Hiking Between Villages in the Makarska Riveria

Monday, October 19

We left Trogir and moved to the town of Makarska on Sunday. This portion of the Dalmatian Coast has a string of small tourist towns built on the ocean and backed up against the mountains.  

 









On Monday we hiked a VERY rocky trail along the Biokovo mountains between two small villages. It rained off and on as we hiked.
At the end of the walk, we had lunch at a country inn. After sampling the inn's homemade liquors, we had a hearty meal of soup, salad, grilled meats, cheese, and plenty of red wine. 


 

We returned to Makarska for a city walking tour. During the tour, the skies opened and we were soaked through by torrential rains. Luckily, our 4 star hotel rooms have great showers.
Welcome to my world! There are so many things to be interested in, to learn, and to experience. I enjoy cooking and am happy to share recipes that I like. I also love exploring the world--from my backyard to far-flung parts of the globe, And I love both reading and writing. As an undergraduate I took full advantage of my liberal arts education, but eventually had to find a career path. I chose educational psychology and had a rewarding career as a professor, college administrator, and school psychologist. In retirement I am rediscovering the world of ideas--the heart of a liberal arts education. I invite you to share my journey of exploration.

Popular Posts

Sailing in the Time of Coronavirus

Image
This was shaping up to be my winter of Asian adventures.  Scott and I were invited to the wedding of a Vietnamese friend just a few days before Christmas, so we planned a vacation to include time in the ancient imperial city of Hue where the wedding would take place.  Nearly a year before, a friend had talked me into joining her on a cruise from San Diego to Hong Kong that would include ports in Hawaii, the Philippines, and Vietnam; thirty-two days from mid-January to mid-February.  And then another friend suggested a China tour that sounded great, so I booked a third trip to Asia for mid-March. And then things started to go wrong.  In the words of Robert Burns, “the best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley.”  First, Ruth notified me that she was cancelling the cruise.  Oh well.  I had paid my money and would lose a large portion of it if I also cancelled, so fine, I’d go alone.  Then, on a beautiful early November Saturday, I suggest...
Read more

Safari!

Image
Six years ago, I went on safari to southern Africa—Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.  It remains a favorite among the many trips I have taken since retirement.  I thought Scott would be interested in a similar experience, but I wanted to see something different, so we booked an east African safari for this summer.   There were many similarities between the two safaris--most of the animals we saw on this trip were repeats of those I had seen on the previous safari, and both were booked through Smithsonian Journeys.  But there were also differences, most notably in the terrain and the safari vehicles used.  The wildlife parks we visited in east Africa—Kenya and Tanzania—are vast compared with those in southern Africa and required driving much greater distances to see animals.  The biggest negative of this trip was that much of our safari-vehicle driving was over bone-jarring, teeth-rattling dirt—and dusty—roads.  The discomfort was worth it, however, ...
Read more

We've Made it to Athens and Our Ship--Let the Fun Begin

Image
After 26 hours in transit from home, we arrived at our Athens hotel—Elia Ermou—and stepped out onto our balcony to this stunning view of the Parthenon, which sits on the Acropolis, or sacred rock above the city.   Eating breakfast at the hotel this morning, the view was slightly different but no less stunning.  Tomorrow we will actually go visit the Acropolis, but today we just enjoyed the view. The hotel concierge told us that getting a taxi in this part of town would be difficult, but we could easily take the subway or metro to the port of Piraeus, where our Viking ship was docked.  "Just walk straight down this street (pointing) about six minutes, maybe ten with luggage, to the metro station at the end and take the green line all the way to Piraeus."  I asked about stairs, but she assured me that the station had an elevator “that works most of the time.”   The walk to the metro station took closer to twenty minutes, as our wheeled suitcases did not ...
Read more

On Cruising: To Sail or Not to Sail

   I am a landlubber at heart, having grown up with car trips, camping and hiking in the mountains, and exploring the roads and back roads of America.   When I retired and began my travel life in earnest, I favored land-based tours with activities I enjoyed doing.   I went hiking in Croatia and later in the Italian Alps, photographed animals in Botswana and landscapes in Arizona, rode a camel and stayed in a camel-hair tent among the sands of Morocco’s Sahara Desert, and took a cooking course in Lucca, Tuscany, Italy. No thanks, I said to cruising offers; too confining, too sedentary, and too many people.   Besides, on several previous ferry crossings, I had been quite ill with sea seasickness.   Then one day, I received a phone call from a friend who travels as an expert lecturer with land-based tours and on cruise ships.   “I’m lecturing on the Viking Sea and have no one going with me.   You’re welcome to come along and share my stateroom...
Read more

Brazil: An initial exploration

Image
 I have a nephew and a cousin who have spent considerable time in Brazil and love the country and its people, but I had not yet had an opportunity to visit.  So, I selected the extended cruise I am currently on partly because it included stops in ten Brazilian ports along the southern coast of the country.  Prior to this trip, I had not realized that Brazil is as large as the continental United States.  This cruise, therefore, would be the equivalent of sailing up the eastern coast of the US to Maryland and saying that I have seen all there is to see of the country.  We have an Amazon River cruise scheduled in early 2027, so we will see a bit more of Brazil then.  But at least this was a nice introduction to the country. Balneario Camboriu as seen from the ship:  Rain forest and beaches Much of Brazil is covered by rain forests, with the majority of the population living in coastal cities, many of which have beautiful sandy beaches.   Our first ...
Read more