Autocamp Sirena

Autocamp Sirena, Omis, Croatia

The warmest welcome ever. It’s mid-winter and we arrived at Autocamp Sirena late after long hrs traveling up from Montenegro, dark and cold. We did phone and tell them we were on our way. The camp manager met us when we arrived and found us a sheltered pitch out of the Bura (Croatian name for the wild winter CHILLED winds). He made sure we were safely tucked away and asked if we wanted fresh bread for the morning, yes and yes, please. He also insisted on showing us the restaurant area.

Not keen, but waiting for us was a warm fire. After getting organised on site we took a glass of wine with us and warmed up there waiting for the caravan to heat up. We were only going to stay for a couple of nights so we could visit Omis, close by. The next day they asked if we wanted to book the restaurant that night. Unusual for campsites this time of year as they are usually closed, and they were all so nice we couldn’t refuse. We were the only two guests till another couple arrived and the four of us enjoyed the flames a lovely homecooked meal and a taste of the free local schnapps (we felt obliged ). Just knocked over by this family-run campsite. The views from the terraced areas through the gaps in the olive trees were simply lovely. Visit the site: https://autocamp-sirena.com/

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Omis and Cetina River.

Did you know that this Croatian Engineering Project cut a 1.4km tunnel through solid rock on either side of the Cetina River Gorge in Omis, Croatia? The bridge looks unsupported, jutting out from the tunnels and there’s a massive and obvious two-metre height difference where they are supposed to join (January 2023). Of course, we were curious !! After a little talk with Google, we discovered that all the support framework associated with bridges is inside the excavation and that as each section was added, the structure moved vertically. So, as the final section is added to the southern structure it will move up vertically to meet the northern section, hopefully. This project was built to elevate and alleviate the traffic buildup through the town.

Omis is between the port city Split (25 km to the north) and Makarska,40 km to the south. We were staying at Lokva Rogonznica, midway between the two. The inhabitants of medieval Omiš were, as a matter of fact, pirates! In the 12th and 13th centuries, the pirates of Omiš ruled the seas from Omiš to Dubrovnik and if you didn’t pay for safe passage you had to battle them. Apparently, only a few came out winners against these ruthless Omis pirates.

Omis, The Hike

“Let’s check out that 10th-century church. It’s only a 3-minute walk away.” Sounded like a good idea. But as often happens to us we got a bit sidetracked. Literally in this case. Of course, Fabian’s directions often have detours in them. To her credit, the sign didn’t say to make a U-turn, it said to turn left, which we did.

At first, we thought we must have misread the sign and it said 3 mi (short for miles) not 3 min but ever determined and with a touch of fomo (aka stubborn), we kept trudging up the side of the canyon in ever higher zig-zags and more than an hour later we were rewarded, three-fold. Great workout, St Anthony’s wasn’t the 10th Century church we expected but a 7th Century one in simple and elegant still working condition, and the amazing views. Hope you enjoy them too.

PS we spotted the 10th Century St Peters on the way back to the car. It was locked but peering through the door grille we could see its feature central dome and it looked like it was being re-plastered??

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Makarska Riviera

We passed the town of Makarska, best known as the centre of the Croatian Riviera in the dark on our way to Camping Sirena and decided to go back and have a look. There was not a lot to see. An old town dating back to Roman and pre-Roman times (but most of the country can lay claim to that), with lots of yacht charters and boats, restaurants, and a nice boardwalk all of which must be packed in the summer. The SPECTACULAR feature is the Biokovo Mountains running along the coastline. They frame the town. We found out there is a viewpoint on top of the mountains, one of those scary glass walkway ones, and since Fabian Foley would have had her eyes closed we gave it a miss. She says the mountains look better when you can see them.

Some of our favorite pages: Touring Campania Italy, The Italian Riviera