Day 2: Exploring Dugi otok. First stop Soline
The fish ponds near the bay of Luka
Morning at the monastery
The first morning on the island started without the alarm clock waking up at 6am. It was friday, fresh air, the sound of the birds in the yard, early rays of sun through the window shutters. Somewhat different change from the everyday in Zagreb. I haven't slept so good in a while and felt as if I had been plugged into a charger during the night. The fact that I didn't have to go to my workplace in two hours and had now a luxury of the prolonged weekend might have also helped.
The best part comes when you open the window and instead looking at the neighbour in his underwear at the balcony of the 8-flat building on the other side you first have a look at the monastery's yard. Gardens, walls and the workshop. Looking to the right (southwest) you see the hills and forests along with the main road that goes to Sali or Žman in other direction. If you look just straight behind the walls of the monastery you see the houses of the Old Village Zaglav. What it looks like you can see in the video below.
The morning in the monastery
Friar Izak preparing his breakfast
Usually one of the monks would walk around the yard and do his stuff. I had a desire to start exercising in the yard which is ideal for yoga, work out and similar. However, this desire quickly disappeared when I went downstairs for the breakfast. We had an earlier agreement to have a breakfast at 7am. And so it was. We took half of the fridge on the table and I grabbed me some stuff into my travel lunch bag as having the lunch at the monastery was no longer an option. And really, the first and the last time I had lunch with the monk-fellas was on my arrival day.
So, the plan was to spend the whole day exploring the other side of the island, the northwestern one. To visit some of the following places: Veli Rat, Verunić, Soline, Božava, Brbinj and Dragove. In case you haven't, you can read the first blog post to find out more about the reason I came here and was excited to go around.
Anyway, in almost all of these places I had a few names on my "Middle Earth Map" which were potentially good candidates for the interview and recordings of the insight into the local life and customs. Since I spoke to one guy from Soline the day earlier so the plan was to go first to Soline.
However, things didn't go as quiet as planned and I postponed the trip for somewhat later since Mirel, my bodulovac companion, was busy. We fixed it though the next day which you will read in the new post. I also took the time waiting for him to go around the monastery and here’s one video:
Took most of my camera equipment and food survival pack out while greeting the monk-bros and our cleaning & cook lady. Goran's car waited for me in the shades close to the bell tower. The weather forecast was actually great - a sunny day up to 20 degrees Celsius. Or for my US friends - up to 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Which meant only one thing - t-shirt!
And now starts what I have always wanted - to go around exploring the unknown area in search of the new challenges on my own with the camera in my backpack. Turned the Indiana Jones adventure mode on, kept calm and put the sunglasses on.
Gremo na zmorac ... or... Off we go to the north
Okay, maybe they don't say it that way but hey - I'm the new one so don't judge me, judger. As far as I know "zmorac" is kind of the northwestern wind that blows from the sea to the coast. Similar to "maestral" I believe. Also, the wind directions serve as the world directions (north, south, west...) in many places on the coast but also in other Mediterranean countries.
Here come short experiences and descriptions of the long ride along the main road from the southern part of the island to the last inhabited places in the northwestern part of Dugi otok. Now, it all takes less than an hour of a decent ride by car. Of course, I couldn't miss the opportunities to stop here and there on the road to go out, take some photos and look around.
Leaving Old Village Zaglav went smooth without problems. Remember the narrow streets surrounded with little stone walls? And the cars that can face you at any moment? I tried to be careful the whole time as I was driving someone else's car and because of these specific dangers. But let me tell you something about driving the car on the island in general. And it also affected me in the end as I became more "relaxed" and absorbed the local driving logic. I heard many people don't have a drivers licence and since the roads are mostly empty (apart from the summer tourist season) you automatically become more relaxed and confident on the road. However, some were way too confident and careless and there were accidents, especially on the curves. Then you also have the wild animals that can jump on the road such as the mufflons. Not to mention individuals or groups who ride a bike or run just behind some corner.
I was driving having all this on my mind and as you can see (and Goran) nothing happened. I have to say I really enjoyed the rides around the island and exploring the local streets or some less visible paths around the main road. There was this sense of freedom of movement and exploring I love and mostly have when moving around on my own on the bike in Zagreb or some other place.
