I lead a charmed life: Part II

My week in Croatia was charming.

Primosten, July 21-24
What is better than visting a country with a person from that country? What is better than having a free place to stay? Lana's house in Primosten is small but perfectly situated, minutes from everything. We spent most of the weekend at the beach. Despite this, I didn't tan at all. I was dubbed the palest person in Primosten, which would have been fine until the bugs found me. By the end of the weekend, I had large red marks all down the right side of my body. Though the bites were a bit itchy and unattractive, I figure that, if they're the worst thing that happens to me on my trip, I've done quite well (Sorry about the commas on that one. It's late!).

Hvar and Korcula, July 24-25
Hvar, where the streets have no name. Did U2 visit this island? We spent a few hours on Hvar but it didn't move me. In Primosten, I rarely heard English on the streets but, in Hvar, I heard it everywhere. Hvar is filled with young tourists who are looking for fun. As Lana likes to say, "We are going to Hvarty all night." We left Hvar by 4 pm so I can't tell you about the Hvartying. Instead, I can tell you about Korcula. We sat/stood on the top of a katamaran (sp?), which was a beautiful way to see the Adriatic Sea and the Croatian islands.* Korcula is smaller than Hvar and, in my opinion, absolutely enchanting at night. Perhaps if we had stayed longer than 18 hours I would have had a different impression, but I loved Korcula and highly recommend it for at least one night.

Dubrovnik, July 25-26
Everyone talks about how wonderful Dubrovnik is, but I think I enjoyed the ferry ride to Dubrovnik more than the city itself. The ferry was so great that it was worth the trip. It also made me feel better about myself since I spent much of the trip near some very pale British people. Dubrovnik is very touristy and may have been better if we had been willing to spend more money. The old part of Dubrovnik was very pretty but I was a bit tired while we were there. I was also very afraid of the bees there. I haven't seen so many bees in one place in a long time and my recent bad reactions to bug bites has made me wonder if I am now allergic to bee stings. I will have to ask my doctor when I return home.

Split, July 26
I hadn't heard much about Split before I got there so maybe that's why I liked it so much. The city is beautiful and doesn't seem as touristy as Hvar and Dubrovnik. The old part of town is lovely at night. We only stayed in Split for 2 hours but I would like to spend a day or two there if I ever make it back to Croatia.

Primosten, July 26-29
For my last few days in Primosten, I made it my goal to burn so that I could get some color.** On Friday, new people showed up in Primosten so I was no longer the palest person. Yay! Sadly, I was still the freakiest looking person. I counted my bug bites on Friday night and I had about 35 bites (plus something that could have been 12 small bites or a rash), the majority of which were still on my right side. On Saturday, I was sad to leave Croatia but I had to catch a flight to Budapest, Hungary. Croatia is a beautiful country. My encounters with the people there were mixed but I will go back if I am going with or visiting a Croat.


*There are over 1,000.
**I never actually burned but I did tan a bit.