Croatian Road Trip-Day 13: Cres & Beli

I spent the first half of the day with Teta Andrica & Barba Fabijan. We had another delicious lunch (squid with rice) and enjoyed the lovely, breezy weather: a break from the extreme heat of the week before. I should probably mention that Teta Andrica & Barba Fabijan actually live in Chicago, but they have a summer home in Cres. So I know them well, unlike the family on the other island who I just met/got reacquainted with after more than 20 years.

In the afternoon, Barba Fabijan walked me back to the meeting spot from the day before. We had a beer while I silently schemed on a way to move there one day. I'm still working on that.

Eleonora, Marko & I went back to Beli and this time we went right to the beach. It was quite different than I remembered it. It seems that tourism has found our little secret gem of a beach. At least I had the pleasure of enjoying it for a whole month with limited crowds back when I was 12.

After swimming for awhile, we headed back up the the village. They went to the Eco-center/Griffon vulture rescue and I stayed at the only restaurant in town and talked to the proprietor, who it turns out is a cousin of mine. I'd been to the restaurant many times before when I was in Beli and it hadn't changed a bit.
Anyway, we chatted and caught up and he told me that he'd heard about my dad in church. Apparently only 33 people live in Beli now. Strange, but I expected it to be busier this time around but I'm glad (perhaps selfishly so) that it's not.



Barba Fabijan tending to the grill.

Their lovely garden.


A small bouquet of lavender.

Sitting down to a fine lunch with teta & barba.

Mmmm...squid & rice.

Walking around Cres again.

I cannot believe I didn't make time to go swimming.






From the cliffs of Cres.

Predošćica (on the way to Beli).

Beli.


On the way down to the beach.


Again, Glavotok in the distance. The running joke for the week was that my grandfather had a pair of binoculars which he used to scope out the chicks on the other island and that's how he found my grandmother. Haha.

Crowded. Ugh.



Buffet Beli.


Leaving Beli. I must say that I really choked up at one point as we drive away that night, just like I did the first time I left Beli in the mid-eighties. It's a very special place to me. So full of history: my family's history.


The ferry.





Photos are available for download in higher resolution here.

Croatian Road Trip-Day 12: Cres & Beli

Eleonora, Marko & I took the ferry to Cres today so I could visit Beli & my aunt and uncle, and so Eleonora could visit her parents on Mali Lošinj.

It was wonderful to be back on Cres again. Everything was just as I remembered it, except there were far more tourists this time around.

The first day we only stopped in Beli for a little while because I wanted to get to my aunt and uncle's house relatively early after changing my plans to see them several times already.

I'd been to the town of Cres before, but only briefly and I didn't really remember it. This time around, I fell in love with it.

I've been through hundreds of cities, towns, and villages since I moved to Europe, but very few have that something special, that kind of magic that (for example) Füssen has: but Cres does. I regret not taking a swim there or spending more time in general, but I will most certainly be back. I would even consider living there a few months out of the year if I could manage it somehow.

From my journal:
"I'm in Cres and I LOVE it. This is a great town. Sea, mountains, great architecture, and that intangible quality that great towns have. Walking around here tonight I could totally see living here. Teta Andrica & Barba Fabijan's place is cute and it's great to see them again. Naturally, they stuffed me the moment I got there. Tomorrow I will get up early, explore more and then go to Beli once more. We were there today. It was very familiar but didn't affect me the way I thought it would."

I had a wonderful evening. After dinner, I went for a walk which is when I wrote the above entry. I expected the town to be dead because it was a Monday night, but the air was electric. Gotta love summer nights. On to the photos.


Ankica is cute and all, but I took this photo because of the tourist with the knee socks and sandals in the background.


From the cliffs of Cres down to the sea.


Beli, the village where my father grew up.










Glavotok in the distance.

The town square.



Marko, Eleonora & Ankica.









Eleonora & Marko demonstrate how producing olive oil is hard work.




A nighttime stroll around Cres.






I love the way the stones on the ground reflect the light in this one.



I heart Cres.

Photos are available for download in higher resolution here.