4 Stray Katz: Our first adventures in Croatia went like this....Days 5

Day 5 - this morning we hiked up one of the rocky mountains opposite the old town of Omis, getting gorgeous views of the city, bay and canyon. On the way up we passed a church made into the side of the mountain, it is still used for sermons today. The kids were certainly not at their hiking best today so it took a lot of bribery/rewards to get them up the mountain. It got hotter and hotter and, after getting lost on the way down, we were all glad when we finally reached the van. We headed into Omis town for a swim to cool off followed by some ice-cream (one of our bribes for the hike). We had decided on a lakeside camp for the night so we headed towards the Bacina Lakes region, where we camped for the night on the edge of one of the lakes. One of the other men at the campground was a keen fisherman and Jackson watched him intently whilst Emilia enjoyed a swim in cool water.

The view from the church built into a rocky mountainside.

The rocky path up the canyon.

A gorgeous view for our break.

The kids enjoying their reward after the big walk, some freshly cooked mini donuts.

A dusk swim at Bacina Lakes.

Day 6 - it had stormed all night but the clouds looked like they would hold off for awhile so we decided to walk a few kilometres of the walk around the lakes. It was very picturesque and abundant in bird life but the dark clouds started rolling in so we headed back. We had time for a quick swim and while we were packing up the man who'd been fishing came out again. Jackson immediately ran over to watch and the kind man actually made Jackson a fishing rod out of bamboo and some line, sinkers, floats and lures he had spare. Much to his delight Jackson caught a tiny fish on his first cast. After a few more turns Emilia helped him catch a second fish. The rain began so we left with two very excited children and 1 new fishing rod that would end up being used in several different countries. We had decided on a radical change to our plans, a few days in Bosnia & Hercjgnovia. But alas it was not to be. After sitting for an hour in the border control queue I went for a walk to try to find what was going on. I walked for at least a kilometre of bumper to bumper cars and the trail of cars kept going for as far as I could see. I met a lovely Bosnian lady who explained that today was the end of the summer holidays for Bosnia so everyone was heading home from the seaside of Croatia and this was the major border crossing taken. The queue went for at least another 3 kilometres and she estimated it would be several hours more. Disappointed, we left trying to come up with another plan. As luck would have it we met an amazing couple at a roadside fruit stall (which happened to be on top of a mountain with incredible views) who enjoyed camping and exploring and had some great tips of places to visit. We spent about an hour with them and, in between being fed tidbits of fruits, dried figs, nuts and jams, we got information on some wonderful places to visit and a plan of where to head for the night. Our first stop was a small town called Ston, famous for its salt works and for the incredible fortress walls built up the mountain. These walls are the world's second largest uninterrupted walls (after the Great Wall of China). After ice cream (for some extra energy) we climbed one side of the old walls, reflecting on how challenging it would have been to build such a structure without modern machinery. Afterwards we headed further into the Peljesac Peninsula, famous for its wine. It was getting too late to stop at any of the hundreds of wineries along the way so we went directly to Orebic and our camp for the next two nights. It was too late to cook so went to the camp restaurant, not expecting much, but we had one of the best meals of the trip. Lovely fresh food, beautiful wine and the waves crashing into the rocks below.

Coffee with a view.

Jackson's fish!

On our walk around the lakes......the storm clouds rolling in.

Where we stopped to buy fruit, what a incredible place to have a shop.

The lovely fruit seller (whose dog wanted to be in the photo too).

Climbing Ston fortress.

Climbing to the top of the fortress.

Hot and sweaty after our walk.

Day 7- it rained all night and we awoke to Emilia saying, 'I think Jackson wet the bed but it's on his head'. The poor thing hadn't wet the bed, the van had leaked near his head and wet the mattress! We spent a few hours in the van, waiting for the rain to subside. The kids didn't mind as they got to watch movies whilst Daniel and I made more plans. Mid morning we walked into Orebic to catch the ferry to the island of Korcula. We were waiting on the foreshore for the ticket office to reopen when the kids went exploring. Emilia spotted a crab under some rocky steps. Jackson went to investigate but as he leant over he toppled head first into the ocean, getting soaked and bruised! It was 2.5 kms back to the camp and the ferry was leaving in 10 minute so he ended up exploring Korcula in a dry jumper (thankfully we had just taken it off), wrung out shorts and sloshy wet boots with no socks! We wandered for an hour through the tiny, steep streets of Korcula old town before lunch in one of the laneways and dessert and coffee overlooking the ocean. After a play back at the camp playground we had some lovely local wine at a roadside winery on top of cliff overlooking the ocean, certainly a wine with a view.

The stormy skies over Orebic.

The narrow streets of Orebic.

On the ferry to Korcula.

Some of the relics in the old town of Korcula.

The steep, narrow streets in the old town.

This storm cloud stayed over this mountain all day.

Enjoying some local red at this incredible wine bar.

Day 8 - we left early to get to Dubrovnik. We had heard how insanely busy it gets so we had decided to do an evening and early morning to beat some of the crowds. We arrived at the camp by lunch and spent a few hours swimming and cooling off in the nearby bay. Jackson actually spent most of his time fishing with his homemade rod, much to the amusement of locals, many of whom took photos of him. We headed into Dubrovnik about 4pm and enjoyed getting lost in the narrow streets, taking turns at choosing the next direction to follow. We had a lovely dinner in one of the cobbled laneways, where I tried black risotto - very delicious but quite staining on the teeth!

We had a yummy ice cream and people watched before taking the bus back to camp about 9pm.

The sun was finally coming out the morning we left.

We stopped off for a swim at this gorgeous beach and the kids spent the whole time trying to catch fish with their hands.

Getting lost in the steep streets of Dubrovnik.

Looking over the rooftops of Dubrovnik (and into each others eyes).

I loved the out of window washing lines.

Waiting for dinner in a Dubrovnik laneway.

Dinner selfie with a photo bomber.

Black risotto....mmmmm.

Full and tired after our delicious dinner.

Ice cream in the main square.

Day 9 - we got the kids up early, 6am, to return to Dubrovnik and see the town without the crowds. It was lovely seeing it so peaceful. We walked the town walls at 8am, glad we had done it so early as it was already heating up. We left Dubrovnik just as the tour buses were arriving, satisfied we had made the most of our time here. Now onto Montenegro!