Photo by Pero Klaic
When our son Seth, the New York Times's Frugal Traveler, told us that his summer assignment was to travel to countries on the coast of the Mediterranean, we asked if we could join him for a week. Last summer, when he traveled from São Paulo to New York, we had met him in Nicaragua, and we weren't so sure he'd want to put up with his spunky, then old (and now a year older), parents again.
But he said he would and even allowed us to choose our country. We had wanted to visit the Dalmatian Coast for years, and seeing Croatia frugally was fine with us. So that's where we've been.
To say it was an adventure we will treasure is an understatement. Croatia's coast is a never-ending panoramic picture postcard. The Adriatic Sea is a palette of blues surrounded by hills/mountains that come down to its shore. You have to see it.
This area has a complicated history. You have to read it.
But the people have to be experienced, and that is easy to do in Croatia. In all of our travels, we have never met friendlier or more helpful people. We were treated like treasured guests by the people who rented us apartments or rooms in their homes and exactly the same way by people on the streets of Dubrovnik, and on the islands of Mjlet and Korčula.
Of course, the best part was being with Seth, watching his remarkable competence. He doesn't plan ahead much, so we didn't even know where we would go, or how we would get from place to place. Except, we knew it would be frugally.
We also didn't know that we would love Croatia.
We never see enough of Seth, so to have a solid seven days with him was a huge bonus. But it came with a price—saying good-bye without knowing when we will see him again. So, having just returned, I do feel a little sad. But more than anything, I am very grateful.
To see Seth's take on his week with his parents in Croatia, http://nyti.ms/mLTi1N