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My Travels in 2016: Croatia(-Monte Negro-Kosovo-Macedonia-Bulgaria-Serbia-Croatia) - part 6

My Travels in 2016: Croatia(-Monte Negro-Kosovo-Macedonia-Bulgaria-Serbia-Croatia) - part 6

December 2018 · 33 min read · Općina Lumbarda

CRO: Dnevnik putovanja, 28. kolovoza 2016.

Korčula, Hrvatska

ENG: Travel diary, 28th of August 2016

Korčula, Croatia

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CRO

Još tada, dok sam putovao, odlučio sam da ipak pišem na hrvatskom jeziku, ali preveo sam i na engleski.

Evo me već treći ili četvrti dan na otoku Korčuli. Ležim gol na stijenama u Lumbardi gdje je kao službeni FKK (nudistička plaža). Oduševljen sam time da sam uspio pronaći službeni FKK na Korčuli jer općenito je teško pronaći FKK u Dalmaciji. Čini se kao da Dalmatinci baš i ne vole javnu golotinju.

Dok sam boravio u Splitu, gotovo svaki dan odlazio sam Titove ville i preskakao zid ne bi li mogao uživati u najmanje posjećenoj plaži u okolici Splita. Titova villa je sada u vlasništvu Grada Splita i ne dopuštaju nikome da ulazi na imanje i više se ne zove Titova villa već „Villa Dalmacija“. Čak ni u tom osamljenom mjestu malobrojni kupači nisu htjeli skinuti svoje kupaće kostime pokoje djevojke što se odvažila da pokaže grudi, tj. da skine gornji dio kupaćeg i bude topless na plaži, i mog druga Richya koji je Mađar i poprilično otvoren tip koji se bez problema potpuno razgolitio. Čak ni na Piramidama, kako tamo zovu dio obale na putu prema Pomorskom institutu, zapadno od Titove ville, koje glasi kao mjesto gdje ljudi kupaju goli, nije bilo golih Dalmatinaca, tek pokoja Dalmatinka je pokazivala grudi, a osim mene i moje pratilje Zagrepčanke, koja već duže vrijeme živi u Splitu, te je čak poprimila i taj splitsko – dalmatinski naglasak, no čije ime neću iznositi radi očuvanja privatnosti, tek je još jedan par bio potpuno gol. Bilo je lagano napeto. Osjetio sam vibracije nepoželjnosti, kao da naša golotinja smeta domaćima, iako je mjesto glasilo kao FKK!

Iznenada mi je zamirisala neka dobra trava pa sam poslao prezgodnu golu Zagrepčanku da upita i zamoli mulce što su motali i pušili u blizini. Dali su joj i više nego što je tražila! Naravno! Kako bi odolili umiljatoj, goloj, preeezgodnoj djevojci?!

Smotao sam Svetu, zelenu materiju i poslao smotuljak domaćima kao jednu simpatičnu gestu prijateljstva pa su se čak i nasmijali te prestali gunđati. Možda im na kraj ipak svidjela naša golotinja?!

Na Korčulu sam došao u posjet prijateljici koja je ovdje proboravila već cijelo ljeto. Udomila me je na 2 noći, a onda otišla u Italiju na nekakvu šamansku ceremoniju s kaktusom. Drugu večer, prije nego što je otišla, svirali smo u Servantesu s još dvojicom glazbenika, basistom i gitaristom. Ja sam svirao električni bubanj. Pošto sam u tome ionako bio početnik, a nisam vježbao dugo vremena, jedva sam uspjevao držati ritam, ali sve u svemu, još je dobro i zvučalo...

Ovo divno stvorenje me je udomilo na Korčuli:

ENG

Back than, while I was still travelling, I had decided to write in Croatian, but still I have translated it in English.

Here I am now on the island Korčula. It has been 3rd or 4th day since I’ve arrived here. At the moment I’m lying naked on the rocks in Lumbarda where’s the official FKK (nudist beach). I am thrilled with the official FKK cause in general it’s very difficult to find FKK all over Dalmatia. Seems like the Dalmatians don’t like the public nudity so much.

While I was in Split, almost every day I was visiting the Tito’s villa, jumping over the wall to enjoy the most unattended beach in Split. Tito’s villa was now the property of the Split’s local government & they decided not to allow anyone to enter the property without their knowledge & permission. They also renamed it to “Villa Dalmatia”. Even here, on this deserted place, between the small number of the guests on the beach, only Richy & me were completely naked & some girl was sunbathing in topless. Even on the so-called Pyramids, how the locals call the area from the Tito’s villa to the West, towards the Maritime Institute, which is proclaimed as FKK, there was no naked Dalmatians, only few Dalmatian girls topless & my friend from Zagreb & me completely naked along with another foreign couple. This girl-friend from Zagreb, I won’t be giving a name to save her privacy but she was living for a long in Split & even has taken the local accent already but still has no problem with the public nudity. It was kind of tensely. Like I felt the negative vibes around us, like the other didn’t wan us here naked, ignoring the proclamation of FKK!

