Day 108 Bonus Time!

Croatia is in the EU, but not, as it turns out, in Schengenland, so I have 16 more days to play on my 90-day clock...yeah!  But... I still must make it to Rome by the end of the month, so no time to waste - marathons every day and I can make it.

Here's a shout-out to the kids at Dr Antuna Barca high school - I was asked by the religion teacher to speak to her classes this morning on the subject of pilgrimage.  I was impressed with the interest the students took, their courtesy, and their proficiency in English.  Go team!

The Croatian coast is interesting in its variability - for a few days, I walked through lush Mediterranean glory...olive groves, orange trees, lavender and rosemary; then more arid terrain with fig trees and plum cactus, ancient stone walls poetically draped on the north side with moss and ivy and bleached white on the south-facing side with small lizards darting between the wide mortarless spaces between rocks... then ,with little warning except a caution from a Benedictine nun that I would have a blustery day, the fierce Bura wind attacked with fury in a remarkably unpopulated and barren part of the coast - stronger and more persistent than the ceaseless wind of Kansas last winter.  For four days - the first day unsympathetically accompanied by biting rain and snow - the wind blew at more than 200 kilometers per hour (125 mph), far more than that required to blow this little pilgrim right off her feet.  The danger was heightened by the steep drop to the crashing sea without even a guardrail.  After more than 3,000 kilometers of walking, new muscles got such a workout that I was sore all over again.  The roads were closed to traffic; I was rather alone.  Never a dull pilgrim moment.

Next will be Trieste and the familiarity of Italia - and good coffee.