?banner=pwa
My email address as always is in the top right corner of this blog.


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December 09, 2013

wanna see some snow ?



OK, you'll have cross the border to experience winter conditions.
But in less than an hour's drive from Split
you're in a totally different climate.
Crazy huh, coming from Split's boulevard (called Riva),
between palm trees at the Adriatic, you drive to Livno in Bosnia,
and there it is, cold snowy winter.

A bit further, all together (just) about one hundred kilometres from Split, and you're in Kupres, the nearest ski resort.
Lot's of people from this part of Dalmatia leave their sunny life
here at the coast, for a weekend on ski's in Bosnia.
Didn't do so yet, but be sure I will, as it's one of the many possibilities regular tourists never thought possible.

But it is !
One hour by car from palm trees to piste, wow.
Indeed, Dalmatia is WOW, and nót only in summer.


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December 05, 2013

FOSAL.HR, a new local informative website



Recently a new website was launched in Omis.

Only available in Croatian language, but that's pretty normal, 
as it's specially for the citizens of Omis :-)
For others, like me as a Dutchman living here, 
there is the help of Google Translate.

For all people from Omis, especially for those who live anywhere else on the globe nowadays,
it's very interesting and informative, 
specially because new visions occur in Omis.

As a happily living foreigner living near Omis, 
politics are not my thing.
I just observe, and what I read and hear looks like at last Omis is stepping up to the position it deserves.

THE CHICKEN 
WITH 
THE GOLDEN EGGS 

And it looks like the new mayor, dr. Kovacic, is finally taking care of Omis the way it deserves.
As Omis has a unique combination of possibilities, 

with sandy beaches, Cetina river, an old centre and a tremendous lot of breath taking nature around.
(And a couple of problems to be solved).


So, besides well known Slobodna Dalmacija, now there is:


www.fosal.hr

So dó follow the local news and dó see that website.


December 04, 2013

wild horses in Livno (Bosnia Herzegovina)



A couple of years ago I already wrote about this magnificent group of wild horses, time to do so once more.
When Al Jazeera, National Geographic and Bavarian Television mention it, it's time for me to write again.

It came to my mind again, as tomorrow me and my friend Robert are crossing the border again to have a look once more in beautiful pure Bosnia Herzegovina.

It only takes one single hour by car to visit Livno and surroundings, and the whole trip is magnificent.
BiH (in short), is totally different from Dalmatia, and still much to unknown to all tourists visiting our also stunning region.
Most people come here for a sun baked holiday at our beautiful coast, but most of them think about some excursion while they are here.

Well folks, forget about that "original", "special" and "exclusive" fish pick-nick, because you ain't seen nothing yet
till you've visited those horses in pure nature.
Not just a couple of them, but more than three hundred !!!

Nowadays well protected by volunteers and the law, and if needed helped with some extra food during harsh winters,
they became "victim" of mechanisation.
Once people discovered the power of tractors and cultivators,
their power wasn't needed anymore, so they were freed around Livno.
With enormous wide territory reaching from Dinara to Cincar, including Livno Polje (flats), they now live in pure natural conditions, mating, giving berth and becoming an ever growing bunch.

For those a bit clever on internet it's not very difficult to find details, should you want someone to organise your visit, ask my good friend Robert, as he is running tourist agency malimlin , where he helps people to book a house or apartment, rent a car or organise a trip.
Not only the average well known excursions, also all worth doing,
but also very special ones !

Tomorrow we are going to have look in BiH, for ourselves,
but also for you.

PS
To help you search on Google, see:
http://www.divljikonji.org

http://www.br.de/fernsehen/bayerisches-fernsehen/sendungen/welt-der-tiere/wildpferde-winnetous-pferde-100.html

http://balkans.aljazeera.net/vijesti/livanjski-divlji-konji-i-zakonom-zasticeni

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wallpaper/ngm/photo-contest/2010/entries/wallpaper/week-11/2010-11-26-21733-nature/
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