A bike ride in to town

March 14th-Despite our 5am wake up we fell back asleep and woke at 8 for breakfast.  This was a treat of a fruit plate with mangoes, pineapple, banana, passion fruit, papaya and watermelon. Followed by eggs and toast.  Coffee and chocolate milk.  After this delicious breakie we walked down the road to the bike rental place- whoops no bikes.  We thought we would walk down a while and we were sure we would find someone renting them.  

Sure enough a house on the road had a sign for bike rentals.  After the lady extracted them from the pile we were off on a bike trip into town.  It took us about 35 minutes to cycle into town along the busy road into Puerto Viejo. We arrived at lunch time, parked our bikes and took an amble around the small town.  Some quaint stores and kiosks to explore. 

We were hungry by this time and found a restaurant that looked good! Outback Jacks!  Frank and I has fish tacos while the girls has chicken quesadillas.  Then we explored a little more and headed back to the lodge.  Stopping along the way to enjoy the blue ocean.  

We arrived back at the lodge and changed and headed to the pool.  We got to see the sloth on the way, he is the resort " pet" and wanders from tree to tree,  there is so much wild life around here we have not yet figured out what the animals are all named.  There are these tiny white birds that sound like rocks smashing together; the little guinea pig like animals; the howler monkeys all over, birds, birds everywhere, geckos and spiders that are huge!  

After a few hours at the pool we showered and headed over to Jungle Love for dinner.  Our hosts were from San Francisco and served a delicious dinner of pizza for the girls; swordfish for me and tuna steak for Frank.  What a great place, so far all the restaurants have been el fresco, so the bugs eat with you too.  

After our dinner we headed back and once again as we turned the lights out the rain came down.  Pouring like there was no end.  Once again too the monkeys woke us up at 5 howling like mad!

Costa Rica- Spring Break 2014

March 13th, we arrived in a pretty cool San Jose - after a 5.5 hour flight from LA! We had started our journey at dinner time in YVR, the night before.

We had to go through a long customs line and then retrieve our baggage.  We also realized it might be a good idea to exchange some of our US dollars to colones. While we were doing this a girl at the counter heard us asking directions to to the Denny's - she said there was a shuttle that would take us to the Best Western at the Denny's and if was free! So we followed them to the shuttle spot and the shuttle showed up and off we went. 

We realized we were not going to the same place when we drove past the Denny's on the other side of the highway!  We had to try and stop the driver (who spoke no English it seemed!) and he turned around and dropped us at the right spot- thank goodness they are are nice here.  

We were by this time starving and at Denny's but with only 10 minutes until our Interbus was due, we sat in a booth and mowed down some grand slam breakies- very unCosta Rican.  Our bus driver arrived as we were eating, but he waited for us while we finished.  Then we were on the road, our 5 hour ride to the coast.  We were all pretty tired and drifted in and out of sleep, watching the lush countryside pass us by.  We had picked up 2 other passengers on the way and when we reached the coast we dropped them off one by one.  

We eventually arrived at Puerto Viejo and the Shawandha Lodge.  Set in a gorgeous garden of green and just amazing.  We'd had to wait about 30 mins for our room so we took a walk on the beach- which was pretty wild and uninhabited- and then our room was ready,  Number 14 at the back.  Set in the forest all the bungalows are incredible.  We quickly settled in to the sounds of the jungle around us, including the very loud howler monkeys!  

We suited up and down to the pool for a few hours of relaxing and snoozing.  Later we came back and got ready for dinner, we walked down the street a little to see what there was to eat and decided to come back and have dinner at our lodge.  We had a dinner of steaks, pasta and osso bucco (so far the food has not over whelmed us.)  

We were pretty exhausted after all that travel so headed up for bed!  The girls watched a little of a movie and we read.  We turned the lights out at about 9 and as we did the rain started pouring down!  It was incredibly loud and so close.  We fell asleep to the sounds of jungle and rain. Only to be awoken at 5ish by the unbelievably loud cries of the howler monkeys!  I cannot believe a monkey can make the much noise! They were right above us and if we had not known what they were we might have died of fright.  

Our Trip to Europe

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Zagreb

Friday was our last full day in Europe and Zagreb. Our apartment being so close to it all was great and we headed out for the market- Dolac. This is a huge what we would call farmers market, but with tons of very cool stands. We spent a good few hours wandering and absorbing the sites- a great place and to think they have this market every day- what a great place if you are a local to buy all your produce, meat, dairy etc. We wandered to the edges of the market for a coffee- my last in Croatia (sniff) and then we were off for some more shopping. The main street- Ilica was tons of great stores and so we shopped and shopped- I needed to buy another suite case to bring all my extras home. We stopped at the Krac candy store and had the best ice creams ever (also our last Croatian ice cream- sniff!) and then went back and dropped it all off at the apartment.


Later we headed out to explore the lower town- we had done the upper town the night before. We walked and passed by so many amazing museums- really wish we had more time to see them all there were so many. We will have to come back to this city that is all there is to it!

