Lubertadventure: Omis

OMIS Our first glimpse of Omis in Croatia revealed its not so secret heritage. The high cliffs surrounding the rivers and inlets would have been perfect for pirates to hide and, if threatened, to easily defend.

Omis is a small Central Dalmatian town and harbour situated in the mouth of the Cetina river, surrounded with massive gorges. Omis' pirate history, a long, turbulent, proud era of retaliation, courage and strength gives the town its notoriety, and evidence can be found on every corner. Fortresses, churches, lookout towers and defensive walls still stand as proud reminders of the power and might of the infamous Omis pirates. Gothis, renaissance and early baroque architecture can be seen in the Mirabela Fort, Fortica Fort, the Church of St. Mihovil, the Fransican convent, St. Peter's Church and many others. We spent many hours wandering the tiny back alleys with their worn cobbletstone streets (no cars) and their many cafes and bars.

We spent two days and nights in Omis, highlighted by a serene river cruise up the Cetina. On the way upstream I chatted with our captain about basketball and Nikola Tesla, the famous Croatian, and on the way back he looked at me and said, “Do you want to drive?” Of course I said yes, and to the wary looks of our 25 passengers, took the helm as our pilot relaxed on the bow and took in the beautiful day!

Dinner at Konoba Joskan was so good the first night that we returned for the second night to dine on octopus salad, penne gorgonzola, grilled lamb, grilled vegetables, and fried potatoes. We have found Croatian restaurants to be very reasonable, as long as you stay away from the bottled water ($5.00) and the “First Grade” fish ($92.00). For example, our lamb dinner described above, with a beer, and a litre of house wine, tax and tip included, was 277 Kuna (about $54.00).

The only note of concern is that our car – a beautiful Renault – is not running as smoothly as it once was. (and yes, Brian Layfield, I know it is a diesel, and that's what I filled it with!) We are crossing our fingers and hoping it will get us to the island of Hvar, and then to Dubrovnik, before we turn it back in and fly to Greece.