Zadar, Croatia

On Sunday mid-day, I left Zadar and Bibinje for points north. I can’t lie and say that every moment in those places was wonderful, in fact with the rain, graffiti and cement buildings it felt very prison-like, but I did enjoy some things.

I enjoyed spending time with Simon, who made the dreary, grim situation pleasant and almost fun. The first few days we were there were very down to business, trying to figure out where I would go from Zadar, what I needed for my Nepal journey, and what I could do about my visa situation. We arrived on Monday night to a less than desirable apartment so moved to Bibinje from Diklo on Tuesday, then spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday going into Zadar to find free wi-fi so that we could get some work done. By Saturday, when the sun came out and Simon’s last day, we were able to actually enjoy Bibinje and relax because I had hosts in Zagreb and had figured out most of my worries.

I enjoyed our days spent in a foreign country, feeling as if we were escaped convicts running from the law. We shopped at the local market for food, visited local bars and cafes for lemon tea, and watched American and Australian t.v. with Croatian subtitles. We were slaves to routine, so visited the same cafes and restaurants and were recognized and welcomed warmly.

Bibinje and Zadar are port towns, set on the Adriatic and in the summer months both were probably bustling with activity and tourists. Since we were there in the off-season however and it rained every day, I couldn’t quite get that holiday feeling. I think this was for the best though, because we had work to do and if the sun had been shining and there had been things to see, we may have been sidetracked and not as productive.

The week before, we had been in Rovinj, Croatia, on the Istra Peninsula and a gorgeous, Italian-feeling port town where the buildings were colorfully painted and the people were especially friendly. The sun was out every day of the five we were there but once, so we relished in the pleasant weather and touristy activities. We ate seafood almost every night, took a boat tour to the outer islands, visited a local church and climbed its tower for a panoramic view of the city, watched the sun set into the Adriatic, and enjoyed most of our meals outside. It was a great refresher from the absent English summer and it recharged my batteries and probably enabled me to handle my deportation a little better.

I enjoyed running into the German lady and her daughter, whom we had met because they had an apartment in the house we first stayed at and had kindly given us a ride into Zadar on Tuesday. They sat with us while we ate lunch in old town Zadar and we discussed couchsurfing, UK Immigration and the German language. It was nice to see friendly faces and have pleasant conversation.

I enjoyed the wedding we witnessed on Friday night, when Simon heard cars honking and knew immediately that it was a wedding party. We ran down to the main road near our apartment and watched the couples and bride exit their vehicles and start the walk to the church. They were led by a band of 4 men singing and playing guitars. The women were dressed so elegantly, as were the men, and the bride looked happy and nervous all at the same time. We stood at the church as they entered, then came back after the service and saw them gather outside of the church and sing songs in Croatian. It was fantastic.

And I enjoyed Simon’s last day in Bibinje, having a lazy morning, walking around town and enjoying the sunshine. It was emotional for me because this was our final goodbye and with everything that had happened it was very hard to deal with. Simon has become my good friend and I honestly don’t know what I would have done without him that week. He will forever be my British fixer and I know that I can count on him no matter what. I hope he feels the same.

I am now in Zagreb, looking forward to enjoying my time here, meeting locals and preparing for Nepal. The adventure continues…