Mountain climb [Croatia, Day 14]

The forecast was pretty rotten, but the reality was totally different. The weather improved as the day went on, and by afternoon it was as good as anything we'd enjoyed since we'd got here. Carl was feeling a bit sleepy, so I went off alone for a couple of hours while he'd slept off his sleepiness. There's absolutely no way I'd do it at home, but for some reason I took a notion to investigate one of the mountain walks which are advertised as one of Makarska's principal attractions. I can't really describe what I did as a mountain walk in the pure sense, but I still feel pretty chuffed that I made my way up on foot to the point where the sparse greenery on the Biokovo makes way to bare, uncultivated rock.

I know it's silly, and it's also probably a bit dismissive of me, but I have to admit to getting a wake-up call as I climbed and realised that people who live up here have day-to-day existences to eke out, quite apart from the tourist mayhem down below. I worked my way up to what has to be the highest restaurant in Makarska, stopped for a bottle of what's become our favourite beer, and then made my way back down to meet up with Carl at our appointed time.

We finished off the night with a wonderful meal in the Riva restaurant on the seafront. Our main course was Chateuabriand for two, and it has to go down in history as one of the best meals I've had anywhere. It's now 2.15 am, it's taken far too long to get this entry together (largely due to recurring spelling errors), Carl's snoring away quite happily, we have to be up the road at 9.00 am to pick up the coach for the airport, and all in all I'm not a happy camper facing the prospect of calling this Croatian adventure a day and heading back home. Verdict: Croatia, AOK!