We ended up back at the Strossmartre in the upper town. We walked around a bit and then ended up on the café-lined Tkalčićeva Street in the heart of Zagreb’s Upper Town. We found a great place to eat and had a huge meal that filled all the gaps. Strolling down this street after dinner was amazing- so many bars and restaurants, as well as great stores to shop in. Then it was back to the apartment and start packing- boo hoo.

Dolac entrance

Ilica Street

Delaney in her soccer attire 

Great looking buildings house the museums around town.

Art work

Traditional getup

the last supper

the last palačinka

Dolac market

Zagreb Bound

Thursday we had to leave this beautiful island of Hvar.  The ferry to Split only runs a few times a day so we had to be sure that we made the 11 am ferry.  We left at 9:15 to make the 17km trip to Stari Grad and the ferry.  We arrived and were in the second line up- should be no problem to get on this one- turns out the ferry was at 11:30 now (the schedules change like the wind here!)  Of course there was a coffee shop- so we sat back and relaxed for a bit and had a coffee.  At about 10:30 we saw a ferry arrive and went to the car- as I have mentioned the ferry loading is pretty lawless here so if you are not in your car you will lose your spot.  Lucky us we were in our car and the guys in front of us weren't - we had to drive around them, but not before the impatient people behind us thought they would go around both of us!  We made it on to the ferry with no problem- it was big one.  Went up and found a seat for our 2 hour ferry ride.  It felt like a short ride and soon Split was in view- we unloaded pretty quickly and were on the road to Zagreb. We made our way to the A1 and the main highway (thank goodness no more twisting, narrow roads!)  Making the 4 hour journey to Zagreb was pretty painless and fast.  We stopped once at one of the rest stops for lunch and then we were north bound.
Zagreb appeared and the directions we had actually took us to the right spot for check in at the apartment.  (There was certain amount of guessing as to what street we were on as a big city like Zagreb is no different to the small towns in that there are no street names- really??!)
Parking the car we carted our luggage the 2 blocks to the apartment and settled in- what a great place!  Camera on and we went to explore.  The location is great- we are 1 block away from the start of Zagreb's main square - Trg Bana Jelacica and from there the old town up on the hill.  We walked the little streets and saw some amazing sites- the St Mark's church- with it's incredible roof, the old gate to the city and the view from the top of Strossmayer - which appears to be the Monmatre of Zagreb, at the top of the funicular.
We stopped for a dinner at Pod Griokim Topom- a great traditional cuisine restaurant. Now Croatian service- firstly no matter if you are at a high end resaurant or not the service is awful- granted they don't get tips but the service is always the same; get seated give you a menu, come back take your order- drink and food at the same time; if you only order your drinks you may wait forever to get your food order in; when you get your drinks they disappear until the food arrives; once the food is served you are on your own- too bad if you need something else- the waiter is nowhere to be seen; then when you are done the plates will sit for a while and then they are cleared and you could sit up to an hour then- not with a dessert menu or anything just sit until you catch their eye and maybe get your bill!  It is strange and we heard that Croatia was at the bottom of all the European countries for service- not far off, which is so strange for a country where everyone is so friendly and willing to help and stop to chat!
Anyway- we then we strolled down to the square and home.  I like this city a lot!

Zagreb Cathedral

This clock stopped in an earthquake sometime in the 1700's

The tie was invented in Croatia- who knew!

Stone Gate

St Mark's Church

View from the top!

Main square

The apartment.

Pokojni Dol

Pokojni Dol Beach

We rented a paddle boat/slide for an hour-fun!

Waking up to a gorgeous Hvar morning we thought we would head into town for breakfast.  That was not a good idea- most restaurants have great food- breakfast was not so good.  But we ate up had a coffee, walked up the 110 steps and got ready for the beach.  We drove 10 minutes to the beach- getting to a road that we though lead to the beach we were not sure if it was a road or a pathway- we proceeded with extreme caution as there was a sheer drop off the side and only one car could get by at a time, with no pullouts.  Phew okay it was a road as it ended in a parking lot- once again scary roads!
The drive was worth it- the beach was gorgeous!  We scored a couple of lounge chairs at the waters edge and a beach umbrella- thank goodness I got an umbrella as I would have been burnt to a crisp otherwise.  The temp was in the mid 30's! The girls hit the water and Frank hit the rays- I hit my book.  The only thing that sucked was that an hour into our beach time my book ran out- that is what sucks about e-readers.  Oh well- it was great people watching. The girls came out for a breather- and an ice cream; the beach at the end of the road with a nothing else around, had a coffee shop and ice cream stand of course.  Back in the water I headed in with the girls and we played ball for about an hour- the water was unbelievably clear- at times it was like we were in a pool- and pretty warm too. 5 hours at the beach we figured it was time to head home.  We drove to our street only to be stopped by a policeman telling us we couldn't go down the street!!  Apparently some lady had died and there was a HUGE line up on the street waiting to pay their respects.  We had to park and try and make our way via the many steps to our apartment- made it.  We had no idea the apartment was across from the graveyard!  About an hour later we were able to get our car and we headed out for the night- we had decided to head up to fort before dinner.  This majestic fort looks out over the city from high up on the hill.  We drove up (previously we had thought we would walk up, but that would have taken about 90 minutes and we thought it might not be open.  What an incredible view- we explored this 14 century fort for about an hour - prison cells, museum and view - all pretty amazing.
Then we headed back in to town for dinner- we went to a restaurant called Park Hotel and had a wonderfully, delicious dinner.  What a great end to a lovely visit in Hvar.