Suddenly I felt a smell of some very nice weed coming from the nearby so I sent my friend from Zagreb to go like this naked to the kids who were smoking & ask them to give us some. They gave her much more then she asked! Of course! Who wouldn’t fall for the adorable, naked, handsome girl?!

I rolled the Holy green plant & sent the joint to the domestics like a gesture of friendship so they even smiled to us finally & stopped grumbling. Maybe they even started to like our nudity in the end?!

I came to Korčula to visit a friend who was here for the summer. She hosted me for 2 nights & than went to Italy for the shamanic ritual with the cactus. The 2nd night, before she went for the ritual, we played music in Servantes with two musicians, bass & guitar players. I was playing the electric drums in which I was only a beginner & haven’t been practicing for a while so I was barely able to follow the rhythm but all-in-all, it sounded very nice…

This beautiful creature hosted me in Korčula:

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U jutro sam otišao na FKK – ovaj isti na kojem i sada sjedim, vježbao yogu i kupao se. Taj sam dan jeo samo voće. Drugačije se čovjek osjeća kada jede sirovo... Odlučio sam poslati ponude za fotografiranje smještaja privatnim iznajmljivačima na otoku i isprintati oglase te ih polijepiti po oglasnim pločama. To sam radio jučer, kada sam sreo ispod volte gradskih vrata grada Korčule, gdje je najbolja akustika, harmonikaša i pjevača iz Blata. Ime mu je bilo Ante i polovica je Dua Sol. Inače klapska i dalmatinska pjesma do sada mi je silovala uši i lagano mi se gadila, ali ovaj mi je muzičar parao srce! Pjevao je stare narodne korčulanske pjesme u vlastitim aranžanima s harmonikom u rukama. Pridružio mu se jedan stari kapetan u mirovini, njegov sugrađanin iz Blata i neki tamnoputi trubač bez trube koji je spominjao svoj orkestar pa me je još više asocirao na Roma, a i ja sam se odvažio zapjevati ukoliko sam znao ili na brzinu upamtio stihove. Zapravo smo spontano napravili klapu! Do suza...

Ovo su ta gradska vrata:

In the morning I went to the FKK – the same one where I am right now & practiced yoga & swam. That day I only ate fruit. When you eat completely raw, you completely different… I decided to send my photo offers to the local private accommodation hosts & to print & to paste posters with the my photo service adds around the area which I did yesterday. In the meantime I ran into a street musician – a singer with the accordion, right on the Korčula city gates where you can find the best acoustics. He was from Blato & his name was Ante & he was one half of the Duo Sol. Usually that kind of traditional Dalmatian music was raping my ears & was getting sick of it but this guy was tearing my heart in pieces! He was singing the old folk songs of the island in it’s own personal way with the accordion. An old sailor-captain joined him, who knew all the songs cause they were coming from the same village – Blato & another dark-skinned trumpet guy without a trumpet who was telling the stories about his orchestra. He was looking like a Gypsy. Even I took the challenge & tried to sing with them if I knew the words or remembered them quickly at the sight. We actually formed “klapa” – traditional Dalmatian band of vocalists! It was enchanting!

These are the city gates:

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Dodatak od 20. prosinca 2018.:

U prošlom nastavku nisam dovršio sve zgode iz Živogošća i s puta od Splita do Živogošća. Naime, oduvijek su me nekako privlačila Brela. To je jedno malo mjesto poznato po rajskim prirodnim plažama, čistom moru i zraku, a čiji je simbol, ako ne i čitave Hrvatske, onaj malo otočić koji se nalazi na svim promotivnim materijalima Republike Hrvatske, mnogim razglednicama i promotivnim videima. To zapravo i nije otočić, to je kao nekakva poveća hrid na kojoj raste nekoliko borova i svakojakih primorskih, vjerojatno ljekovitih trava... Uvijek sam žudio da vidim taj otočić, da dođem u Brela. Sad kad sam se uvjerio u ljepotu tog mjesta, mogu potvrditi besprijekornost svih dotadašnjih tvrdnji! Brela su zbilja Raj na Zemlji! I nadam se da će to uvijek i ostati za sve buduće naraštaje! A upravo iz Brela imam neke prelude zgode i nezgode!

