We slept in, and enjoyed a few minutes relaxing on the balcony, feeling the breeze off of the Adriatic. We made an "appointment" to use the jacuzzi in the hotel spa, but upon investigating, we found that the jacuzzi was little more than a 2-person bath tub (hence the requirement to have an "appointment"). So we politely skipped our reservation, and started driving back to Murter.
Again, we passed through a little strip of Bosnia. This time, we stopped in Neum for a coffee.
The high-speed freeway is still under construction, on his way to Dubrovnik.
We made it back to Murter by the early afternoon, and finally had some blue skies and sun. So we donned our bathing suits and walked back down to the beach which held the wedding the previous weekend. All of that was cleaned up, and Kim made me relax on the beach for a few hours. (I get so restless...)
She's oh-so-much-better at relaxation than I am. :-)
We enjoyed the quiet, sandy beach, though, and even went for another chilly swim.
Back at Ante's house, he was in the process of preparing a very special dinner for us ... a Croatian delight -- peka!
It's sort of like a barbecue, I guess. Most houses in Dalmatia have this outdoor kiln, or brick chimney setup, specifically for peka cooking. First, you burn some wood (Almond wood, here, though Ante says that's unimportant), until you have embers or coals.
Then you place a metal pan full of meat, potatoes, onions, and just a little bit of oil on the hot bricks. You cover that pan with a metal lid (that's the peka), which completely covers the pan, and reaches the hot bricks below. Finally, you scoop the hot coals and cover the lid itself with the hot smouldering embers.
And then you wait. 1-2 hours, actually. Oh, and you can't lift the lid at any point to "check", as you'd lose all of your heat inside.
In the mean time, Ante and I drank a couple of litres of beer, and Kim drank some of Ante's family wine, and we Skyped with a few friends and family.
Eventually, the moment of truth... Ante brushed off the coals, and very, very, very carefully lifted the lid, so as to avoid spilling ashes on our food.
And mmmm, did it smell good! Cooked to perfection.
Kim set a lovely place setting outside on the porch, and dug into our giant pan of meat. What an evening :-)
Our last night on Murter, and we had an awesome time. We talked work, travel, and politics. Ante gave us some really interesting perspectives on Croatia's history and politics within our lifetimes.
As you can tell, we had an awesome host. If you're even considering a trip to Croatia, check out Ante's travel company, Jamming Adventures, and I'm sure you won't be disappointed ;-)
:-Dustin
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