So what can you see on the road between Zaglav and Soline?
What can one see on the around 36 km route? There are lots of ups and downs into the hills and then to valleys and bays. At some points the road is almost on top of the hills with nothing on each side...and then the landscapes changes to having the high hills to your left and to the right a slope ending with some bays and the spectacular look towards the islands and the land to the east. Another great thing is that at some places the island is so narrow that you can see the landscape and the sea to your left and right. This was also the thing that I loved most.
In the first 10-15 minutes you pass by the town of Žman and Luka. I had no one on the list there so I skipped them. Soon the road started going uphill and I stopped at the top to take some photos. There you have a nice look towards neighbouring islands of Iž, Rava, Ugljan, Pašman and far behind towards NW the island of Sestrunj and mountains of Velebit.
What I remember next was a road to the west that climbing up the mountain. There was another military base of the Croatian army and the path was forbidden for the rest of us. This also sounds like a good SF plot on Dugi otok. And there are more places, as you will discover. Who knows, maybe soon we come up with "The mystery of the Long Island". ;-)
Few minutes later you come to the part which is guarded by the high hill to your left and some narrow slopes to your right. It's also part of the road that looks like an ideal place to test your racing car. But don't try it. After the corner I stopped by some large "park your car here" place. There were some tourists climbing the mountain road as the sign informs you that it leads you to the cave "Vela Straža". I leave it for my next visit.
Now, in the following 6-7 kilometers, until we pass by Savar, the road goes zig-zag between the hills, a bit up and down. I believe it was here at one point that I found this place where you stop and look towards the right (or the east). You see the bay below, numerous smaller and bigger neighbouring islands and Velebit mountain far on the horizon. Now you just rotate by 180 degrees to your right (or the west) and you see the vast open Adriatic sea and maybe if you are lucky you can see the glimpse of the Apenini mountains of Italy. After a short existential moment I drove off.
Unfortunately, there are still careless people who throw the trash at the random or specific places around the island. So I came across one such and found trash. It's a shame you cannot bring it simply to your home, place and put it in the cans where it should be. I guess one should be more careful here since we are talking about the island. Have a look at Japan - they also had it in nature somewhere but largely the towns and areas were clean - and I can't remember seeing any trash can outside. They would take everything home and sort it out there. Talking of discipline.
Alright, passed by Savar and soon Brbinj. That's the new place one can take ferry for Zadar or taking your car to the island. Speaking of Brbinj, I had a name there, someone from the family has a family there. But not just that - I heard that Petrov family from Vodice might have actually come from Dugi otok. And where do Petrov members live on Dugi otok? In Brbinj. However, didn't have time and set the priority on other things but I'll try to find out more about it during my next visit.
After Brbinj on our way to Dragove (around 9 kilometers) we are again surrounded with forests. Just before Dragove there is a road that leads downhills towards the beach Veli Žal. Its the place where I took my iconic "Dugi otok" photo on the last day. Oh yes, wait for the "Last day" post.
Passing Dragove, the place I also heard a lot from my US Croatian friend Danny Blasic from NY (if you know him please contact me). He told me to visit Dragove some three-four years ago when we met in person in Zagreb. As he said - one of the places that now have mostly old population and not many of them are in the good condition to speak. I almost missed Dragove but couldn't leave the island without them. And some of you might guess who my local help and interview person was. :)
Soon you reach the Y-crossing where the right road leads to Božava, our second destination, and the left ones goes forth towards Veli Rat, Verunić and Soline. Another crossroads appeared with an extra sign directing you to Sakarun beach. But I turned right following the directions for Soline.
Soline, the beach bar and the grapes
The road goes down the hill to the bay of Soline. Finally, after an hour of the road trip I found myself right one-two meters away from the sea.
Before we continue let's say a few words about Soline. A small town of the population around 40 people situated in the bay of Solišćica. The name Soline comes after the name "salt-panes" (or in Croatian "solana" or "sol" for "salt") and the place was first mentioned as early as the 12th century. Soline also had one of the first public schools on Dugi otok.
