Sizzling in Croatia, cooling off in Montenegro

“What do you have in the van?”, asked the man at the Croatian border, with a face so serious it was as if he’d already decided we must be carrying a load of cocaine across the border.

“Just our camping stuff”, replied Florian, offering up one of his warmest smiles for good measure.

Seemingly satisfied, Mr. Croatian Border Man replied with a simple “okay”, but no smile. This must be the first time someone didn’t give in to my darling husband’s infectious smile. We decided that, with a face as straight as that, he must be an excellent poker player.

The rest of the people we met in Croatia, though, were warm and welcoming – giving Florian as good as he gave in the smile department. There was the waiter, for example, at a Croatian restaurant near the beach in Brela who gave us some Croatian plum whiskey on the house and told us how lucky we were to live in London and be close to the Chelsea football team. There was also the fruit-seller by the side of the road (selling the most delicious nectarines) who happily gave Florian directions and a mini Croatian language lesson.

All in all, what a lovely bunch of people.

And Croatia itself? Well, it is simply stunning. We spent most of our time driving along the dramatic coastline, admiring the views of the many Croatian islands (of which there are, astonishingly, more than a thousand). The heat was almost unbearable, though, and so we generally stayed away from the cities.

We first visited the island of Krk, accessible via a huge bridge from mainland Croatia. This island, in all its beauty, was completely unspoilt. It was dry and rocky; remote and desert-like; rough and wild. Untouched by the commercial hand of tourism, accessing the beach required climbing down some steep and unsteady rocks. The beach itself – a pebble beach – was tiny. A handful of fellow travellers had discovered it and were soaking up the last rays of the evening sun.

Driving across the island was very telling of the climate – it was extremely dry, with very little greenery. Some of the trees that we did see had been left blackened and bare by devastating bushfires.

Returning to mainland Croatia, though, the land became greener and more welcoming. We travelled to Sabunike beach, not far from the small city Zadar. Unlike Krk, the beach was sandy and packed with locals. Upon arrival, we promptly got in to our swimming gear and splashed our way straight in to the Adriatic Sea. The water was cold, but nonetheless a welcome refreshment given the unrelenting heat. We spent the night at the beach, and went back for another swim the next morning – it was amazing.

We then carried on to Brela, where the beach was pebbly and tourists were everywhere. Our final stop in Croatia was Dubrovnik, though it was more an attempt than an actual stop. The city was hot and not particularly vehicle-friendly. We decided that we would one day return to Croatia to discover the cities – by foot – in a more agreeable climate.

And so we carried on south – but instead of chasing the sun, we were starting to feel the intense weight of every single one of the forty degrees of heat bearing down on us. The plan was to carry on to Albania, but driving through Montenegro was so unbearably beautiful we felt compelled to stop. The Bay of Kotor, framed by grey mountain walls, is magnificent, and the crystal clear sea is the deepest blue-green imaginable.

We found a great little campsite offering a perfect location right by the sea, electricity and (cold!) showers – and all this for only €14! Once again, another pocket of beauty completely hidden from the tourist radar (I wonder how long this will last).

Arriving in the early evening was perfect timing – the air was starting to cool down (though I use the word “cool” loosely, noting that it’s all relative – anything below thirty degrees right now is able to provide us with some feeling of relief), but the sea was still welcoming. Florian dived right in, whilst I stole a few quiet moments alone, taking in my surroundings and appreciating every ounce of luck I have.

Our aim is to reach Greece as soon as possible, and to spend a couple of weeks relaxing there before heading back to Italy to discover Sicily with friends. And so we must say goodbye to this new-found treasure of ours, and hope that we continue to discover many more beautiful secrets of Europe – some well-kept, others not so much.