Evo mene i tog famoznog otočića...

Ad on, 20th of December 2018:

In the last sequel, I didn’t finish the story about Živogošće & about the road trip from Split to Živogošće…. I was always attracted to Brela. It is a small place known by the natural paradise beaches, clean air & sea, which symbol was, & the symbol of the country too, that small piece of a rock which you can see on every single form of the touristic promo media of the Republic of Croatia, many postcards & promo videos too. Actually it is not a real island, it is really just a bigger piece of a rock where few pine trees grow along with the other littoral plants, which very often are medicines too… All of my life I wanted to sea that little island in real & to spend some time in Brela. Now I really did see all the beauty of this place & I am able to guarantee for it! Brela are indeed the Heaven on Earth! I hope that we will preserve it for the next generations! & right in Brela I have some crazy stories!

Here's me & that famous little island-rock...

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Taj dan kad sam došao do Brela, uvidio sam ono što se može vidjeti gotovo u svakom hrvatskom primorskom mjestu kojeg ikad imalo nagrizao taj prokleti turizam. Brela imaju predivne rajske plaže od sitnih oblutaka i tirkizno kristalno čisto more te borove koji se spuštaju sve do mora tako da je zrak koji tamo udišemo bogat morskim solima i tim ljekovitim česticama koje ispuštaju borovi. I taj se Raj na Zemlji na neki način prodaje kao ekskluziva većinom strancima i opet je više-manje sve podređeno zadovoljavanju potreba stranih turista i uzimanje novaca od njih. No, ostavimo sada to! S time se jednostavno moramo pomiriti...

Nakon što sam napustio Split i zahvalio se i Jenny na gostoprimstvu, što me je spasila od hladne, duge, burovite noći, zaputio sam se upravo prema Brelima. Čim sam stigao okupao sam se u tom divnom moru, a svi ostali kupači su me čudno gledali zbog moje duge brade, s asocijacijama na islamske fanatike, teroriste i bombaše samoubojice... Tužno. Već sam planirao navečer negdje svirati pa sam primijetio da Brela baš i nemaju prometnu šetnicu na kojoj ću moći išta zaraditi pa sam se zaputio do prvog većeg mjesta – Baške vode. Tamo sam odmah uvidio poziciju na kojoj ću moći dobro zaraditi. Prije no što sam započeo s performansom, prošetao sam se po mjestu i razgledao ga. Zanimljivo mi je bilo što je zaštitnik mjesta Sv. Nikola, prvenstveno zaštitnik pomoraca, ali i putnika i trgovaca... A još zanimljivije jest da su mi se oba djeda zvala Nikola i da sam ja upravo po njima dobio ime Nikica i to ništa nije bilo bez razloga niti je išta slučajno!

10 min sam uspio odsvirati i već zaraditi par desetak kuna, ali prekinuo me je komunalni redar, neki mlad i razuman čovjek s kojim sam ugodno popričao pa me je samo zamolio da se premjestim na neko mjesto gdje me neće moći vidjeti njegov šef i neka slobodno nastavim dalje svirat iako dozvolu od lokalne samouprave nisam ishodovao. Zahvalio sam se na upozorenju i savjetu i premjestio se. Na novom mjestu je neki grozno živčani Poljak vikao na mene i djelio mi sve moguće psovke na poljskom jer mu je smetala glazba, ali ipak sam odsvirao i zaradio nešto. Prije nego li sam pospremio stvari i premjestio se na to novo mjesto, ispred apartmana poludjelog Poljaka, došli su do mene dva starija gospodina, od kojih je jedan bio poprilično stariji od drugog. Oni su čuli što sviram te mi je ovaj mlađi ponudio da istu večer sviram u njegovom beach baru da pratim DJa. Dogovorili smo se oko honorara i tu noć smo to i odradili. Stariji gospodin je proveo veliki dio svoje mladosti u mom rodnom gradu Opatiji! Eto, koliko je svijet mali. Fino sam s njima popričao.

U tom beach baru se i nisam baš najbolje osjećao najviše zbog izbora glazbe koju sam morao pratiti i cjelokupnog komercijalnog, poluseljačkog ugođaja, ali podružio sam se s ljudima, odradio posao, bio dobro plaćen... Tamo sam upoznao neku Splićanku. Bila je biseksualna. Pričala mi je o svojoj djevojci, ali davala mi je do znanja da joj se sviđam. Bila me je pozvala istu noć da im se pridružim u njihovom izlasku do Makarske, ali Makarska mi je jedno od najodvratnijih mjesta na hrvatskoj obali, uz Novalju i Vodice. Fuj. Tako da iako je jedan dio mene želio iskusiti čari te ljepotice, ipak sam odbio njen poziv radi vlastitog psihičkog zdravlja...

