Tučepi

Sunday May 23

We started the day with breakfast at our host restaurant and got ready to go hiking. We were hiking Tučepi- which is part of the mountain we have behind our apartments, but on a different side. We were told that the hike was going to be steep- but we didn’t plan on it being as steep as it was. We walked mostly on the road, and yes there were cars driving up the mountain, but sometimes we had to venture off the regular road and get in the brush. We braved the heat and the steepness of the mountain and made it to the wall of the mountain- pretty much the tree line.

When we stopped we also visited a Catholic church as well as a small museum depicting Croatian life many years ago. After the museum tour, we were offered some wonderful Croatian snacks. We had dried figs, fried dough, bread with olive oil, and cake. Drink choices were different forms of rakija made from figs or carob or a desert wine. There was an entire table set with food, but when we left, there were just a handful of figs left- everything else was gone!

Our tour guide then took us on another hike, but this time the trail was so narrow you could only put one foot down and walk heel to toe. We saw many homes, even our tour guide’s birthplace. We also were able to see that the people living on the mountain had many options for growing there own food. During the first hike of the day, we saw almond and walnut trees, pomegranates, figs, and a variety of herbs. The second part of the tour we saw artichokes, various fruits, and grapes. Getting up and down the mountain can be very tedious, so the inhabitants have to grow a lot of their food. While having snacks, we also were allowed to see a lamb being roasted. These people are able to sustain themselves very well for living in such remote places. We later had lunch at a restaurant on top of the hill and then made our way back down the mountain by vans.
-Rachel