Croatia

Well we are in the waters of our next stop, however we are unable to dock because of the fog. They expect it to burn off later this morning and we will still get to take our excursion. Unfortunately by the time we were able to dock our excursion would have taken more time than we would have had in port so we changed to another one where we went to a small island where they recover salt from th sea over the summer. It's the same process they have used for hundreds of years and they are famous for the salt they produce. We then did a quick tour of this small villiage Nin.  It was interesting to see how they used stone in their constructions homes. One thing I learned that because the air from th sea is so salty the people of the island have to clean their windows daily and wash the roof tiles regularly or the salt will corrode the tiles. 

Our guide was young girl who had studied art history at the university of Zadar and she was delightful telling stories and local legends that I will be happy to share when I get home. After leaving Nin we went to Zadar the coastal capital of the county. Again rich with history it was exciting to hear about how the cathedrals got their names and all of the different conquerers took over destroyed what was there and built it back up again. A look at present day world politics and one say many things are the same except we may be a bit more efficient in the destructive part. 

We had some free time at the end and I enjoyed a peice of cheese strudel a local favourite that just hit the spot. On our way back to our tour bus we walked along the sea wall constructed in 2005 that has a special feature called a "sea organ" that uses the ocean waves to create sounds through the pipes embedded below the wall. It's a natural music that is very soothing and rhythmic. As well they have a tribute to the sun area that changes colours when it gets dark. I looked for it as our boat sailed out of the harbour but I couldn't make it out. Great day after the fog lifted as it got to 21. I saw something from Rhys about snow at home. Not missing that at all.