"sunny" dalmatia (most of the year)

For those of you who believe Dalmatian weather is all year round sunny and warm, forget it.
Sunny, nice and warm it's "only" from April till October, sometimes a bit earlier and/or later.
Between October and April our weather here is typical for Mediterranean winter season,
but also influenced by continental weather from Bosnia and beyond.

Today's satellite image for instance, shows a giant depression
over Italy and Croatia.
That means rain, wind, more rain and more wind.
Two wind directions are dominant here, one called bura,
the other called jugo.
Bura (boeh-ra) means dry weather (cold in winter or hot in summer), Jugo (you-go) however often brings rain, both in summer and winter.

Having been a (hobby) sailor all my life, checking the weather was as normal as putting up or taking down sails, and fantastic internet today provides me with a stunning amount of details.

This picture for instance shows a satellite image from a website with both daylight and infrared images.
With this, and a couple other links,
I regularly check what the weather is, and/or will be.
In other words, I am our own local weatherman.

Snow or no snow on Biokovo Mountain (free entrance during winter),
a simple click tells me when it's time to get into the car and drive that half hour to hike in alpine conditions.
Faaaantaaaaastic !!!

Living here is great all year round, but especially great in winter.
The variety of micro climates makes it even greater.
Each and every valley has a slightly different climate,
the coast differs from the Zagora (hinterland).
And for instance, while summer nights at the coast are almost as hot as during the day, our evenings are much more pleasant, as here evening temperature drops about five degrees C. compared to the sun baked coastal area.

Example:
Waking up in our hidden valley, enjoying cats, coffee and a cigarette in a mild winter sun (when it's not raining),
driving ten minutes down the mountain to see Adriatic or Cetina, another half hour or so to Biokovo, walking around in winter wonderland, after which an espresso on Makarska's best terrace (Kavana Romana) is enjoyed, and returning home to either
grill or cook a nice dinner.

If you like to see how weather is or will be, send me an email
(see top right side of my blog),
and I most gladly send you a couple of links to check local weather.

Rain, sun or snow, bura or jugo:
Dalmatia is always great.

BBQ & Grilling, but not the Croatian way :-)

Let's face it, Croatians like to grill, however...........
......Americans know how !

Now before my dear Croatian readers go mad, yes yes yes,
I like my grilled anything here in Dalmacija,
and yes, open air grilling or in the so called black kitchen
over pure wood or grape-tree clippings tastes great, but.......
there is always "non plus ultra" or "primus inter pares" if you like,
and that's the American way !
 Oprosti, oprosti, oprosti :-)

Hope you are still with me,
and did not click on the link below immediately,
but I simply have to share this item with you.
Cooking is one of my (to many) hobbies, and grilling is (just)
one of the many ways to create a delicious meal.

Occasionally I receive a smoke signal from Amazingribs,
and the things these people share with interested folks like me
is absolutely fantastic.

No, you do not have to get a green card,
and no, I would not recommend you to cross the ocean
(sorry USA, but this country is far more beautiful than yours).
But ignoring such rich tradition of BBQ-ing, grilling, smoking
would be a true cooking shame.

You don't have to follow every cooking step they take, but if you only use 1% of all the knowledge available on that site, you will have added a thousand new tricks to create delicious meals.

Get going, have a look, and if interested, put your name on the list, so you get those smoke signals too !
You won't be disappointed, and still can do some Dalmatian grilling, once in a while.
Which of course always begins with good quality food
(meat, fish, poultry, vegetables),
and boy do we have a lot of great (domaci) quality food in Dalmatia.

please do click here !

PS
You can always mail me at the @ in the top right corner of this blog.

archaeology=science+fragments+tape.

Recently my attention was drawn (again) by Alan Mandic,
the guy behind Secret Dalmatia.
He wrote about a highly interesting location, on which fragments of very old primitive life were found.
Supposed to date back the very first presence of human activity.
(Presumably Neanderthals).

Stunning news that is, but not uncommon for this area.
A couple of years ago, excavations on the Cetina borders produced a rich find of ancient and well preserved historic material.
See: Cetina in Wikipedia or Cetina in World Archaeology .
But more than that, as all around here are fragments of ancient life, historic and prehistoric.
As this area was and is offering all the basics for human life.
Water, wood, fertile soil, relatively mild temperatures,
trade routes both on shore and sea.
And, plenty of locations to hide when things got rough.

And rough they were, those ancient and more recent times,
with more fights and wars than "normal".
Sad enough, many of those conflicts resulted in destroying a lot.
Salonae (Solin) for instance, first by Avars and later by Ottomans.
Today's Solin and it's impressive Roman remains is absolutely a "must visit" !!!

