Day 173: Sunday 7 September – Croatia: From The Cold And Damp To Warm Sunshine, by Ken

This was our 6^th day in Croatia, it had rained every day so far and the skies indicated we could be in for more of the same today. Our original intention was to work our way gradually southwards as far as Split stopping en route for a few nights to explore locally. From Split we were going to point Mabel towards Germany and head there in the shortest possible time. Instead, we decided to head south for Split on the Dalmation coast in the hope of finding better weather and then work our way northwards from there.

Plitvicka Jezera Camping Ground - Grumpy German's Motorhome Foreground With Mabel Behind

We were all ready for the road by 9:00, but first Harry wanted to interview me for a varsity management assignment. He had only three questions that provoked a lot of thought and discussion. Jane listened in on speakerphone and we were both very impressed by the way Harry handled the interview – letting me have my say, probing a bit and finishing by asking if there was anything else I wanted to add. We left it that I would think some more during the day about a metaphor that would describe the culture of the organisation I worked for. After that we had a long chat with Harry and Ella, all was well with them and the menagerie in Wellington. Sometime during the telephone call Jane conjured up a cat from somewhere and brought it into Mabel.

The Cat That Jane Found

Afterwards we drove Smarty to the camping grounds café to use the wi-fi. That was the only place there was a signal which we thought pretty poor. Surely, in this day and age free wi-fi throughout a camping ground should be a given? On our way back to Mabel we called in at the camping ground shop for some supplies, then we hitched up Smarty and got on the road. By then it was 11:00.

It was still damp, grey and overcast, but at least it wasn’t raining as we passed the entrance to the Plitvice Lakes National Park. We definitely picked the wrong day to visit yesterday. We followed the two lane A1 road for about 50km before heading south east on the A1 motorway that runs inland parallel to the coast. While still grey, the sky started to brighten as we drove south. It was still grey when we entered a 5.7km long tunnel but we emerged to blue skies and sunshine. The outside temperature climbed from the mid teens to the high twenties.

Grey Sky Before Tunnel

About To Enter 5.7km Tunnel

Blue Skies After Leaving Tunnel

We stopped at a service area for lunch in Mabel of Bulgarian cheese on toast topped with Croatian baked beans twice the size that Watties put in cans. 

Bulgarian Cheese Topped With Croatian Beans

After lunch I spotted a caravan towed by a German registered Land Rover parked nearby. Sitting next to the Land Rover was a chocolate Lab. We went over and had a long chat with its owners, they and their dog were very friendly.

Chocolate Lab

It was my turn to drive after lunch. About an hour after setting off the sun was still shining. We entered another long tunnel and emerged into pouring rain! It was quite clear the weather in Croatia is influenced by tunnels and in future we will look for places to stay that are situated between tunnels.

Wonder If Their Parents Knew What They Were Up To?

The rain didn’t last long and we were back into sunshine again. We left the motorway north east of Split and drove down towards the coast skirting round east of the city. Jane had selected a camping ground just to the south by a beach. I went to check in only to find it was full but we could park in the car park where there was electricity. I turned the offer down and was told there was another camping ground about 15km along the coast.

It was a very pleasant drive with the road hugging the coast for much of the way. There were numerous apartments, each with a small beach. Some were advertising camping grounds. We stopped at a couple which were not much more than the camping ground’s gardens and very cramped. We pushed on until we got to Camp Galeb, just outside the town of Omis. The camping ground was enormous and we no trouble getting a pitch near the beach. As usual, Smarty attracted a lot of attention, particularly from an Austrian couple in a caravan set up between us and the beach. They told us they were leaving in the morning and we should take their pitch.

For the first time in a long while we were able to set up our large table and chairs outside under Mabel’s awning. We played a game of bananagrams over a G and T that I won again. I didn’t know it was Father’s Day until Harry mentioned it earlier in the day. We went to the camping ground’s restaurant where we had some very good food. I ate a steak filled with ham and cheese, while Jane had chicken kebabs.

Today's Trip (284km)