Not my birthday – this birthday was Andy’s and the reason (excuse, impetus, temptation – bloody brilliant plan!) as to why I came to Croatia in the first place. We drove from Mostar, crossing road borders and getting our passports stamped as we headed back into the EU. It rained as we drove up the coast, showing us a different type of Croatia (though still warm). There is a thin strip of coast (nothing much flat except a few metres at the seaside) and it is framed by an enormous ridge of rock walls – a spine of craggy mountains. Epic!
We spent four nights in Podgora, a town of about 2-3,000 residents plus the summer visitors, and it has a lot of tourist accomodation. The town/village is in two parts – up the hill (original) on the slopes of Biokovo Mountain (and wow – epic mountain, rock walls), and down by the coast (newer + more touristy). The locals moved down to the seaside after a destructive earthquake in 1962. It is fisherman and seafarers – then and now – though there are also plenty of terraces on the hillsides full of olive trees (and the locals still make their own oil, wine and liqueurs for family use). We stayed in Gornja Podgora – the original village up the hill. The views were epic (perhaps ‘epic’ is the go-to word for the scenery).
Podgora (on the Makarska reviera!) was our destination because Andy & Mel’s great grandfather lived there before immigrating to NZ. The family saved for one ticket, and one of their two sons went and sent money home….most never came back, though their grandchildren and great (and great-great)-grandchildren do visit more recently. A lot of people in this area have connections to NZ, Australia and other countries.
We stayed in the house Andy & Mel’s great grandfather grew up in – high on the hillside, next to the original village church – which has been restored by the family. It is a beautiful setting – feels very luxurious with the stone houses and heated pool. My bedroom was themed ‘pink’ – furniture, bedding, towels – the lot! [house pic below is three houses attached – we stayed in the 2/3 on the right).
We did have to use the car to get back from the beach though – some of us walked down, using the old tracks – but the walk up was a nope! The path down meanders through olive groves on terraces (it is totally rock farming – so many rocks to move to create flat spots to build homes or create gardens/orchards).
We passed four churches on the walk down – apparently there are 20 ish in the local area. We passed (from top to bottom): All Saints i.e. next door (built 1764, was the main church til the people moved closer to the sea and then other churches took over being the main one; it has relics of St Vincent but only does mass one Sunday a month now), St George’s (a tiny chapel maybe 1800s built and restored in 1990s), Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (built 1964 and deliberately made to look like a concrete tent), and then the baroque Church of St. Tekla (built 1626, rocking an amazing graveyard).
The four of us (the road tripping four from Mostar) were joined by a couple from NZ and a couple from the US, and it was a restful few days of sitting by the pool(s), going to the beach, doing laundry, and shopping for souvenirs. The ocean is like a lake – so still, it is hard to believe it is an ocean. Rocky beaches (bring your beach shoes). It was a lovely relaxing few days.
Andy’s birthday dinner was held in nearby Makaskar and was also epic – it started at 8pm, ended at 12am – lots of beautiful wine and food, and great company with the NZ/US contingent + Croatian relatives combined to create a lot of noise. There are lots of cousins (3rd/4th cousins) in the town and surrounding villages. For those who like family trees, these are the descendants of the great-grandfather’s brother – the one who did not go to NZ. Walking down the waterfront is just like being in a village – lots of people calling out hello, and most of them are related!
