Islands, 4 wheelin’, and brandy.

Our second stop in Croatia was in the city of Dubrovnik. I was scheduled to work with the deaf-blind folks on a tour of the city but one of the interpreters got sick so I switched to an excursion with the same deaf couple that went to the waterfalls. This time it was a 5 hour 4 wheelin’ trip. There were 6 toyota 4 wheel drive trucks lined up and ready to go when we arrived. We headed out caravan style with the deaf husband at the wheel. So much fun. We went up mountains, through grassy muddy fields, and forged a river. It was the kind of insanity that had me laughing the entire time. I distinctly remember saying, “We’re in the middle of a river!”





I learned that Dubrovnik is the southernmost city in Croatia. There are over 1000 islands, 600 of which are inhabited. Croatia is called “The Pearl of the Adriatic”. There is so much coast to be enjoyed. Like I said about Split, everywhere you look there is stone. Do you see the salamander on the wall in the second picture?





We ended our trip at a small village for lunch. The family welcomed us and showed us how they prepared our meal. They have a long fire pit and once they have hot ash they put in iron pots with lids. They let the meat cook for 3 hours turning it once. We had chicken and lamb and potatoes.



It is tradition in Croatia to drink brandy before a meal. They gave us each a shot glass full of their homemade brandy made with 9 herbs. You could smell the herbs. We had a dried fig in one hand, dipped it in the brandy, took it out, downed the whole shot, then ate the fig. It was STRONG! I was light headed the rest of the afternoon.



We were served lunch in an old olive press mill. They explained the process of making olive oil. Interestingly enough, the man said the “extra virgin” olive oil in the states is a scam. Virgin olive oil means it was the first pressing or cold press, regular olive oil is the second pressing or hot press. There is no such thing as extra virgin. It’s either virgin or it’s not. He compared it to a woman, there are no extra virgin women. Cute.