Brela - for you Diana! (Sorry, it was night time so only night time photos)

The hot water in my apartment has developed a mind of its own. I had thought that the shower was a bit cold, and noticed that it took more time than I had patience for to get hot water into the kitchen sink (with my no plug). No-one could say that I was a problem tenant… after three days of this (yes, definitely cold showers) I dialed the number left for me by Branka, and spoke to Gordana, another lovely woman who has lived in NZ (and wishes that she still did).
She came and looked, confirmed that the water was in fact cold, and suggested that I shower in Branka’s apartment until they return. Which to date I haven’t done because the water was warmish again this morning. The temperature during the day (the air, not the water cylinder) is now up to 22 degrees, but drops very quickly to about 8 degrees in the early evening. I’m glad that I did bring the few winter clothes that I have with me. It seems crazy to be lying on the beach at 3 in the afternoon and then rugged up in the evening.

Gordana is the reception manager for a complex 10 minutes drive away at a town called Brela. So having bonded over the hot water, she suggested that I keep her company at work for the evening. She works from eight in the morning until three, and then has to return again at seven until nine in the evening. Which makes it difficult to have any time for any family time, but jobs are not easy to find.

Brela is quite different from Makarska – it is discreet and feels more substantial, not quite as commercial (on the face of it, although I’m sure that the tenet is still to get the last buck possible from the tourist) and feels more sophisticated. It is seriously full of retired German tourists. I wandered along the riva until the sun went down, sat in a kafic where I was the only customer and then joined Gordana for a meal in the hotel.

Drugi Rat at Brela is recorded (I was told, but don’t quote me) as one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world. (But so is New Chums on the Coromandel). I tried to do the place justice with my camera, but you may find better images if you google Dugi Rat Brela.
One of the fascinating things that I have discovered is that in the winter when the Jugo and Bura winds are going to blow their darndest, the local (not sure what to call them but let’s go with council workers) remove the sand on the beaches by the truckload (Makarska too) – I use the term sand loosely – and they are currently trucking the sand back in again and re-spreading it around the beaches. This saves losing it into the sea over the winter. The intention is to keep the stretch of sand as wide and reef free as possible. (The formula being the wider the beach, the more people and beach chairs that you can fit in..)
The whole place (Makarska too, but more so Brela) looks as though it has been given a thorough cut and polish – grass has been cut, sprinkler systems are going and edges are being trimmed. Beaches have been re-sanded and then graded. In the peak season, teenagers are employed to rake and clean up rubbish from the beach at five in the morning.
Let’s not forget that Tourism is the top money spinner cum industry in Croatia. And like a well oiled clock, the tourists have started arriving this weekend.