Isle of Hvar

After a leaving my people on Bol behind, Em and I headed onto the Island of Hvar. After spending such a great time in Bol we were not sure if the next place we visited would be as nice. Hvar is quite a big island and has many towns and Jelsa is the one we picked, and we picked well. Only a 20 minute ferry ride from Bol, we found ourselves in one of the nicest little harbours that I've seen. It hurts me to say it but the town has a much more homely feel to it than Bol. Although it has a lot of tourists it seems to have more of a local feel to it.

Our campsite is only a short walk along the small cliffs and coves to and from town. On arrival we were lucky to get the best site of them all. Unlike every one else we get shade all day, a very big bonus, and are only a few meters from the beach. We fall asleep to the sounds of the water gently lapping up onto the shore and the first thing we see is the beautiful green/blue of the ocean right in front of us. For some reason unlike with Bol, the water here has a green colour closer into the shore and gets bluer once you are further out. Apart from swimming every day - sometimes 2 or 3 times - we have discovered the local fish market, which is very small but sold us over a kilo of fresh live mussels for just over three dollars Aussie. Not bad. So it was mussels with a garlic and white wine sauce followed by tortellini in mussel stock for lunch, and spaghetti with a tomato and mussel sauce for dinner. Oh yeah! Not bad for a campers budget!

Em enjoys a mussel dinner

Sunset in front of our tent.

Day time in front of tent.

Cheers Babe!

What a creation.

Great place for night time swims.

Waiting for the mussels to cook.

Hvar is quite a spectacular island and in my opinion the best way to see it is by motor bike! Em and I hired a little scooter for a day and took in the sights. We got to ride through a 1.5km tunnel under one of the mountains to get to the other side of the island from where we are staying. During the trip we got to see open ocean and the rugged coast, explore private coves and bays aswell as all the towns on the way. After riding for 4 or5 hours we decided that it was time for lunch. We saw a sign that said there was a little restaurant on a secluded bay so we headed for it. After winding down the long and steep road that hugged the cliffs and hills we parked the bike and walked the rest of the way to the bay only to find that there was nothing open there. Oh well. We got back on the bike and headed up the hill. Near the top of the hill the petrol light started flashing. That's cool, we still had a bit of fuel left and we could see a town up ahead. Cool. We got to the town at the top of the mountains, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by weird stone walls and piles and lavender bushes, and even if there had have been a petrol station there, which there wasn't, we wouldn't have gotten served anyway cos of siesta! Hmmm, fuel light has stopped flashing and is now permanently staring at me with it's bright orange glow. No problem, I'm sure there will be another town around here soon. And of course there was, and of course they didn't have a petrol station, or a restaurant, or a shop, and of course if they did have any of these things we wouldn't have got served, why? Yeah you got it, siesta. Luckily there was one person actually outside who we asked directions on how to get to the nearest town with a petrol station. "Just go down that dirt road over there for about 3 or so km and you'll be alright" was the reply - but in broken English. So putting our lives in the hands of higher powers we headed down the steep and winding dirt road. Well we call it a dirt road, I'm sure there was some dirt under all the bloody big rocks! But hey, after riding down through the valley past the ghost town, as you do, we finally made it to the flats and eventually to the seaside town of Milna. A lovely little town wrapped around a bay. Here we finally stopped and treated ourselves to lunch. Steak! The first steak we had eaten in about 9 or 10 months. Oh yeah, juicy goodness. O.k. Lunch over let's get some petrol! Once again we had no luck, so a quick ride back to Hvar town running on fumes we made it to a petrol station! Phew! By the time we returned the bike, our backs, necks, legs - basically all our muscles were aching, but it was well worth it. The island is really beautiful and diverse.

Through the alleyways of Stari grad Town.

One of the many coves we found.

Rock piles and lavender - this is everywhere on the island.

What a view.
Rock walls were all the rage back then.

Finally down on the flats and dirt of the "dirt road".

Cool little ghost town.

Bay of Milna where we finally got some lunch.

Yet another beautiful bay.

Hvar town where we finally found some petrol.

The rest of the time we have been swimming in the beach in front of our tent, which is more like a big lake or swimming pool. It's so calm and clear and the temperature is perfect!
All up, the isle of Hvar and the town of Jelsa will be an experience that we won't forget in a hurry. Tomorrow it is off to the island of Korcula for another new adventure.

Camping in Croatia

With two visits to Greece under my belt, and Italy now crossed off the "must visit" list ... where else do you go when you want some Mediterranean time with crystal clear blue waters. Hmmm. Maybe we will give Croatia for a go .... for a whole month! Bol and I were so excited to get back to the ocean and start the new chapter of our travels. We arrived in Split, Croatia, on June 9th laden with a tent, mattresses, gas cooker, camping chairs, esky - you name it, we were ready to camp. We were again joined by Mary and Rachael for a few days and it was fantastic to be able to share such a gorgeous place with good friends. After our plane was delayed by 15 hours (Bol's new catch phrase is "Wizz Air - They'll Keep You on the Ground"), we arrived in Split about midnight and headed out with Mary for a welcome drink. The architecture in Split is stunning and it is easy to see why it is becoming the latest "it" destination for travellers. The old town with its cobbled streets, bordered by such blue water - we knew immediately we had made the right choice. Our welcome drink wound us up sitting on some locals boat at 4am chatting away (Croatians in general speak English very well). We eventually made it back to our hostel for some much needed sleep - ready for the catamaran ride to the island of Brac, where we would stay in the village of Bol the next day.