Odmah sam otišao nazad u Brela jer sam ionako planirao spavati u hammocku točno iznad šetnice gdje se nalazi taj najpoznatiji otočić. Na putu do lokacije na kojoj sam planirao spavati sreo sam jedino jednog starog čuvara tamošnjeg restorana koji je lovio ribu s obale da ubije vrijeme. Bilo je oko 03:30 h i cijelo je mjesto spavalo. Međutim, nekakav je čudan miris nadraživao moje nosnice. Bio je to miris paljevine, čađe i dima. Isprva sam ga ignorirao i nastavio u svom naumu da odem spavati. Ali kako sam se približavao lokaciji na kojoj sam naumio spavati, taj miris je bivao sve intenzivniji... Još uvijek sam ga ignorirao. Dok sam zavezivao hammock između dva bora, osluhivao sam i mogao čuti pucketanje grančica dublje u tom istom šumarku. Pomislio sam su to možda divlje svinje jer nije neuobičajeno da se one spuste iz gora skroz do mora u potrazi za hranom ili pitkom vodom u ovo pakleno doba godine. Pljesnuo sam glasno rukama nekoliko puta da ih uplašim i potjeram, ali pucketanje nije prestajalo. Ostavio sam vezivanje hammocka i zaputio se dublje u mračni šumarak. Mobitelom sam si osvjetljivao put, a pomisao na svinje u potpunosti je nestala kada sam na vrhu brežuljka cca 50-100 m od mene vidio vatrene plamićke i iskre kako frcaju u zrak. Odmah sam bez puno razmišljanja nazvao 112 i pozvao vatrogasce. Čekao sam ih na mjestu događaja. Sva sreća da nije bilo ni daška vjetra jer inače bi planulo sve u sekundi. Držao sam se blizu mora i bio spreman u svakom trenu skočiti u nj ako postane „prevruće“. Vatrogasce sam dočekao i uputio ih prema plamenu, a oni su svoj posao odradili vrhunski profesionalno! Već sam bio jako umoran, a trebao sam naći drugo mjesto za spavanje i počeo se vraćati. Čim sam ugledao slijedeća dva bora na prikladnoj udaljenosti da za njih zavežem svoj lebdeći krevet, zaustavio sam se i počeo pripremati postelju, ali tu nije bio kraj mojoj muci! Nato iz polumraka naiđoše dva pandura jer i oni su trebali napraviti očevid požara i preispitati sve moguće varijatne zašto je uopće do požara došlo. Ispričao sam im istu priču kao i vatrogascima i kao čovjeku koji mi se javio na poziv 112, ali panduri su bili malo više sumnjičavi u moju priču jer ipak im je to posao pa su pokušali od mene izvući priznanje da sam ja zapalio šumu. Ja sam u bio još u većem šoku nego kad sam otkrio požar! Ipak su me nakon, provjeravanja i pregledavanja stvari, prestali optuživati, ali još me nisu ostavljali na miru. U torbi sam imao svoj mali, slatki, lovački nožić oštrice dužine od oko 35 cm kakav se ne može nositi bez dozvole jer takav nož prema zakonu spada u oružje, ali objasnio sam im da je to poklon od mog oca, koji je također bio policajac i da ga isključivo koristim za rezanje kruha, sira i pomidora pa mi ga nisu zaplijenili niti su mi napisali kaznu za to. Ni tu nije bio kraj! Ja sam im otkrio da namjeravam spavati baš tu, 20 m od mora na glavnoj plaži u Brelima na što je ovaj stariji pandur „umro“ od smjeha uz komentar: „Ti će ovakav Osama Bin Laden spavati ovdje bespatno gdje ostali plaćaju 100 € / noć pa da te u jutro gledaju ovi što džogiraju?!“, a ja mrtva-hladan odgovorio: „Pa da!“ Nato me je htio poslati u auto i neka spavam negdje na magistrali u autu (što je također zabranjeno zakonom), ali onda sam ja izvukao najvećeg jokera iz rukava i uzviknuo: „Sad ćete me potjerati odavdje nakon što sam spasio ovaj Raj od požara?!“, a onda se tvrdo pandursko srce smekšalo, jer i panduri su ljudi! Rekao je: „Hajde dobro, ostani tu, samo odi, molim te, 200-300 m od glavne plaže da te turisti ne gledaju u jutro i laku noć!“, a ja sam ozdravio i zahvalio se te otišao nazad na onu prvu lokaciju, ispod požara, razvukao hammock i zaspao u hipu. Da je gorila cijela šuma, ne bih se više probudio! A u jutro, opet komunalni redar, i to ovaj put neki drugi, stariji i malo nabrijaniji: „Dobar dan! Ne možete ovdje spavati! Molim Vas da skinete hammock i odete!“, što sam i učinio pola sata kasnije. Još jednom se okupao, otišao do svog Twinga koji je opet vjerno čekao te smo nastavili gnječiti cestu i proždirati kilometre koji su se gubili pod kotačima...

