CROATIA!

There are road trips, which is probably my favorite phrase in the English language. And then there are dream trips. Destinations so distant, novel and exciting that you are not sure you will ever find a way there. In a few weeks, I am lucky enough to be heading out on a dream trip.

Kerry and I are off to Croatia.

"Croatia???", followed by a weird stare is the usual response when we tell people where we are heading. And even for climbers, the place is somewhat off the radar. When we were looking at options for a November adventure, one place stood out as the obvious choice.

(all photos stolen from interweb)

We have two weeks to play - exploring Old World Europe, sea kayaking between small islands, eating tons of fresh fish, speaking poorly worded Croatian phrases to the locals, hopefully catching a Hadjuk Split soccer match, snorkeling. And of course, climbing limestone above the Adriatic Sea!

Those aren't the best pictures I could find of Croatia DWS, but most of the other photos involve some horrific Euro banana hammocks. I'll spare you the horrifying images from the online guide I found. But if you are looking for a lifetimes worth of untapped DWS potential, Croatia might be the place. The Dalmation Coast of Croatia is lined with small islands, many of which are surrounded in limestone cliffs rising straight from the sea.

The above photo is of one of the many islands found in Kornati National Park. Unfortunately it is a bit further north along the coast than we are going to be, but it is where boundless climbing could be done. I am already plotting trips here, if anyone knows how to captain a boat.

We will be dividing our time between Split and Hvar, two coastal cities with rich history, local culture, and lots of limestone. There will be plenty of photos taken (Kerry is coming along, after all) and numerous over-excited blog posts to come.