Many times archaeologists have to reconstruct fragments, with tape and glue, in order to get the picture of what was going on in the area they are researching, so in the end they give us an idea of life before our's.

For that reason I do not dig or search for artefacts nor fragments,
and should I find something by occasion,
I will immediately register the exact coordinates with my little gps.
Next step is to inform the specialists,
as what may seem "nothing" to me/us,
can be that one and only missing link in a chain in restoring history.

Therefore I would like to ask you, walking or diving, to respect what you see or find, and leave it to the experts to do proper research,
so we can all learn from history, and enjoy it !!!

Those of you interested in Roman and other history, the whole Dalmatian area is blessed and sprinkled with hundreds of  interesting and beautiful locations.
The Imperial palace in Split, Trogir as a whole, the fortress of Klis, the remains of Salonae, and many many more.


PS.
Recently heard about visiting divers from Belgium, who took some truly interesting artifacts they discovered under water 
and took it (ILLEGALLY) home.
!! IDIOTS !!!
Shameless idiots, as it's stupid, highly illegal and without ány respect !
And.......: punished with severe penalties, up to imprisonment.

So if you see, find, discover something/anything, 
behave as a guest in the most beautiful part of Croatia, 
as that's what it is: 
Dalmatia.

off season, hell no !

"Inspector cat" checking progress of a new path.
Pile of stones on our land changing into a pleasant footpath.

What used to be the top of the septictank near our house,
will change into a friendly terrace.

Not having a septic tank at our garden house yet,
we decided for a decent next one, solving, distance/level problems,
creating a nice new little terrace at the same time.
And nice it will be !

When finished with borders and flowers,
another great place to enjoy the view, sitting in the shade.
And relax !!!!

The Chinese may have their wall, soon ours will be ready too :-)
On the left side will be my three level botanic garden
(yes, another hobby).
The "Chinese Wall" will be finished with so called "benkovac kamen", hiding the concrete.

So if you think nothing happens during off season, now you know.
Two neighbors/friends are excellent workers,
so I do not have to do/think of everything on my own.
The finishing part, including planting and decorating,
will be my job again, as that's one of my (to) many hobbies.

Sometimes however, I am more than happy when we have a rain day.
With still much to do, crushing my old Dutch brains, translating my thoughts into understandable Croatian,
sometimes makes simple ideas into a twice as difficult job.

"Svaki dan malo vise" is my motto, and "polako" can wait !
Till the rain starts pouring again,
as than I have my needed rest, my "slobodan dan".
Ajmo Svinisce !

building future's archaeology

Many times when driving/walking around this area, I see old walls.
Much crumbled, fallen apart and forgotten, many however also in good order, as they are still necessary,
preventing the ground from washing down when it's raining.
Yes indeed, we have a rain season too, 
and it can be pretty heavy.

Not being the flattest country in the world,
with plenty of stones and rocks, what do you do ?
Yes indeed, you build walls.
And that's what people did and do here.

Our private part of Dalmatia, our 2000 sq. meters, also has different levels, so also walls.
Some in good shape, some restored, a couple to be restored still.
And......some completely new ones.

The new ones on this picture are a cover up for concrete walls, and the floor beneath them wasn't built as a floor in the first place.
Being modern people, we don't hide in the woods to powder our noses, but retreat into the bathroom.
And where there is a toilet, there must be a sewer (not here)
or at least a septic tank.
So we built a septic tank, and a LARGE one it is !

Jokingly the title of this page is "building future's archaeology", as archaeologists like to put their scientific noses into old toilets first, searching them for delicious historic left overs.
Bad luck for future researchers, as they won't find anything in ours, as the system is self supporting, with a load of bacteria eating around the clock what we have digested already.
What remains is water, clear natural water,
dripping from one chamber to another and another,
as "dinner" needs at least three chambers.

The roof of the septic tank was just a concrete roof on what goes on beneath it when recycling is in progress.
No other use than being the roof of it, come on.
Than why not make it into another terrace I thought,
so another project was born.
With plenty of space one never has enough terraces to relax.

When completely finished, it will be a pretty terrace with borders stuffed with flowers and herbs, and perhaps even a large pergola covered with fine grapes for shade.
Do we have a septic tank ?
Yes, we had !

PS.
The guy on the picture is a pro, so if you have some walls to build,
not the modern concrete ones, but true Dalmatian stone walls.
mail me and I'll give him your address.
(My address, as always, is in the header of this blog).