Prije Brela posjetio sam i ušće Neretve koje su mi mnogi spominjalo kao još jedno čudo Prirode i zbilja sam se oduševio pravim pješćanim plažama za koje sam do tad mislio da se valjda samo mogu vidjeti na TVu u najegzotičnijim mjestima ove naše divne planete, ali eto, mi u Hrvatskoj imamo i to! Zadivio sam se i time što je ušće Neretve nezagađeno onim groznim oblikom masovnog turizma. Ovo je mjesto rezervirano za avanturiste i sportaše, kite i ine surfere, za ekipu koja ne voli gužvu, a ovdje je zbilja nije bilo, i za ekipu koja voli opušteni, retro-hippy stil... Taman za mene, ali nisam se dugo zadržao, tek nekoliko sati za kupanje, pivo u surferskom baru i nekoliko fotografija za uspomenu.

Divne fotografije s ušća Neretve:

On the day when I arrived there I saw the same thing which you can see in almost every littoral Croatian town or village which was ever exposed to tourism. Brela have the gorgeous paradise beaches with the tiny pebblestone & turquoise crystal clear sea with the pine trees coming all down to the sea surface so the air is mixed with the sea salts & the pine particles. This Heaven on Earth is almost exclusively sold to the foreigners & more&less everything is guided by the needs of the foreign tourists & taking their money. Nevermind, lets leave it as it is! We just need to accept the situation…

When I left Split, after giving thanks to Jenny for hosting me & saving me from the long, cold, windy night, I went straight to Brela. Immediately I jumped into the sea, as being strangely looked at by all the other people on the beach cause of my long beard, probably reminding them of the Islamic fanatics, terrorists & suicide bombers… Sad. I’ve already planned to play music somewhere around here in the evening but I noticed that in Brela there’s no fine spot where a lot of people pass so I went to the nearest bigger place called Baška voda. There I right away I saw a fine spot to make some money. Before I started to play, I went around the town to look around. I noticed that the protector of the town was St. Nicholas, the protector or the sailors, travelers & merchants…. My both grandfathers were named Nikola, & from their names, my name was derived & given to me & was not accidentally! It was with the purpose!

After playing for only 10 min & earning only a couple of kunas, I was stopped by the young & reasonable local municipal policeman, warning me that without a license I am not allowed to play on the streets of this town. But he showed me where I can play without a license & where his boss won’t see me & I could still make some money. So, I moved there & ran into another trouble. There was some Polish guy in the apartment yelling on me & telling all sorts of bad words cause he didn’t like my music. But I still played & made some money. Before I changed the location of my performance, two older guys approached me, on much older than the other. They’ve heard what I was playing & the younger one offered me a job in his beach bar that same night which I accepted. The older gentleman spent a long period of his life in my hometown Opatija. The world is really a small place! I had a nice chat with them.

At the beach bar I didn’t feel so very satisfied cause of the choice of the music from the DJ & cause of the whole commercial-redneck ambiance, but I did my part of the agreement I was payed well… There I met some girl from Split who was bisexual & tell me about her girlfriend & telling me also that she likes me, inviting me to join them for the night party in Makarska. Makarska was one the most disgusting places on the Croatian coastline, besides Novalja & Vodice. Yak. Even thou a part of me was attracted to her offer, I still refused it for sake of my health…

