Gradac and Maraton Lađa

Day 6, August 8: Rolled out of bed around 8:30 with the intention of meeting Uncle Tommy and Aunty Patty on the beach at Gradac by 9:30. Anton and Jason were coming too but we had to wake them since they didn't have an alarm. We got a little breakfast and made it there by 9:50. Anton helped hook us up with parking since he could speak to the attendant in Croatian. The guy had been turning tourists away since it was pretty full with tour buses. We just needed to be back by 3PM when the buses would begin to leave. No problem.


A short walk and down a street and we were at the white rock beach. We found our party right in front of their cousin Nina's restaurant. Met Nina and her daughter, Ina. Both are very sweet and obviously work very hard. We had grilled squid and fries for lunch that were so tasty. The 6 small squid were laid out on the fries with a little salt and stuffed with some goat cheese. The cappuccino was the perfect ending to the meal and got me warm enough to want to jump back into the water. Then back onto the rocks to bake. The rocks got pretty hot underfoot. The rocks are definitely not as comfortable to lay on as sand but there's something to be said about not having to worry about sand getting everywhere. At the same time, it was a little sad to watch the kids playing with sandbox toys with no sand. They can dig a hole but they won't be able to build a sandcastle.


We returned home for a little downtime before the Maraton Lađa (pronounced "LAHD-je). It's a huge boat race that begins in Metković and finishes in Ploče. There were about 40 teams and each boat, shaped like a squarish saucer, has 10 paddlers, 1 coxswain, and 1 drummer. Tons of people turn out from all the villages and take over Ploče for a night. It turns this sleepy town into party central until the sun comes up.


Stands lined the streets but they're all selling pretty much the same stuff. It's not the variety you get in the states. Your choice of food is a Ćevap burger with Ivar sauce, popcorn, ice cream, cotton candy or sweets from the Trolli brand truck.
The other stands sold either cheap jewelry and trinkets, kids toys, expensive mylar balloons, or plastic artillery. Yes, plastic guns, ammo, whatever. Crazy to see that and see little boys running around pretending to shoot each other.

It was exciting to see the boats rolling in, following the path marked on the water, flares lit for the winning team. These guys had been paddling for 2 hours. Later, there was an awards ceremony on a huge stage where the Croatian President presented the 1st prize! He did get a few boos because the economy isn't doing well, kind of like the majority of the world.

After that excitement we wandered to the cafes to find a seat somewhere but it was packed with people. We finally managed to get some seats right next to Dominik and Karen and it was outstanding peoplewatching! Because this is the biggest event of the year, the girls get decked out. They look like they're going out in Vegas and some are dressed like they're working the streets of Vegas. Stiletto heels, full makeup and hair, boobs pushed up and in one case, butt cheeks hanging out from under the skirt. It was just kind of funny to see them all dressed up at a casual affair but it really is one of the few events where there's an excuse to wear that.

I have also noticed that women here don't seem to care about fashion faux pas. I can't tell you how many women I've seen with the wrong bra for an outfit. I've seen white bras under a white top (it should be a nude bra, in case you're wondering) or a halter top with bra straps showing, or a shirt with a beautiful open design in the back but they have this awful back strap running through it. Have these women never heard of a multi-way bra?? Or maybe even breast petals? Granted this is the land of boobage. A lot of these girls need a little assistance to keep the girls up. But seriously, it looks terrible. It's also the worst cases of VPL and white underwear under white pants I've ever seen. And gentlemen we're not talking about a hot little thong on a tight round booty. We're talkin' granny panties.

Anyway, I digress. We ended up outside another cafe (again a nasty bathroom but at least there was toilet paper here!) with house music playing and people dancing in the street. We ran into Matija, Anton B, and Tihana with her boyfriend and a group of friends. Some crazy guy was lighting flares near the trees (not the brightest bulb) and the cops had to ask him to move away or put them out.

We American kids got bored by 2:30 since we didn't know the music, tired since it was a long day, and the people watching was no longer as interesting as before. We made our way out down the main walk which was now empty and all the stands were closing down. Anton B bought a few balloons for his nephews, the boys were given free balloon art flowers, and the Antons needed one more Ćevap burger to complete the night.