I hate(d) cats

For some reason I hated cats all my life.
Perhaps because our dog was hating cats too, but even in my younger days (lóng ago), cats were not my favorites.

Things change, and the cats that live around our place here, made me fall in love with them.
Still some of their habits, going to the "bathroom" for instance on my freshly planted vegetables does not make me happy.

Any other moment however, even when enjoying the silence of the night outside, those purring creatures are charming company.

From time to time kittens show up, as they all live and give bearth in nature here, and we put a lot of efford in taking care, feeding them with both plenty dry or leftover exquisite food, and a lot of t.l.c.
And after some time each and every young cat finds a new home, as they are all socialised by my wife and not "wild" anymore.
One basic rule remains: no cats inside house or gardenhouse !

As you can see, nature provides us with mainly white ones, sometimes mixed with a bit of red, but mainly white.
And we know who the fathers are :-)

dirt or GOLD

From Alan Mandic, one of the true experts on Dalmatia's secrets I received a newsletter that will put Dalmacija
in a totally new historic perspective !!!

On his weblog, Secret Dalmatia Alan is informing about Dalmatia's special delights, offering the very best thinkable service, a truly interested visitor may wish for.

Dalmatia is known for it's historic places, like Split, Trogir, Dubrovnik and many, many other, but there is so much more.
Much of it still hidden, unexplored, and many times "only" visible to scientific experts.

Knowing a tiny little bit about the history of Dalmatia in old times,
I have a slight idea of the significance of it all.

I once in a while try to do some (google) research to get a picture of all that remains from early history, and sometimes go to places that are known to the public, but not yet to me.

Our area for instance, offers so much, it's hard to make a choice.
For many thousands of years ancient people discovered this is, like it is today, a splendid area to live.
Where I add some "future archaeology" building concrete walls, respectfully decorated with stones from all around us, ancient people left there traces all over this country.

Not being an expert, I recommend to make your own pick, or contact Alan, as I am just a simple guy living here, and enjoying whatever
I discover (and that's a lot).

I highly recommend you a look at Alan's weblog,
as he was lucky to enter the world of the Neanderthals recently.

Dr. Vincent Gaffney et al for instance did stunning research in the Cetina Valley in 2004.
The location Alan is writing about, might just be the reason for this highly respected expert to return to Dalmatia.

With a bag of money please, as proper archaeological research needs coins, not of the type ancient people left in the ground to be discovered after thousands of years, but Euro's !!!

Very well spent money, worth every kuna.
As respecting history is respecting the future.

a trip worth sharing

Click on picture to enlarge.

I happened to see two Hungarian motor drivers,
when I returned from some shopping in Omis.
They stopped for a moment "now where to go", so I decided to stop too and gave them some advice to get the most out of their trip here.
I do that more often, when I see some people who do not know what to choose from the scenic menu .
Learned it from an ever polite English gentleman, who without asking crossed the street with " can I help you".
Good old British habits, unique in this stressed, ignorant world.

So I told them what would give them the very best "value for money", touring through this magnificent area.
Later on, no doubt they enjoyed it, so I thought I could as well share this trip tip with you.
Perhaps it's a good reason to finally plan a visit to this beautiful area,
called the Dalmatinska Zagora.

The roadmap I created takes you on a trip of let's say 50 kilometers, from Omis to Omis, driving through various, unforgettable landscapes, magnificent panorama's,
sleepy villages and truly stunning views.

Believe me, this is, no doubt,
one of the most beautiful parts of Croatia.
If not THE most beautiful !

small change, big difference

Untill recent our car was the same, however, there was a slight difference, driving with typical yellow registration plates.
As we are originally from Holland,
also our car was registered in Holland, so it had yellow plates.
Makes sense huh.

As we moved to Croatia, we also at some moment had to register it.
 Before entrance to the EU however, there were many difficulties, as even the officials from customs one day said this, the next day that, so things remained like they were.

From the moment on, Croatia entered the EU, things áre changing, ánd for the better !
Still people around nag about the EU, but over time they'll discover things did and do get better.
Not áll, as this still is and remains Croatia, with it's own values,
which are typical Mediterranian here.
(Easy going, organic food, nice weather and an clear blue sea).

But simple things, that used to be very complicated and lasting for ages, are now changing, of which our car is a good example.
It still took a month to organise things, but compared to earlier trials, this is a huge step forward.