Right after the show I went back to Brela to sleep in hammock just above the famous little island. On the way there I only met the safe keeper of the local restaurant who was fishing from the shore to kill some time. It was around 03:30 h & everybody was asleep. Some strange smell was stimulating my nostrils. It was the smell of fire & smoke. Firstly I ignored it & kept the idea of going to sleep. But as I was coming closer to my sleeping location, the smell was becoming more intensive… I still ignored it. While I was mounting the hammock between the two pine trees, I was able to hear crackling of the branches deeper in the forest. My first was thought was that there were some wild pigs walking by cause it’s not unusual that they come all the down to the sea level in search for food or water in this hot part of the year. I clapped my hands few times to fright & chase them away but the crackle didn’t stop. I left the hammock & went deeper in the forest. I was lightening up my way with the mobile phone, but the idea about the wild pigs disappeared totally when I saw fire burning & sparkles flying in the air just 50 – 100 m in front of me on the hill. I rang 112 right away without thinking & called the firemen. I was waiting for them to come at the place. Luckily, there was no wind at the time so the fire wasn’t quickly spreading. I stood very closely to the sea so that I can jump in if the fire gets spreading faster. When the firemen came, I pointed them into the direction of the fire & they did their job very successfully like the real professionals! I was exhausted & needed to find some other place to sleep so I started going back. At the moment I saw the next suitable pine trees to tie my floating be to them, I stopped & started mounting it, but it was not the end to my suffer. From the dark came up two policemen who also came for the fire intervention to question the parameters which maybe set up the fire. I told them same story I told to the dispatcher & to the firemen, but the policemen were a bit more suspicious with my story cause it’s their job anyway so they tried to get me admitting that I set the fire up! After checking me & my stuff, they stopped accusing me, but still not letting me be in peace. In the bag I had my little, sweet, hunter 35 mm long blade knife which you can’t carry around without a license cause that size knife can be a weapon, but I explained it was my father’s gift, who was a cope too & that I use it only to cut bread, cheese & tomatoes so they didn’t take it & didn’t give my a fine. It was not still the end! I told them that I plan to sleep right here, 20 m from the sea on the main beach in Brela, on what the older cop started laughing it’s brains out with a comment: “You look like Osama Bin Laden & you’re gonna sleep here for free where the others pay 100 €/night & that in the early morning you shock those guests who are jogging around?!”, & I replied: “Hell yeah!” Thank he wanted to send me back to my car & to proposed me to sleep somewhere on the road in the car (what is also not allowed by the law), but then I pulled out the strongest joker out of a sleeve & said: “You’re gonna chase me away from here right after I saved the Paradise from the fire?!”, at what the hard cop heart went soft & he said: “OK, stay here but please just go 200-300 m away from this main beach so that the tourist don’t see you in the morning & have a good night!” I said my good nights back & went to that first spot just next to where the fire was, mounted the hammock & fell asleep in the second. If the whole forest was burning, I think I wouldn’t wake up! In the morning, again the municipal policeman, some older & stricter one: “Good day! You can’t sleep here! Please unmount the hammock & go!”, what I did half an hour later. Took another bath, went to my Twingo which was faithfully waiting to continue to squash the road & eat all those kilometers who were passing under the wheels…

Before Brela, I have visited the firth of the river Neretva who was mentioned to me as another natural miracle & I was really thrilled by its real sandy beaches for which I thought they exist only in the most exotic places of our wonderful planet but we in Croatia have it also! I was amazed by the fact that the Neretva firth was not contaminated with that awful form of mass tourism. This place was reserved for the adventurers & sportsmen, kite & other surfers, for the people who don’t like the crowd & here for real was no crowd, for the people who are relaxed in the retro-hippy style… Right for me, but still I didn’t stay for long time, only few hours to take a bath, a bear in the surf bar & to take few photos for the remembrance.

Great shots from the firth of Neretva:

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Moje noge u pijesku i moru:

My feet in sand & sea:

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Surferski bar u kojem sam popio pivo s pogledom na ušće Neretve i poluotok Pelješac:

Surf bar where I drank a beer & enjoyed the view on the firth of Neretva & peninsula Pelješac:

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U pijesku na ušću Neretve fotkao sam rakove, daleke srodnike onih rakova koje sam fotkao na plažama daleke Goe u Indiji.

In the sand of the firth I took photos of the crabs, far relatives of those crabs who live on the beaches of Goa India who I also shot.

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Ovaj živi na Goi:

This one lives in Goa:

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Još 2 selfija - usred ušća i s uvijek vjernim Twingom:

Two selfies - in the middle of the firth & with my always faithful Twingo:

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Dolina Neretve je poznata po uzgoju agruma - iza mene u dolini možete vidjeti neprekidne voćnjake naranči, mandarina, limuna, klementina...

The Neretva valley is famous for citrus cultivation - in the valley behind me you can see vast citrus fruit yards of oranges, tangerines, lemons, clementines...