Speaking of the population which today (2011) has around 40 inhabitants it is one of the indicators of the reality of demographics on Croatian islands. Just during the years before and after the WW2 there were more than 300 inhabitants, up to 360 as the records say. And just like most of the people on the coast and the islands the Solinjani also have a long tradition of agriculture, fishing and just recently tourism. Joining the other locals in religion the Solinjani also have one church - the Church of St Jacob that dates back to 15th century. Unfortunately, I haven't explored much of Soline to see it but there you go...Let's get back to our timeline.
There was only one car moving, some old couple, as I was heading for the other side of Soline where I noticed the beach bar and the little traffic I was told to go.
As I did a circle around the bay I paid attention to what the place looks like. First thing that meets the eye are the houses with gardens next to each other. The second - there were palm trees alongside the promenade but generally I had a feeling like it's impossible to survive the summer heat if staying outside.
I saw some senior fellas sitting near the traffic-bar and drinking. I parked nearby and went to approach them. Tomislav, the friend of the friend, told me his guys would be aware of my arrival. Things somehow again changed as this had no clue on what I was talking about. Also, they disappeared to their homes after few minutes.
Here it was where I first learned the mistake in my approach when looking for the local native speakers. All of them speak the local idioms that I wish to record but when I mention it to them - they automatically assume they are not good enough, they switch subconsciously to the standard Croatian and also complain that no one in the village speaks any more the "old way". They all thought they need to recite me the Croatian of the King Zvonimir or what was written on the panel of Baška (Bašćanska ploča). They didn't understand nor perceive themselves as already speaking super interesting local dialect as it was normal to them.
What now? There were some young girls and guys around the bar. We got to know each other and I told them my "mission". They understood what I wanted but we couldn't find the appropriate candidate. Another problem was I arrived late after everyone's already been gone home after morning church. However, there was one grandpa whom we visited.
I believe his name was Svetko. He was also a tough one and didn't want to speak in Čakavski saying in a phlegmatic tone that nobody speaks it anymore. In his mind he was referring to the archaic version of his grandparents but again couldn't see that his own everyday dialect was a treasure to be explored. I was accompanied by two locals (actually if they are reading this - a girl from Slavonia and the guy from Soline whom you watched on YouTube).
The classic island story about the customs, life on the island and the dialects
So Svetko simply explained many terms of the vocabulary are simply lost as the technology and the new vocabulary replaced the original ones. Another thing is that many of the traditional customs slowly disappeared and/or are marginalized. The population is also decreasing. There might come the Croats who live abroad paying a visit in summer. Furthermore, many go to live on the land like Zadar or some other place and they gradually replace their mother tongue with the standard one or the other "prestige" dialect. Same applies to youth who are more under the influence of the standard language being surrounded with media 0-24h. Lastly, what I had found out - there is still present this stereotype that if you speak the local idiom you are not educated but stupid etc. I believe this is much stronger belief among the seniors who grew up in Yugoslavia where the standard language was a language of prestige and the local languages where seen as something of lower value.
This is of course something I have been fighting against with others for the last couple of years and my goal with the videos and creative work is to stop the destructive policy of pushing the local dialects into the oblivion. Many fail to recognize that something authentic and true of our identity, history, customs and beliefs are preserved primarily in our mother tongue and language of the local people. With their disappearance we lose our history and authenticity. Thus those little documentary trips I am doing and stuff with the camera are a small step in preserving the authentic local.
After learning some new things from Svetko we were awarded with his home grown grapes. He gave me a whole bag of them which I am deeply thankful for. I never imagined I'd be taking the grapes from Dugi otok back to Zagreb!
Marin agreed to help me record the video with the knowledge we had and heard some stuff from Svetko. Thus we stepped by and made our first video of the Youtube series! Thanks again guys for the help. I left them at noon as they were going to get some lunch and I didn't have a whole day. I tried to come back later but that was all of Soline this trip. I hope to visit them again in summer with more time to enjoy there as they deserve. In the end Soline are another peaceful place on Dugi otok where you can get the natural medicine for your body and brain. Looking forward to our next meeting.
Now off to our next destination - Lucija is waiting.