Tue 21.May.2013
Lovran, Croatia
The vista across the Kvarner Gulf on a clear night is enchanting. The dark
water, the dark hills beyond, decked with bright city lights like a walk-in
christmas tree. Reminiscent of looking across San Francisco Bay. I wish I
could hold my camera still enough for long enough to get a picture of it.
These two are not it - they are from the pale time much later, before
sunrise.
It is quarter to ten at night, and I leave tomorrow for the island of Pag.
Let's see if I can get one more round of Lovran photos up before I pack.
I'm in no real hurry to leave.
I even considered staying right here until mid-June, when the German
schools let out for the Summer, causing the peak season to set in in
Croatia, and yrs trly to head for Slovakia, where Summer hopefully will
have arrived by then.
On t'other hand, Pag will probably be the only town I visit this
year that I have never seen before! Except the dinner stop I made in
Regensburg, Germany.
I am also looking forward to seeing Zadar and Šibenik
again, and seductive, chaotic Split if time permits.
And so I'll drag my
nalga out of bed tomorrow morning and take the local bus up to Rijeka, from
which a catamaran sails at 3:00 to arrive on the island at 5:30.
I am gambling that I'll be able to find a room with such a late arrival time.
If I am lucky, there will be room touts meeting the boat. Otherwise, the
Rough Guide recommends an agency that may or may not be open that late
in the day during the shoulder season.
As a last resort, there is always that solid fallback option: ask a taxi
driver. It has worked for me more than once. Unlike in San Jose, taxi
drivers in the Adriatic know everything.
I'm sure my Greek friends will see plenty of sardonic irony in Pain
Therapy from Germany. I'm also sure they know better than to take it
out on individual tourists. There is tragic misunderstanding brewing in that
situation that is beyond the scope of this travelogue to go in to.
Success of sorts!
This picture would not have worked a year ago - the belt would not have
been visible - maybe not even the feet. I managed to lose 10 kg last
Winter in Rhodes. I haven't had access to a scale since then, but my new,
smaller jeans fit looser than when I bought them. Cross those fingers.
See you next from a Kvarner Gulf island, famous for its pungent,
rock-hard, and really salty cheese.
Ciao!