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Ne znam točno na kojoj dionici puta, ali negdje poslije Brela i prije Makarske, pokupio sam autostopera. Čini mi se da je bio Austrijanac i putovao je za Istanbul, a od tamo je planirao avionom do Indije. Savršen plan. Rekao sam mu da ću ga voziti samo do Živogošća jer sam se tamo namjeravao zaustaviti i prespavati te posjetiti one divne ljude koje sam upoznao na koncertu u Žrnovnici. Austrijanac mi se pridružio. Došli smo do Maslina (Olive Gardena) i sreli se s vlasnikom Joškom, divnim čovjekom, koji živi skromno i ugošćuje putnike od svih strana svijeta te daje priliku raznim umjetnicima da nastupaju kod njega u kafiću u masliniku. Ima dve divne kćeri i predivnu ženu Čehinju Annu. Baš tu prvu večer u Živogošću uhvatila me groznica i visoka temperatura, grlobolja i glavobolja. Ležao sam bespomoćno u hammocku u masliniku i tresao se dok se na Nebu spremala još jedna nevera, treća ovog ljeta, treća na mom putovanju. Odjednom je počela padati kiša, grmilo je i sijevale su munje. Joška i Anne tada nije bilo, ali su se odjednom pojavili odnekud i kao da su mi roditelji, digli me s hammocka i odveli u minijaturni sobičak s ležajem, pokrili me i pustili da spavam. Sjećam se da sam imao vrlo snažne halucinacije tu noć i snove također, zapravo nisam više znao što je halucinacija, što je san, a što stvarnost i da li sam uopće budan ili spavam. Preznojavao sam se čitavu noć i tresao od groznice istovremeno. Sjećam se da su me Joško i Anna prije spavanja napojili domaćom, dalmatinskom rakijom i čajem od planinskog bilja iz Češke koje je brao njen prijatelj travar. I slijedeća su me 2-3 dana, koliko sam ostao u Živogošću njegovali sve dok se nisam do kraja oporavio. Čitave dane bio sam na rakiji i čaju i u milosti tih dvoje divnih ljudi – bilo je neupitno da ću se oporaviti s takvom količinom ljubavi koje sam tada primio! Austrijanac-autostoper je otišao odmah slijedeće jutro svojim putem, a ja sam ostao da se oporavim. Odmah taj drugi dan, Joško i Anna primili su me čak i u svoju privatnu kuću gdje je Anna kuhala ručkove i večere za svih. Najmanje što mogu za njih uvijek osjećati jest ogromnu zahvalnost!!!

Još malo fotografija is Maslina:

I don’t remember exactly where, but somewhere after Brela & before Makarska, I picked up a hitchhiker. I think he was Austrian & was traveling to Istanbul from where he planned to catch a flight to India. Perfect plan! I promised to drive him to Živogošće cause I planned to stop & sleep over there & to visit to those wonderful people I met while I was performing on the concert in Žrnovnica. Austrian joined my plan. We came to the Olive Garden & met with Joško, the owner, that wonderful man, who lives humbly & hosts travelers from all over the world & gives chances to many artists to performs at his bar at the olive yard. He has two beautiful daughters & a wife Anna from Czech Republic. Right that evening in Živogošće I was caught up with fever & high temperature, sore throat & headache. I was lying helplessly in the hammock between the olives & shaking while on the sky above another nevera was taking place, the 3rd this summer, the 3rd on my road trip. Suddenly the rain started falling, accompanied with the thunder & the lightning bolts. Joško & Anna weren’t there at the moment but suddenly they appeared too & like parents they lifted me up & directed me into a small room with a floor bed, covered me & let me sleep. I remember that I had very powerful hallucinations that night & dreams too, in fact, I didn’t know what was real & what wasn’t & wasn’t sure am I sleeping or I’m awake. I was sweating all night long & shaking of fever at the same time. I remember that before sleeping Joško & Anna gave me some domestic, Dalmatian rakija & some tea made of the mountain plants picked by her friend, a herbman in Czech Republic. During the next 2-3 days, as long as I stayed in Živogošće, they were taking care of me until I was well again. All days long I was on rakija & that herbal tea & in the mercy of those two wonderful people – my recovery was unquestionable with that level of love I received! The Austrian hitchhiker left on the next morning on his way & I stayed to recover. On that 2nd day Joško & Anna took me in their private house where Anna cooked the meals for everybody. The least I can feel for them is the enormous gratitude!!!

Some more photos from the Olive Garden:

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Joškova i Annina kuća iz bajke:
Joško's & Anna's dream house:

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Kada sam se malo oporavio od prehlade, otišao sam prošetati naokolo i našao napušteno selo u kojemu ipak još pokoja stara tradicionalna primorska kuća stoji čitava i ponosna!
When I recovered from the sickness, I walked around & found a deserted village where you can still find some old traditional littoral house defying the time with pride!

