CHAPTER #4 … OF MANY
Our Private Paradise — Makarska, Croatia in the Fall
It can easily be your private paradise too
We walked along this coastline — to the stunning, secluded, Nugal Beach with its jaw-dropping aquamarine water, gentle waves and white cliffs plunging into the Adriatic — for about 5 kilometers today.
An out-and-back walk to and from our airbnb in charming Makarska, Croatia.
We saw exactly one other couple during our several hours out.
How is this possible?
My girlfriend, Qin M and I, have been luxuriating in long slow Croatian travel for about three weeks now.
We blew off the flight dust and jet lag while enjoying Dubrovnik for the first week of our trip.
Then we ferried to the nearly-deserted, tiny, car-free island of Lopud about an hour away from the touristic hubbub of Dubrovnik.
Now we’re at the tail end of a week in Makarska on the central Dalmatian Coast, otherwise known as the Makarska Riviera.
We’re at the very start of a long and winding road that will involve two more months of Croatian leisurely explorations. Then three to four months of travel, primarily in Spain and Portugal.
It’s all part of our loosely constructed plan to move to Europe. We’re in the process of semi-searching for a place that feels like where we’d like to rest our heads, longer-term.
We’re in no rush.
We’re also traveling in what’s the off-season for this part of the world.
At our trip’s start, we’d been graced with warm sunshine, but lately, we’ve been treated to cooler temps, clouds and some rain. As it got cool and damp, the tourists blew away, much like Fall leaves scattered by the breeze.
On Lopud island, a local woman commented, as we headed off on the ferry, “You’re the last two visitors on the island.” She added, “I’ve been watching you here. You two always look like you’re enjoying yourselves.”
I still smile thinking of her, her friendly wizened face and her sterling comments.
In Makarska we’ve gone days without hearing English except when we engage local store owners with “Dobar dan”, Croatian for “good day”, and they realize, from our accents, that we’re not from around these parts.
Being the only non-locals has its perks.
All the local hiking trails and swimming spots are ours to enjoy, undisturbed, for as long as we wish.
All the large hotels are closed, meaning that sidewalks, bars, restaurants and the stunning marina are our private preserves.
There’s plenty of local life here to keep things interesting, but we’ve never had to play “dodge the incoming tourist horde” or worse still “dodge the incoming tourist bus.”
We wander about, doing exactly as we please, gazing across the water at nearby islands, Brač and Hvar, our two next stops, and chatting happily with one another as we zigzag up and down the narrow streets or stroll along the stone docks that ring the harbor.
Try Croatia in the Fall. Life doesn’t get better than this.
Doviđenja (goodbye) for now. Lots more as our story unfolds.
Come along for the ride.