So from now on our car is a true Croatian car, and we can make phone calls in the car while driving, overtake left or right, drink a couple (not being coffee) before driving
and ignore if some light bulb dies out :-).
Just kidding of course, but the closer you drive to Split,
the more "different" drivers behave.
That, I guess will always stay the same, despite the EU and it's changes for the better.
As this ís a Southern European country.

If you, as a reader of this blog, you need advice on the issue of changing the registration of a car, be my guest and send me an email, and I'll gladly give you a short summary of things to do.

Life is great, especially in Dalmatia !
(So no time for cleaning the car).

svinisce, our village, our surroundings

Took a walk/hike with my good friend Robert, at which we reached the opposite side of the Cetina Canyon.
Must admit we first drove up the slope as far as we possibly could, still the rest of the hike however sucked a lot of energy from my not so very athletic body.

Clear skies, a bright sun, 24 degrees Celsius, and a pretty steep gravel slope, what else can a superman like me wish for :-)
Not only me however, with my nearly 65 years of age, also Robert had a (bit of a) problem to inhale the smoke of his cigarette.

Now about this picture.
It's taken from the N/W side of the canyon, and when you click on it to enlarge, you'll see a village glued to the right side, above the mountain road that eventually reaches our tiny village.
(Our village, look véry good, is on the left far side of the picture).

The "glued" tiny village is called Podaspilje, and is not really hanging, but still an amazing place, as the view from there, into the canyon,
is more than just fantastic.
Couple of houses there are for rent, so in case you prefer to have
the REAL FEEL of this area, and still want to go to the beach in five minutes,
that's your place to go.
Also, and pretty important if you know what hot summers are, in the later afternoon, evening, night and morning temperature there is fár more enjoyable than directly at the coast.
AND......you're not in that crazy crowded circus as Omis in summer.

Just one of them many stunningly beautiful sceneries
we've got plenty of here.
And believe me, this is what makes Dalmacija/Dalmatia
so very special, specially the surroundings of Omis.
Sea, sun, nature, river, culture and much, múch more !

PS.
Check my previous pages about Go Quixotic.
It's a brave and inspiring initiative, 
so pump some of your fortune to their's, 
it won't cost you a holiday.
Only a couple of beers less, half a pizza and a grilled fish.
(That's about $ 24,99 here, so what are we talking about).

If you PROMISE and PROVE to donate them $99,99, I take you out a day for thé ultimate Dalmatian experience, including a home prepared pick nick served at THÉ most amazing spot.
Yes, I am a fine cook, and yes that spot is beyond imagination !

what would Sir Richard Branson do ? (# 5)

Question on one of the many pages about Quixotic:
"WWBD".

Or to say it in understandable normal words:
"What Would Branson Do".

In which of course Branson is Sir Richard Branson, 
known, nó, not knówn, 
but world famous for his unlimited spirit 
and unprecedented ideas.

In hís world the sky is nót the limit, hís sky has nó limits at áll.


What made me write this and previous pages is the unprecedented energy an American couple is putting into raising the capital
to fullfill their dream:
Starting up a completely new life in Croatia.
Or to be more precise, in Dalmatia.
Not only starting a new life here, but an epicurian place in Split.

Sure, there are more people in Croatia that have such dreams.
The new thing however is the way these folks dó what they do.

 !!!   C R O W D F U N D I N G   !!!

In crowdfunding you, me and everybody becomes partner of 
an initiative worth every single bit of support .
Not the IMF, nor Lehman Brothers or Brussels, but ÚS, the people.

Wanna know all about it, be part of it all and learn from it,
than visit their website, facebook page or any other page they use to draw attention,
as they will show and prove their sky has no limits too.

And when visiting their pages, do become part of this project,
as every single kuna, euro, yen or dollar is more than welcome
and will be well spent.

Click below to start:

GO QUIXOTIC

And don't return to this blog till you did what I explained you to do.
Support this initiative !
As once théy succeed,
why not áll them young well educated Croatian people with dreams.

go organic, go quixotic (# 4)

(Please click to enlarge).

One of the main qualities of Dalmatia is that food here,
ány food, tastes só much better.
Meat, fish, vegetables and fruits, they all taste better,
and no doubt are more nutritious too !
The reason is very simple:
much of it is unspoiled organic locally grown stuff.
(One of the reasons is that large farms don't exist here, due to the fact that most properties and fields are simply to small).

Reading many reactions, experiences, comments on many internet sites, one thing always shows:
visitors, tourists, they all discover not only Croatia's coast is amazingly pure, it goes for the food as well.

Even a simple pizza here tastes better, due to better ingredients (unless people visit the wrong locations).

