May 7, 2012
Day Two
Island of Brac and Split
After a good night sleep in one of the hotels in Croatia, Stobrec, at Hotel San Antonio our second day in Croatia began with a perfect breakfast. For breakfast we had delicious Croatian pancakes, which unlike the thick American pancake, are usually served with different types of fillings such as white chocolate, black chocolate or marmalade, an omelet, lino lada (a tasty and healthy creamy product of a unique and recognizable flavor with plenty of milk and hazel-nuts), different types of cereal and yogurt, and sausages.
After breakfast we took a boat, “Junior” , to go to Supetar, Brac. On our trip to Brac, three American girls, Rese McNatt, Rebecca Burling, and Caitlyn Vann, one Canadian Lucy Charuk, and one Slovenian girl Karmen Kocar, who all play professionally in Croatia for Split 1700, joined us for our trip. Karmen and Rese were also our tour guides and tour planners for this day.
When walking about the Brac, I have to mention that Brac is the largest island of the central Dalmatian group of islands and the third largest among the Adriatic islands. It is famous for quality red wine, olive oil, mandarins, oranges, and kiwi. It is also well known for its stones, limestone and dolomite and it has been a source of stone for building decorative stonework for centuries. There is a story that Brac’s white stone was used for the white limestone columns of the White House, and for some cathedrals in North America and Europe.
It took us a half an hour to get from Stobrec to Brac, and once we got on the island, we went sightseeing. On our way to sightseeing, we saw “procesija”, procession, a group of Catholic priests and believer who walk the certain path and pray rosary to worship Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Then we saw the church, the statue of Mother Theresa, beautiful rocky beaches, stone narrow streets, and mausoleum and we ate a lot of ” Croatian gelato”, ice-cream.
In the late afternoon hours we went to Spaladium Arena where we played Split 1700, the Croatian professional team. Although we showed a good fight, we lost two sets from them, and then we played two sets with Split’s junior team, where we won one set and lost another one. After the game, I went to spend a night with my family and friends, and my teammates and coaches went to delicious dinner (octopus and shrimp risotto, smoked barracuda, octopus salad and the cheek of the “queen of the sea”) Later we all went sightseeing in Split, and got to walk through Riva, Split’s promenade.
More tomorrow!
