Baćina Noć!

We slept in today a little bit since there was no rush except for the 3 to 4 hour drive to Baćina. We said our farewell to the Kusalo men and set out on our beautiful drive along the coast. The water stretches out by the roadside for most of the drive and you can see many of the hundreds of islands that dot the Croatian coast. There is a brief drive through Bosnia but being from the States they weren't that interested in us at the country line.

Lake side in Baćina 

We arrived in Baćina in the early afternoon, with the town prepared to throw their annual lake party or Noć. The men go out a few days before and pull mussles from the rocky shores, fish for sardines, and then bring them back for the women to clean, while everyone cooks the day of the party. There are fish grilling by the water and the mussles are thrown into the most amazing seafood risotto. One of the most popular Croatian beers, Ožujsko, is free flowing throughout the night.  For us, mosquito repellant is also a must.

We were greeted by the family, Dundo Dominik, Auntie Karen, their son Anton and his fiancee, Ayelet. They all live in the Bay Area near us but Dominik and Karen spend the majority of their  summer in Croatia in this gorgeous home they've built overlooking the water on a hill. Anton and Ayelet were juggling vacation with wedding planning. Very exciting!

Next door, we paid our respects to Ante and Vesna, Ante now being the oldest surviving brother of Dominik's siblings. Vesna was not her regular vivacious self since she's been recovering for a very long time from a cat attacking her arm. Due to an infection that developed when the wound wasn't cleaned thoroughly the first hospital visit her arm is still swollen and it's been over a month! After being fed (you have to be fed and offered wine or brandy of some sort at each home you visit), we went down to the lake to pay a visit to more family. It seems the majority of people residing in the village are related to Jason somehow.

The marina manager, Goran, is a cousin through marriage on Anton's side (Anton and Jason are cousins through their grandmothers' side) and he is a character. He's incredibly happy all the time, especially thrilled to see the girls when we come to visit. A cigarette usually hanging between his lips, he's quick to offer a beer, water, and a hug. He also made us promise that we would each dance with him during the party. Deal. After the visit, seeing tables being set up, and buying a pack of radlers (beer and lemonade, my new favorite!) to keep at the house, we made our way back up to unpack and chill before the party.

We joined the rest of the village in the early evening, greeting other family members who were arriving for the party, like brothers Zoren, Viktor, his wife Mila, sister, Zdenka and cousins galore. Old friends of Anton's also returned since their families still live here. Tihana, who is now engaged to Mladin, and Anton B., our guide from last time. It was so nice to see familiar faces and feel less like a visitor out of National Geographic like my first visit. This time I felt less staring from the villagers (and let me tell you they're NOT subtle about staring).

We grabbed a table overlooking the main dock and shortly after, plates of sardines were brought to the table. This was the first time we'd had these and Jason wasn't sure he would like them. Turns out they're delicious AND fun to eat. You pop off the head, strip the meat off one side and pull the spine off to devour the other half. All with your hands and you eat until you're full. When the plate runs low, someone refills it and it is accompanied by bread and risotto. Outstanding first meal in Baćina.

The rest of the evening is spent mingling, drinking, people watching, and for some, dancing to the band playing at the end of the dock. Goran cashed in on his request and Ayelet and I switched off dancing with him throughout the night. He loved it and I got a kick out of swing dancing (or whatever it turned out to be) with him. One of the highlights of the night was when they sang some sort of national song and men stood around the edge of the lake with flares lit up. The whole dock and bridge area was lit glowing red.

Ayelet had the great idea to bring a few packets of glow bracelets to give to some of the kids and us family members for the night. Problem was there were way more children who wanted one and practically begging adults to have the ones in their possession. Ayelet made a mental note to bring a box next time. By the end of the night, the younger set of us were seated in a circle sipping hot chocolate and nibbling on desserts that were set on a table. After brief discussion of plans the next day we decided to head to bed at 1AM.