View from the fort

Travel day

Tuesday morning early- 9ish - we left the gorgeous Dubrovnik behind!  Headed up the coastal D8 highway en route to Drvenik the ferry terminal to Sucuraj on the island of Hvar.  It took about 2 hours on the winding, single lane highway from Dubrovnik- once again the BMW's, Audis and Mercs of the world tailing you so close that it is scary and over taking on blind corners- a little much for the nerves.  Arriving at the ting ferry terminal it was quite busy- we lined up for the 11am ferry- when it was time to load- there were a couple of cars without people and so others were cutting in front of us- we missed the ferry by 4 cars- but I am sure than more than 4 cut in front of us!  There is really no order at the ferries, I have to say- you have to be quick or you will miss them!  The next ferry was at 11:45am- we were on this one for sure.  30 mins later we were on the island of Hvar.  It was a 77km drive to Hvar town- shouldn't be too bad?!  Oh my- this was a NARROW, twisting road that went high up into the mountains and then descended quickly, then up again and there was no shoulder at all- just sheer cliff!  Cars coming at you don't seem to notice the white line and cross over into your lane far to often.  Eventually an hour later we arrived- found the apartment and settled in.

The apartment is about 200 stairs above the city- nice view!  Walking down the stairs landed us on the Riva and the main strip. We strolled in to town and saw the amazing architecture, lots of vendors and unbelievably huge yachts- the rich and famous hang out here!  We walked all the way to the hotels which I had previously booked and then cancelled as it was $500 per night!! It is a stunning hotel- but too rich for my blood.  Then we walked into town and found a great spot up the stairs to the fort- for dinner.  We had an okay dinner- should have had fish!  There was a South African couple across from us and I chatted to them- apparently Croatia has become a hot spot for SA'ers to vacation- who knew?!

After dinner we enjoyed the town at night and then got home at about 9:30, we were pooped after our day of travel- white knuckling takes it out of one. To bed and a hot day ahead of us tomorrow- looking in the mid 30's!

the massive yachts at night!

Elephiti

Monday was an early wake up!  The bus was picking us up at the hotel up the street to take us to our boat for a day on the water!  We were up at 6:45 to catch the bus at 8:15- we were on schedule and at the harbour in minutes.  The boat is a replica of the ancient sailing boats of Dubrovnik- pretty neat.  The  Karaka set sail at 9am and we were off to our first island Koločep – It is the closest island to Dubrovnik, located 5 km from the Dubrovnik harbour at Gruž, with a population of 294 inhabitants. It has seven pre-Romanesque churches dating back to the times of the Croatian kings, from the 9th to the 11th century. What a quaint town- we were here for an hour- so we sat on the bay had a coffee and watched the boats float in and the huge yachts setting up for the day.  Then we were off and heading to Šipan – The farthest and largest island in terms of area (15.8 km²) and population of 436 inhabitants. It also has two towns ,Šipanska Luka and Suđurađ- which is where we sailed into for a little stop over- there are sand beaches here!  We took up a spot on the dock and enjoyed the sun and boat watching.  Back at the boat it was lunch time.  The decks were set up with a delicious lunch- salads, tuna, cheese, cold cuts, chicken, veggies- so much to eat and so good.  Before we knew it we were at the last island- Lopud – Second in size and best known for its sandy beaches, it is located between Šipan and Koločep islands. It's well developed in terms of tourism infrastructure, including the Lafodia hotel in the town of Lopud. (looks like a nice place to stay- maybe next time!)  We found a great sunny beach- I had to rent a beach umbrella and so we go two loungers and umbrella and sat back to enjoy.  The girls were in the water in a flash- I got to read and enjoy.  The water was so nice though couldn't resist and after a few hours of sun in I went.  So nice and inviting!  Before we knew it 3.5 hours had passed and we had to head back to the boat.  Back on board we were homeward bound- they served up some watermelon and we took an hour to get back.  We sailed into Dubrovnik at 6pm and back to our apartment.  We freshened up and headed into town for our last night here- too bad as this is a great town- could have used an extra day or 2.  We had a quick dinner on the go- still full from lunch, did some site seeing and some souvenir shopping and then back to pack up and bed.

The Karaka 

Morning coffee

lunch!

swimming time...