4th of July

We came to Makarska on the Adriatic coast today around noon. We went with the same van driver we had couple of years ago we were here. Mom and I were the last two passengers on the route and we only had the address on paper and general idea where it is, and didn't really know where exactly it is located. We stopped several times and asked the locals and no one knew where this street is. We even asked people who were walking on this street, before we knew which street it is. The street signs are obviously missing. We even called the lady from the van, and her description was still not exactly accurate.

After more than half an hour, we saw a lady we didn't know waving at us from across the street. She was the one we talked on the phone. Apparently, she wasn't sure we would be coming, so she wasn't waiting at home. She was very welcoming, and helped mom roll the suitcase. The direction she was taking us wasn't to our liking, especially when we saw the stairs and up the hill. Then we came to an apartment building and started climbing more stairs, all the way to the 5th floor. Every now and then mom and I would look at each other and roll our eyes. When we finally got to the apartment, we realized that she also lives there. The part that she is renting is in the attic. It is nicely decorated, but it only has ceiling windows, no kitchen, and we'd have to come to the main apartment to leave the place. This is not what we expected. When she advertised apartment for rent, we thought it is an apartment unit in a house, like a studio, with bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and the eating area in one place. We didn't want to stay in an apartment on the 5th floor, especially not to share it with the owner who is eager to talk to us all the time. We wanted some privacy, actually all the privacy. While mom was talking with her, I went to the attic bathroom and called another lady we stayed with before, who said although she doesn't have any rooms her neighbour does and that we can come.

It was difficult to explain to this lady who was nice to us that we'd want to look for something else. She wasn't, however, really expecting us, so I didn't feel we were cheating her on an agreement or anything like that. The place just wasn't what we thought we were going to get. She was kind enough to recommend her friend in the house next door, who is renting the kind of apartments we were looking for. We checked it out, it was nice, and a decent price, but we still wanted to check the other place with the lady we stayed with before. That one was closer to the beach but the terrace was looking just at the other building, so we decided to stay with the place the nice lady recommended. We spent over an hour figuring all this out, and were soaked from the heat by the time we got the room.

The room was really nice. We took a cold shower, since the heater was not on long enough yet, and went to the beach. After just a few moments in the water, the rain started, so we went under a tree to have something to eat while it's raining. Most people left the beach, but the rain lasted no more than 5-10 min, and we were in the sun again. We took a nap in the shade, and stayed there until past 6pm. It was nice to just lay there and not have to think about anything. When we got to our room, there was still no hot water. After a cold shower, we had our coffee and got ready for dinner. On our way out, we told the owner about the hot water problem, and they discovered the heater was broken. They moved us to yet another room, which was even better, with much larger bathroom. I am happy with the outcome.

We walked on the main beach board walk buzzing with tourists from all over, and then went for dinner at a place that's dear to both of us. It is on a boat docked on the main Riva. We had fish from the grill, that they catch every day, and some wine and beer with it. Just as we were done, there was a fireworks, I assumed for 4th of July, but I really don't know. We watched it from the boat. It was great.

We continued onto the main square, which was packed with people listening to a concert of some sort, I think it was Makarska Nights festival. Mom had ice cream and I a cake, and we walked back home the same way. I have a sense we'll have a nice time here.