Split by day ...

... and night

We are now in Bol (today is June 13th) and it has turned out to be a beautiful place with probably the bluest water I have ever seen. You can imagine Bol when arriving in Bol (this is getting confusing) .. but he bombarded Mary, Rach and I with his one-liners: "My people, I have returned", and "Fear not... your leader has returned." I am sure you can all imagine it!

Our four days in Bol have been exactly what we needed. We have been staying in a fantastic caravan park where Felix, the owner, bends over backwards for his guests. He even took over the rest of assembling our tent. We obviously looked a bit novice. And each day the four of us have been basically just walking, having picnics on the beach, swimming and swimming some more. We hired a boat the other day and puttered around the island, dropping the anchor for swims whenever we found isolated bays.

Front view of campsite (above) and our tent during its first pitch

Captain Bol (above) with his crew (below)

Doesn't get much better than this

Bol and I said goodbye to Rachael and Mary this morning - they have headed off to London. Luckily we still have 25 days left in this amazing country, hopping from island to island with our tent. 'Tis the life.

Hungary


From Venice it was back to Budapest to resume our visit from some nine months earlier. It really felt like returning home. This time we were greeted at the airport by Jano - a friend of Eva and Balazs' who made us so welcome and even gave us an apartment to stay at in a gorgeous area of Buda. Our 12 days in Hungary this time around consisted of many catch up meals with family and friends. Every day we met someone different for lunch and dinner. Nobody escapes a visit to Hungary without gaining a few kilos. And with things like deep fried goose liver on the menu, it is not hard to see why. People would listen patiently as I tried to practise my limited Hungarian and order meals in my new language to the amusement of waiters. At least this time I didn't tell the waiter that "I am very tasty" as opposed to my meal .... like I did last visit! We also had our friends Anna and Alex visit from London for a few days and Mary and Rachael came from Ireland a few days later, so in between catching up with the Hungarian contingent we also did a bit of general tour guiding, including an evening boat ride down the Danube.

Mary, Rach and I with Parliament House in the background

On the boat ride down the Danube

Bol and Jano at one of our favourite restaurants

Bol at the winery with Lake Balaton (Europe's biggest lake) in the background

But forgetting all the fun catch-ups, day trips and delicious meals we devoured, our visit to Hungary this time had an entirely different purpose. His name is Jakab - our six week old godson who is the sweetest thing you will ever meet. As the godfather, Bol took great delight in asking everyone to kiss his ring. And despite his nerves in being responsible for holding Jakab during the christening ceremony, he managed to keep him content and tear free, even when the water was splashed on his tiny forehead. Bol drew the line at nappy changing though, so I stepped in to prove to Tommy and Ilde they weren't entirely crazy in their selection of godparents. Our visit to Szeged to meet and christen Jakab was truly an honour for us and cross fingers the family will come to Australia next year so you can all meet them.

Awww - our godson Jakab

With mum and dad shortly before the ceremony

The doting godfather

And godmother

And it was so great to catch up with Uncle Tibi

The Reunion

On the bus a few minutes after our reunion. Awwww.

Some issues with Schengen visas meant I had to return to London for a few weeks in mid-May, leaving Bol to finish out our work in Italy. I wasn't too happy about leaving Bol and my new life as a gardener, but knew it was a small price to pay for our upcoming 7 months of travel. Luckily I managed to get some work at my old office in London, which helped the time pass while also giving the bank account a much needed boost. Come May 28th, I was out of there, and Bol and I reunited in Venice with its reputation as one of the most romantic cities in the world. This was the starting point for our seven months of travel through Europe and Asia. We couldn't be happier. To save money we decided to stay in a campsite, which in Italy means a place with a resort sized swimming pool, restaurant, pub and supermarket, with hundreds of tents and cabins dotted around. The campsite in Venice took us back, in many ways, to Australia, and even more so to that classic Aussie film The Castle. No ... we didn't have to dig any holes and strawberry and icecream didn't feature on the menu (sorry for those of you confused at this point who haven't seen the movie. I suggest you rent it though). What made our stay in Venice resemble The Castle was the fact the fenceline of our caravan park bordered with the airport runway. Nothing like the sound of aeroplanes taking off overhead to provide that relaxed, peaceful atmosphere Venice is famous for!

Apart from this minor detail, which caused more laughs than sleepless nights, Venice turned out to be the picture postcard city we had expected. For three days we meandered around the narrow corridors which line the canals, taking in the ambience of the city. It really feels like it has been built purely for tourists, simply because of the fact it is so hard to believe that people actually live on the water, drive to the supermarket in their boats, the firemen, police and ambos drive speed boats with flashing sirens, and kids go to school by boat. Quite amazing.

Each day in Venice we would buy our picnic lunch from the supermarket and sit right on the waters edge eating. Who needs fancy restaurants! And the Venetians use one of their old gondolas to make the 2 minute trip back and forth across the Grand Canal for just 50 cents, so even tourists like us can aford a gondola ride. Thanks guys. I'll let the pictures below speak for themselves.