Here in Dalmatia, many people in the smaller villages still bake their own bread, partly because it's tradition, partly because they know growing and preparing your own is great.

Yesterday for instance, our best friends here in Svinisce brought home two thick, fat, healthy pigs.
Many people around do just the same, and with a good reason.
Once them pigs arrived they go on a diet, a diet of pure, organic, healthy, tasty food.
Every day from the moment they arrived, they loose some weight,
but gain taste and quality.

Somewhere at the end of the year, when the weather turns colder, them pigs reach the end of the line,
and the process of preparing and preserving starts.
Much of it is used for home made sausages, pancetta ánd that famous domaci prsut (salted, dried, smoked and ripened ham).
All of it, believe me, tastes divine, and is without comparison.
Shame on any factory producing "domaci prsut" the industrial way, as they all start at the wrong side of the pig :-)
(For those of you who don´t know, ``domaci``means homemade !

Good food starts with good ingredients, and no industry can ever produce the true DOMACI QUALITY.
Some of them try to do their very best, but still,
it's the wrong side of the pig.

This principle, going for fish, fruits and vegetables alike, motivated two brave American people to start up an initiative.

Great idea folks, a great and daring plan,
and a perfect combination of true American business mentality,
(let's kick some *ss) and the unspoiled richness of Dalmatian pure, healthy ánd tasty ingredients.
Once those two things are combined,
you get a cocktail of the best of both worlds.

! Go Quixotic !


PS.
The picture on this page shows the most minimalistic garden around.
In it are nevertheless various sorts, from olive to cabbage. 
And a lot more.
Not much in volume, but excellent food !

what if Q = GO ? (#3)

Quote from the almighty internet:

"Epicurus says: life is good,
make sure to enjoy it".

If he really said that, and in thóse words, he truly was brilliant.
Brilliant, as he said it in Anglo-American :-).

Had he known Croatian, he would have used thát language,
at least when visiting the brilliant, organic, juicy Epicurian initiative that's coming to the old town of Spalatum.

Therefor, in a philosophical way, if "Q = Go", (and it ís !),
 we can as well accept and support the ideas behind "Go Quixotic".

So stay connected, as there is more to come, soon.

PS.
It took me/us pretty long to accept Epicurus famous words.
Had I known thán, what I know nów,
I would have used "crowd funding" thán !
Don't feel sorry for me/us, NO WAY, 
as we áre living our dream today.
In Dalmatia / u Dalmacija.

Windmills are everywhere, also in Croatia,
so íf you have to fight them, better do it hére, in Dalmatia !
Crowd funding is a creative refreshing way to do so.

go Q go ( # 2)

During the "Eighty Years War" (1568-1648) the Dutch were fighting against Spanish opression, 
and wón, 
and Cervantes wrote his most famous book.

Somehow, you'll find out soon, 
there is a connection between that antique war, 
Croatia, windmills and the mystery I am creating about Q.

For now its:

 "go Q go" !

go Q go !!! (#1)

! Q is coming to Split !

? Who ?

! Q !

Great news it is, for you, for Split, ánd for Dalmatia. 
For now that's all I'm gonna tell, so keep following this blog as ....
.... details will follow soon.

So remember:

{ Q }

even on a cloudy day

Even on a rainy/cloudy day our panorama is amazing.
(Do please click to enlarge).

This morning we were sitting outside (smoking inside is a no NO),
and enjoyed looking at the movement of the clouds.
People think Dutch clouds are fantastic,
painted by many famous masters,
but we know better.

MUCH BETTER !

Biokovo, what a mountain it is !

One of the many views you may experience on Biokovo Mountain.
Do please click to enlarge the picture.

Not the highest mountain in the world, you might even call it a dwarf,
with it's 1800 meters all the way to the summit.
But bigger does not always mean better :-)

Or does it girls ?

PS.
Biokovo Mountain is less than an hour's drive from village Svinisce.
Not the highest , but a very special one, with twó climate zones.
I often visit it during different seasons.

hello World, welcome to our Universe !

Couple of years ago I entered the world of expats on Expatblog.
As usual dreams are followed by plans and after plans reality knocks.
Croatia, here we come, or better "came", as we moved there.
"Came", as we now live here for more than two years,
and have no regrets of taking that step.
! Not for a single moment !

But, as usual, a lot of things had to be checked, learned, organised.
Changing our Dutch life for Croatian life came with a lot of work.
And where better to check than on Expatblog,
as all people who think of, or work on moving to another country,
are member of it.
Again: "shared knowledge is the best knowledge".

