Our first stop in Croatia was Bjelovar, we arrived on July the 15th when the final of the World Cup was played. We are not very big football fans, and we had not seen any other match, but we took advantage of the festive atmosphere and we looked for a terrace in a bar to watch the game with the Croats. The celebrations that followed were as if they had won!

The next visit was Zagreb which, despite being a relatively large city, surprised us by the charm of its historic center.

Soon we escaped to a quieter place near the sea, Omisalj. It seemed like the perfect place to spend a few days but we had the unexpected, and unpleasant, visit from the police. Apparently, some people who were spending the day on the beach had called them because we had Shiva off the lead. They “politely” told us that in Croatia we needed to keep the dog on the lead at all times and that we had to use the campsites for the night. It is true that we visited Croatia during the summer season but it has been, by far, the hardest place for us to find parking. In addition the campsites, although you find them all along the coast, are expensive and quite average. It also seems that Croats are not keen on dogs, we do not know if it is because of fear or something cultural… But luckily there are also places where they adore them, like the Monty’s Dog Beach & Bar in Crikvenica. It is a bar on the beach where they have dog sunbeds, ice creams and drinks so it is the ideal place to enjoy without anyone complaining!

The rest of our stay in the country, we were looking for more isolated places (except the “essential” visits) to enjoy the quiet and beautiful Croatian coast. We spent some great days in a little cove in Povile, where we also met a lovely family from Madrid, Merce and Álvaro with their son Eneko, with whom we spent more time with later! Zadar, Trogir, Split, Makarska and Dubrovnik are highly recommended, beautiful coastal towns that really deserve a visit (if it can be out of season, even better!).

If we have to choose a place in Croatia, that is certainly a natural enclave that we found near Komin. It is the place where the Neretva River empties into the sea, forms a kind of lagoon where, besides being a paradise for lovers of kite-surfing, the sea “never” gets deep! The mornings were very calm, without wind, so we went for a long walk in the sea every day. Shiva enjoyed herself like never before, it’s where she definitely learned to swim, the fact that the water was shallow and super calm gave her the confidence to throw herself in!

From midday the wind began to blow and the landscape was filled by the colors of the kites, a spectacle! Also, there we again met Merce, Álvaro and Eneko so we had some great days. In fact, we left because we ran out of food and water, otherwise we would be still there! : P