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August 04, 2004

Croatia Crawling

I can't remember whose bright idea it was, but only 10 hours by train, followed by 5 hours by bus (including a stopover in Bosnia-Hercogovina) and we've made it to the Dalmation Coast!

Our cozy but bouncy sleeper car last night was a nice change of pace from the communal seating arrangements on our previous train trips. It was only a few notches down from my imagination of luxury train travel... our own private cabin, with a sink that ran with cold presumably-potable water! Because of uncomprehended delays, our trip was extended to 10 hours allowing ample time for sleeping. We awoke to lush green fields followed by sheer, rocky cliffs dropping off to the Adriatic Sea.

We decided to hustle all the way south and slowly meander our way back north... we'll see if we can stick to that plan. The train station is also the bus station, so we were able to book our onward journey from Split (middle of Croatian coast) to Dubrovnik (all the way south) immediately.

The hordes of tourist in this "on" season have been enough to make us reconsider even our very loose plans. At 9am, Split greeted us with a bustling street, cars, pedestrians, bikers, scooters, ferries, buses, trains... bottles of water for $3, postcards, pay toilets, little old ladies with rooms to let.

Our 5 hour bus ride offered us more breath-taking views of scenery, tiny towns, ancient city walls, rocky crowded beaches, and the death-defying moves of the driver himself.

And now we're here in Dubrovnik... looking for our own spot of crystal clear water in the shadow of the walled city. We followed a thirteen-year old girl to her family's home on the hill above the city and plan to stay for 3 nights.

Excited and exhausted.