To read the full story, see Blog of the Month October 2013,
as there I willingly and proudly tell it all.

If you dream or plan to make the same move,
do feel free to send me an email,
my address (as always) is in the right topside of my blog.
(In which X = @ of course).

Some rules in advance:
-if you mail me, keep it short;
-if looking for a job, sorry, I can't help you;
-if looking for trustworthy advise or help finding a place,
I will connect you to some good people.

Simple rules, as I am retired, I do not look for a job,
and our free life here is to precious to us.
Nevertheless I gladly support your plans,
as life is great in Dalmatia (Croatia).

And should you want to have a look first in this European country,
before you decide to take that giant step,
spring, summer and autumn the weather is the best, and you can always combine a visit with some days at one of them hundreds of superb, clean and sunny beaches of the Adriatic coast.
In that case however, check my friend Robert, as he's a friendly, trustworthy pro running a tourist service, but also helps people to find a place to settle in this area (avoiding the typical problems).

One way or the other, enjoy reading the interview on Expatblog,
and if you get inspired to move to Croatia:

!!   RIGHT   YOU   ARE   !!
(and so were we)

Vruja source area: another special spot

Last saturday (28-9-2013) my good friend Robert and I took our canoes out for a trip from Pisak to Vruja.

Pisak is a tiny fisherman's village not far from Omis, however small, very much liked by many tourists who rent an apartment there.
It still has the atmosphere of a original coastal village, so if looking for a fine place to spend your summer holidays, I can recommend it.
(And Robert, running Malimlin, knows a couple of great apartments, so in case you are inspired, contact him).

Vruja is the name of a natural phenomenon you can observe deep down, when driving the coastal road from Omis to Makarska.
Short after Pisak, before the road to Zadvarje turns left,
 from the parking, you can observe this "strange" natural effect.

Deep down you see some bubbling effect on the surface of the sea, caused by sweet water rising from deep down.
It's a system of natural sources, pushing water from deep under Biokovo into the Adriatic.
The water, like on many places here, flows under the karst surface of all them mountains here, creating underground rivers from the Livno area (in Bosnia) and the Imotski area.

On many beaches here, this effect is creating a sweet water layer under the top layer of salt water, sometimes even blurring the sight when snorkeling around.
No big deal, the surface layer is very warm,
only when diving a bit deeper you'll notice difference in temperature as this sweet water is also a bit colder :-).

During the summer season these springs are gently, yet clearly visible pushing sweet water up to the surface, in early spring it's gushing violently, not the best moment to go there with a tiny canoe :-).

For those interested, there are a couple of canoes for rent in Pisak, also from there a boat can take you to these unspoiled places, including Vruja springs.

Not only for those springs it's worth to take that trip, all along the coast there are secluded small beaches of pristine quality.
Almost impossible to reach by foot, very well hidden from curious people, even when you forgot to take your swimsuit with you :-).

Do not forget your swimming goggles, as the water there is truly worth some snorkeling around.

PS.
At about one third from the left on the picture you may discover some "old" stone houses (if you look very well).
To get a better view, check Vruja Beach Resort, as that's what it is, 
a magnificent resort for those of you who look for a fantastic, quiet, idyllic place to spend summer.
We dragged the canoes on to the beach, and walked around for some time, impressed by the beautiful way this place is built/restored 
with a lot of respect for surrounding nature.
It must have been a hell of a job to create such a splendid resort on such an "impossible" location.
(No road, so all material had to be brought in by boat or so).
Truly a most original and fantastic place.

what's the price of priceless ?

Some things are priceless, and so is Dalmatia !

Do I aim for some sort of price with my small talk, or try to make my blog look splendid, the answer is no.
Blogging to me is just a simple way to share some of the luck we have living here, in Svinisce.
Some people may say it's in the middle of nowhere,
but I/we know better !
So what you see is what you get, a straight up- and down blog, with simple pages.
(Any more time spent on decorating it, is a wast of quality time).

Better share with you how priceless life here is, right ?
Yesterday for instance started with helping picking the grapes of our best friends here.
As soon as the morning dew has evaporated again, the lot of us went to the fields, carrying buckets, scissors and plastic bags.

All around me people were chatting in Croatian (of which I understand so little), so I focused on my job, cutting grapes and filling buckets.
The sun still is pretty hot this time of the year
(where are them tourists, now that it's the nicest weather ! ),
and lucky me, I do not have to carry those heavy bags full of grapes back up the mountain slope again.
That's something I gladly leave to others, younger and stronger.

