9.5 km hike today from the village of Makar on the hillside above Makarska. We have a small group today on both the easier and harder walks. Many of the group decide it is a rest day and some head off to Split, others to enjoy Baska Voda.
We are driven up to Makar and start our hike at the base of the Biokovo mountains and wind our way through small villages, some abandoned, at a leisurely pace. Although a little more challenging today, the trail is lovely and we break at an old church and graveyard. Below the floor of the crumbling church is a skeleton, and I will need to get the story behind it.
Eventually we arrive at the Biokovo Botanical Gardens with its gorgeous views of Makarska and the Adriatic coastline in the distance. There are very few blossoms at this time of year, however the trees and bushes are labelled which makes it very interesting.
We drop our packs at a picnic table, where we will eat lunch a wee bit later, and hike further up to an ancient castle or fortress built right into the rocks. The vantage point from here was amazing and the more we explored, the more amazing it was.
As I was taking photos of some of the gals through a gorgeous archway, I kept hearing my name being called. Lois………Lois………up here…….. ‘God is that you’ I thought to myself. 😄 It was our hiking guide, Mary, looking down on us from further up, which meant we were off higher & higher to explore more. It was a fabulous meander and eventually, with many photos taken, we arrived back down at our picnic table.
We enjoyed a leisurely lunch and then time to pack up and make our way down to Tucepi. Our route took us through old abandoned villages as well as many that were inhabited. Here we are amongst incredible ancient history, and what gets everyone’s attention – yep – two lovely kittens sunning themselves on a chair. Copious photos are taken and we carry on down to a beautiful village and its lovely church.
Here we stopped for a cool break at a Vinska Kuca Wine House, where some of us had coffee or water and others had cold beer or wine. It’s a hot one today so I opted for a glass of cold biejla vina (white wine).
Regrettably we need to leave this little oasis and carry on down to Tucepi. The down is again on paved roads and the afternoon is hot so we are infinitely happy to reach the promenade and sit ourselves down.
The order of the day…………ice cream. This is the first ice cream I have had and it is amazing! Good thing I didn’t know how good it was earlier in the week 😄. Margaret orders a banana split, and Carol a sundae. Their eyes (actually everyone’s eyes) are the size of saucers when they are delivered to the table. They are HUGE, and apparently very, very good!
We had a wee bit of time to wonder, and the other Lois was able to purchase a lovely dress in that little time – she doesn’t mess around! The harder walkers have joined us and we are off back to Baska Voda.
We are back relatively early, so it’s laundry day for me! It sounds like everyone has enjoyed their day, whether hiking or touring and there are always lots of stories to tell at dinner.
Tomorrow is a free day and many of us are heading off to either Split or Krka Falls National Park so it is an early night.
Another great day in Croatia!