Vir
Once back in Vir there was not much to do except lay on the beach, snorkel and laze about. Ivan's house is a 2 story structure that was built to accommodate visiting relatives. The main floor is the primary residence, with two bedrooms, large living room and kitchen. There is a huge deck on the back of the house that doubles as the dining room. It overlooks the back yard with its large barbecue, trampoline and slide, for the grandkids. There is a large fig tree in the back, as well. What a treat to eat fresh figs! They were very juicy with bright red pulp. The white has to be discarded as it will cause one's mouth to tingle and almost itch.
There is an outdoor staircase leading to the second story. There is a huge balcony, with table and chairs, that covers nearly a third of the entire upstairs area. There are two doors leading to two separate apartments, each having their own full bathroom and small kitchen. One of the apartments has a separate bedroom, while the other is more like a hotel room, with the bed in the middle of the room. This apartment has the large patio doors onto the balcony.
The local beach which is a 5 minute walk from the house, is quite rocky but the local residence got together and moved many of the stones to create a smoother pathway into the water. They even put some of the stones in a small circle, creating a small pool, for the smaller children to splash about without fear of the deeper water. It is a private beach backed with pine trees. Everyone has their own tent tucked in the trees where they stored their beach chairs, floating devices and toys for the evening. It was so nice to see such a community spirit.
There was not much to see snorkeling, only some sea cucumbers, urchins and a few fish. But the water was warm and clear and refreshing. Little Julian had obviously spent a great deal of time on the beach, as he was well tanned and knew exactly where all the water toys were stored.
Irene went for a walk early one morning to take some pictures of the roads lined with stone fences covered with blackberries. I am sure the locals were wondering what on earth was so fascinating about the fences and chuckling at the foreigner.
The local flowers were beautiful. The houses have the look of summer houses. Nearly every balcony had towels hanging to dry. There were trellises of colorful bougainvillea stretched out creating shade on the outdoor decks. It was so serene it was easy to understand why these Europeans have houses here, only to be occupied in the summer and closed up for the winter.
Although the town of Vir has about 6000 people in summer it drops to mere hundreds in the winter. Everyone goes back to their other homes, either in Europe or other parts of Croatia. Apparently it gets so windy in the wintertime that the spray of the sea makes it feel like it it raining salt water all the time.
The island of Vir is very small, 22 square km. Many houses were built in the 1980s after the then Yugoslav government considered building a nuclear power plant on Vir because it was so barren. Because of that, real-estate prices dropped, the local farmers began selling to foreigners in an attempt to populate the land and keep the power plant at bay. Many did; the nuclear plant was never built; this resulted in excessive building of resort-houses.
Ivan took us for a drive around the island. We stopped for ice cream. There was a large statue of an ice cream cone with 3 scoops of ice cream outside the ice cream stand. Julian went over and hugged it and tried to lick it. Cute.
There is a tiny church that sits on an earthen mound which rises above the wide field near Vir, at Nin. The church is 5.90 m long, 5.70 m wide and 6 m in height (measured from the inside). Nin was the first Croatian Royal Town. According to tradition, seven Kings were crowned in Nin, and every crowned ruler rode on horseback to the Church of Saint Nicholas. We drove by it every time we traveled to and from Vir, but never stopped to have a closer look. As with most things that are close to home, no one seemed to know the history of this quaint little structure. It was only upon m return did I discover the historical significance.
ZADAR
Len, Michaela, Julian, Ed and Irene took the rental car back to the Zadar airport a few days early and decided to make a day of it. We took a taxi into Zadar to explore the Old City. We didn't see and do as much as we normally would have, because Michaela started to feel ill. We initially chalked it up to pregnancy morning sickness, but later that evening Irene and Lubica were also ill.
What we did see made us wanting more. We entered through one of the old gates that lead to the square. Every Old City has a square and they are all pretty much the same, a church, town hall, markets and a fountain or statue; but we never tire of them. We cannot help but wonder what stories the walls and cobblestones would have if they could speak. What victories and tragedies have they witnessed? What famous person walked this same piece of street?
That being said, we stopped at at coffee shop and had a juice. However, the coffee shop was sandwiched between a Corinthian column and Roman ruins. Captain's Tower was across the plaza and St. Elias's Church was behind us.
From the coffee shop we wandered toward the sea. It was then that Michaela really started to get ill. She rested for a short time, while Len took Julian on a children's ride. Julian was all smiles. Len commented that even he enjoyed the ride, not so much for the ride, but to take his son on his first amusement ride.
Ed and I walked along the waterfront until we heard the unmistakable sound of the sea organ. A unique instrument hidden beneath white marble steps leading to the water. The organ plays music through a system of 35 pipes and a resonating cavity that turns the site into a huge musical instrument, played by the wind and sea. Apparently, it is fantastic when a ship goes by.
Near by is a huge solar panel. 22 meters in diameter, it collects enough energy to light the entire waterfront at night. Howingenious!!
Irene wandered through the Roman Forum which was founded by the first Emperor Augustus in the 3rd century. No signs forbid you from sitting or touching, which really enhances the experience of being there, especially for the “Pillar of Shame” which was where the naughty people were chained for public disgrace.
The forum is located very near St. Donatus Church. This circular church, which was built in the 9th century, is no longer in use as a church, but the fantastic acoustics serve well for the concert venue for the International festival of Medieval Renaissance Music.
Cathedral of St. Anastasia was locked up, so we could only peer in through the glass interior door. This church was originally built in the 4th & 5th century but the “new” part was built in the 12th & 13th century. We enjoyed an ice cream on the steps of the old church. Julian was oblivious to these historical surroundings, his only thoughts were his yummy ice cream cone.
There was much more to see and explore in old Zadar, but Michaela was feeling very poorly so we called her step-sister, also named Michaela, to come pick us up.
On the way back to Ivan's, we were waiting to turn left at a reg light when a car pulled up beside us - not in the turning lane. He barely slowed down when he cut in front of us and zoomed through the red light to turn left. We were sitting there rather shocked at his bravado. When the light turned green we turned left to proceed up the hill and around a curve, when we spotted the same hurried car pulled over by the police. We laughed!
Vir
The remaining days in Vir were a bit of a blur. Irene also got a dodgy stomach. Thankfully, it was better for the fantastic grilled octopus and vegetable supper the last night of our stay.
The remainder of our time was spent on the beach, soaking in the last bit of sunshine we could squeeze in before flying back to London then on to Scotland......