In less than two hours them grapes were at the farm, pressed and put in huge containers to start their journey from juice to wine.

After work was done, we sat outside together,
under a pergola of grapes, having a drink.
And as is so common overhere, everybody joins for lunch, a beautifull way to say thanks and enjoy eachother's company still a bit longer.
Those joined meals make life here so very special.

Anyway, I had to say "no thanks" as I had an appointment with my friend Robert of Malimlin, running the best tourist agency in Omis.
As the summer crowds have gone (you should know, that THIS is the best season) he has some more time to get out and discover new places, which knowledge he shares with interested tourists who don't only come for sun, sea, pizza's and beer.
Once again, and I will keep telling you, this area has SO MUCH more to offer than a fantastic coast.

So off we went, with two canoos on the roof, to Pisak, a tiny coastal village about fifteen minutes from Omis.
As planned, we sat "sail" for Vruja, a natural phenomenen of sweet water springs in the salt of the Adriatic.
This time of year them springs are quiet, yet visible, after winter however I wouldn't risk my canoo or life to go there, as than the water bursts into the sea with pretty much force.
(This water comes from Bosnia and the Imotski area, 
flowing deep under Biokovo Mountain).

We had a fantastic trip, stopped a couple of times to cool down from hard work under the sun :-), swimming around bare naked in still very pleasant seawater (21 Celsius).
Gonna put some pictures I took on some following page,
so you get an idea.

To me and Robert, this trip was priceless, as usual, and we still have a trillion other trips on our list.
Don't give a sh*t about rewards, my reward is priceless.

It's living here !

PS.
If interested, here's a video on YT about Vruja, and a tremendous resort there:
Vruja Resort and surroundings

it's green and it grows

A small inside view on my little green world.
Not a recent one, however, also now I still grow,
nurse and try a couple of things.

Still not very familiar with the whole thing of growing vegetables, and also the different climate and amount of rain/water.
Rain, by the way, we hardly see during the looooong summer season, so during those months I'm a fairly good customer
of the water company (Vodovod).
Other people here use water from a spring in the village, but each of them uses a motor pump to spray loads of water once or twice a week to keep the potatoes and vegetables alive.

Not having my own water pump (nor do I get one) I installed a dripping system by Gardena that drips direct at the roots of each individual plant.
Great stuff, very easy to install, and overlooking the results,
a great tip to anyone.

One of the experimental things I grow is ginger in my "greenhouse" and with fantastic result.
Next year gonna expand that crop,
as I know now the experiment was a huge success.

Do they eat it here, no :-)
Will I somehow teach them how to prepare, use, preserve,
cook with it, the answer is yes.
But polako (easy does it).

Now it's still time to try some types of salads,
as salad season goes on still, even outside.
As goes for ruccola, cucumbers and a couple more.
Tomatoes slowly come to a halt, and so does this page.

jobs, laws, religion and politics in Croatia

Glad you found my blog, but I'll have to disappoint you first.

I do not write about politics.
Nor religion, jobs, laws and such.

When I write my little "no goods for nothings",
I have only two objectives:
fun and focus.
The fun is in being inspired by something, anything, and writing about it.
If you somehow get inspired from it, well great,
as than I scored my first point.

Having my fun, I hope (and try) to make you focus on this part of Croatia, perhaps when thinking of where to enjoy your next summer holidays, or even, like we did, settle down to enjoy your retired life.

If you think I am blind or ignorant for things related to jobs (and the lack of it here), laws (every day a new one), religion (any religion is a good one) or politics (and everything connected to it),
I must disappoint you again .

I'm not !
However, those are things I can't change, so I don't bother.
If you do, still enjoy reading my blog,
as there is more than those things.

Was invited today to become "Expat blog of the month" and willingly (even honored) agreed to the invitation.
The more people discover our hidden treasure, the better.
As long as you don't all come together :-), spoiling the magic.

And if you can make the difference for the benefit of Croatia, being an investor or (just) an idealist with good intentions, I warmly welcome you to this fantastic country.

I'll continue (together with my wife and a number of cats),
to enjoy life here.
Most of the time great weather, just beautiful nature, sometimes frowning my eyebrows, but always happy.

JA VOLIM DALMACIJA,
and I/we have a trillion reasons for that !


PS.
Gonna take care of our tomatoes again now.
If you like, you can always mail me, 
the address is in the top right side of the front page.

NO obligations !

Loads of things to do, must, MUST, M U S T !

BUT:

I spent all my life with so many obligations (the regular stuff everybody knows so well), that I decided to untie myself.
No agenda, no watch, no tie, and most of the time no cellphone.
Today even the days of the week hardly influence my life.

