Meeting the locals

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What a perfect morning! After a beautiful 4 mile hike with good friends, we sat on the 'Riva' (river front) and sipped espresso while enjoying well earned pastries. We spoke to a local man who is apparently the historian for this town. He spoke Spanish with Stephanie and for the first time while here I understood someone!!! He translated from Croatian to English to Spanish; what an experience. Where else can you sit in an outdoor cafe sipping espresso and speaking to this wordly man?

I asked him if he knew the location of my mothers' family's home and he said that he would just need to know their family 'nickname.' The town is so small, with so many of the same family names, nicknames help differentiate each family. So, tomorrow, I get to meet up with him again with my family's nickname. The last time my mother was here, 10 years ago, she arrived at her families abandoned home only to find her high school graduation picture still on the wall!!!

We then went on to spend the day at one of the only beaches that is sandy instead of rocky, 'Stonjiza.' And now we are home to get ready for a traditional American BBQ since it is the 4th of July!

We finally ended our day meeting our cousin, Maja and her adorable 4 year old son, Lavf. The boys had tons of fun chasing him and racing with him on the Riva. They found a fun new cousin. 

Here are a few pictures from our day.