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A Živogošće je još jedan biser na hrvatskoj obali Jadrana. Mjestašce s otprilike 30-40 kuća i malom dozom turizma, predivnim plažama, tirkizno, kristalno čistim morem i pogledam na Korčulu. Prvu večer dok me još nije preuzela groznica, odvažio sam se da zasviram djembe čak i u tom sićušnom ribarskom seocu i na moje zaprepaštenje, čitavo selo se okupilo da posluša moju glazbu, i staro i mlado, i domaći i turisti... Tako su svi odmah znali tko sam, a i ja sam upoznao još neke zanimljive ljude koji će mi zasigurno ostati u dobrom sjećanju. Nakon nevere, bura je opet, po treći put, ovo ljeto stala puhati bez prestanka tri dana uzastopce, ali uskoro sam ojačao i nisam davao pažnje bolesti niti mogućnosti da preuzme kontrolu pa sam usred te bure odlučio se okupati i popiti malo mora po uputama moga prijatelja Richyja Zlatnog kipa. Živogošće je ipak bilo jedno utočište za nudiste pa sam na mnogim mjestima bez da me kude, bio gol po cijeli dan, a kad sam si pronašao jednu omanju plažicu na kojoj sam izvodio svoje osobne ritualne izliječenja s morskom vodom, tamo sam pronašao jednu karticu na kojoj je, čini mi se, na ukrajinskom jeziku i ćirilici bio spomenut opet, ni manje ni više – Sv. Nikola – s molitvom za putnike! Eto, moji su me djedovi konstantno pratili i moj me je zaštitnik štitio tijekom čitavog puta! Mislim da sam već tada bio odlučio da ipak neću prema Grčkoj jer se je već bližio kraj ljeta pa sam odlučio da se zaputim u Sofiju u Bugarskoj jer me je tamo srce vuklo jednoj divnoj Bugarki...

Hvala na pažnji!

U slijedećem putopisu opisivat ću Korčulu i moj kako se moje putovanje dalje odvijalo... Pratite!

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Živogošće is another Adriatic pearl. It is a small village with 30-40 houses with a mild dose of tourism, incredible beaches, turquoise, crystal-clear sea & a view on the Korčula island. On the first night, while the fever was still not so heavy, I even played djembe there on the street & surprisingly, almost the whole village came together to listen to my music, the young & the old ones, domestics & the tourists… Momentarily, everybody knew who I was & I met some interesting people too who I will surely remember for the good. The day after nevera, bura came down the mountain, for the 3rd time this year & was blowing for 3 days without stopping, but soon I felt strong again & I wasn’t giving much significance to my illness nor the chance that it takes control over my life. I did exactly the opposite – while bura was still blowing heavily went for a bath in the sea & I even drank some sea water like my friend Richy advised me. Afterall, Živogošće was nudist sanctuary so I could be naked all day long without being judged. When I found a small beach where I did some personal ritual curing with sea water, I came into a card on which a prayer was written in Ukrainian language & cyrillic alphabet & where St. Nicholas was mentioned again. My grandfathers were constantly following me & St. Nicholas was protecting me all along the voyage! I think it was the moment when I gave up the idea of going to Greece cause the end of summer was very near so I decided to go to Sofia, Bulgaria cause my heart wanted to meet one wonderful Bulgarian woman who was living there…

Thank you for your attention!

In the next sequel I'll be writing more about Korčula & about how the voyage kept on going... Follow me!

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About the beginning of this trip I wrote already here - it's the part 1: https://bit.ly/2Gegpzb

& here is the part 2: https://bit.ly/2G8nnWl

Part 3: https://bit.ly/2zT1vJ9

Part 4: https://bit.ly/2L7YnNZ

Part 5: https://bit.ly/2T5juTT

Tapan performance in the cave Vela spila on island Korčula:

Photos & text: https://bit.ly/2UuQRkp

Video: https://steemit.com/travellingstories/@careassaktart/hqaenrav

Some of the last moments of the trip in Macedonia: https://bit.ly/2PDx8LI

Tapan performance on the top of the Klis fortress: https://d.tube/#!/v/careassaktart/8qwvbu2q

If you like viewing my posts with photos & videos & reading the following texts, follow me please to get more!

All the comments, resteems & upvotes, are welcomed & appreciated!

Thanks for your attention!

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Car Rental: For hassle-free car hiring, DiscoverCars is our trusted choice with a wide selection of vehicles.

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