But...,
yesterday, as promised,  I drove Mario around in our area.
Mario, the son of our neighbors, is a brilliant priest who's now continuing his studying search for the ultimate truth, the one and only answer to the one and only real question of life.

He, like many others around us, hardly knows how very special our area is, how beautiful nature and how inspiring and inviting 
to say STOP to all them obligations for just a moment or a day.

We had a fantastic day together, in which I had the pleasure to share those exquisite spots with him, making him my next victim 
of this God given region.

I use the words "victim" and "God given area" with good reasons, as once you get to really know this area, you're addicted.
For him, hopping between Split, Rome and Germany for reasons of study and a load of obligations, I freed myself for a day to make him see, smell, feel, experience that we had (and have) a very good reason to feel blessed to be living our retired life here.

Many people run from one place to another (and so did I :-), 
racing from one obligation to the next,
sometimes even forgetting they are on earth with a reason.

Sunday is a good day to reflect for a moment, preferably on one of those spots we've got so many of.
Any other day (not being a church going person myself) is fine as well, as long as it gives you the opportunity to untie yourself 
of them DAMNED obligations.

Free yourself once in a while, 
forgetting all those obligations for a moment.
 Life   is   great ! 
(Hvala Bogu)

And tomorrow it's back to "things to do" again, 
as I am still tied to life like all of us, 
but heaven can wait sometimes.

HR or NL

 

I was in the Netherlands recently (see next page about seeds),
and them ten days there were eleven days to much.

Had to, otherwise I wouldn't have left our hidden valley,
not for a trillion Kuna's.
I let you be the judge, simply look at both pictures
and than decide for yourself.

Am I right ?
-
Right !

blue beans, white cucumbers and brown paprika's

Must tell that I always liked to work in our Dutch garden, but just to enjoy it like it was, a garden.

Never thought of growing my own vegetables, however we had a walnut, an apple and a collapsing :-) pear tree .

Things change, as since we live in Dalmatia, we not only own 2000 sq. meters of land but are also blessed with amazing conditions (sun, natural water and great soil).

Not (yet) having goats, sheep or chickens, part of our land is in use by friends, an other part "just" grass and herbs, and still we've got plenty space to grow and experiment growing our own food.

Potatoes, tomatoes, melons, cucumbers, peppers, various herbs, carrots, corn, salads, and a couple more, including planted young fruit trees, a walnut, and a couple of lemons in containers.

(Could try to keep them lemons outside during winter, but our valley is just a tiny bit colder than other valleys around,
so "better be safe than stupid").

Already I am delighted with the results of some experiments, reproducing seeds from peppers bought at Lidl, planting a piece of ginger bought in Kaufland, and harvesting seeds from our salads, I got myself a load of special seeds in Holland.

Had to be in Holland to straighten out a couple of things, and after doing so, couldn't resist to enjoy myself visiting a amazing store to cheer myself up a bit.

The name: www.vreeken.nl , an old family business with I believe the third generation in the middle of what I might call veggies paradise (however I like my steak medium rare).

Spent three hours there, slowly moving through a collection of unbelievable size and quality.

Gonna have to explain my wife how I could reduce our reserves that fast, but trust me, she'll find out when the results start to grow.

I rest my case, so to say,
as I never argue with my wife unless it's absolutely urgent.
(Nice dress dear, nice shawl, nice new haircut too :-).

Guess my British readers know their stuff already, having Kew Gardens and a typical British gardening tradition normal to old colonials, to me this Dutch store was like heaven on earth.

Next year will be an unforgettable one, once all them new plants start to produce, and even more, I can't wait to start reproducing seeds from them all, expanding my experiments, trials and errors, so friends in our valley can make an extra Kuna selling the delicious results to let's say the better restaurants around Omis
(yes there are one or two, when you look better).

My advise to each and everyone: GROW YOUR OWN !

You don't have to start big, a simple tomato already works, adding a cucumber next year adds to the fun, and perhaps one day you decide to expand your trials like I did, as it is exiting, tasty, healthy and makes you a happy person !

PS.

Lucky me, I like and know how to prepare a nice/good/tasty dinner, so I'll certainly try every new result myself first.

Chocolate paprika's, white carrots, purple strawberries, 
Svinisce, here they come !

And thanks Ton Vreeken and team, in the old town of Dordrecht, for making those three hours of my day, in wow, what a store !!!!

(However in Dutch, worth a view: http://vreeken.nl )