Still riding around lots of little Croatian mountain roads, we pull up to this most interesting house. And all I remember thinking was.. “What the heck?? And How beautiful it is here! I wonder if it’s for sale…. I’d love to have a crack at remodeling that one!!”
😉
Anton and Ivan have something really interesting to show me..
And did you notice that Rakela is missing? When I asked, they said, yeah, he had to get back to Split for an appointment.. they’re not much into good bye’s here. Ivan, being from South Africa, said it took him a while to get used to that part of the culture here as well.. okey dokey..
The house is not a house, it’s a grain mill. Well, an old one that actually could use a remodel job..
Ivan explains that Croatia is one of the most water rich countries in Europe. This water is just gushing out from underground.
In this picture with Anton on the rock, you can see in the middle where the water is coming up from below… so much of it and so forceful!
So obviously they utilized this water pressure here to run a grain mill. I am fascinated.. in this world, especially in Australia, where I haven’t taken a bath in years as a result of needing conserve our scarce water.. (Yes I do get clean from time to time with my water friendly shower!! 😉 But here it is so good to see such an abundance of fresh flowing water.. And Ivan says he has more of these to show me!
We don’t ride far to another exit point and source of water, and this time, the grain mill is in tact!
Can you believe the power of this water is not coming from high in the mountains.. just simply from underground!??
Ivan and I are a little bit jealous, so we put our bikes up there too..
Photo by : Anton
Ivan decides to see if we can get in so he can better explain to me how this works.
Obviously there is the wheel that the water turns.
Sorry if this bit is boring, but I think it’s fascinating to see in this day and age that in order to get some flour it doesn’t come out of a big plastic factory..
This guy must have seen us just open the door and walk right in, so he came to check us out. Really nice guy, and explained thoroughly to Ivan and Anton the process here.. I don’t understand Croatian so I take their word for it!
After I convince Ivan to get back on his own bike!! ;-? he continues to guide us through the back roads every which way.. Sure glad he knows where to go! Once again, it’s nice to play follow the leader and just ride around without a mission.
Photo by: Anton
Then it’s time for one last stop to take in the view from the mountains before going back down to the coast .. What a big and fantastic day!!
For heaps of great photos of Dalmatia, have a look at Anton’s ADVRider threads, they are awesome! He also has posts for The Sahara, Greece, South Africa and the Alps
Nice landscape, beautiful. I left South Africa in 85 and around 83 worked with an Ivan but I think he was from Czechoslovakia, plus I think he would be a little older. He was going back to his country though 🙂
Stunning pictures, and thanks for the trivia, too. I didn't know that Croatia is one of the most water rich countries in Europe.I guess I will have to return to Europe one day, to visit all those places that I haven't seen yet.
George, Ivan grew up in South Africa, but his family heritage is Croatian..however he is only now learning the language since he moved there.. ha! Check out his website if you think it is the same Ivan http://www.visit-croatia.co.za/ If so, it would be just crazy to catch up again, hey? 😉
Come to think of it, it couldn't be the same guy, I'm forgetting my age, I just turned 50 and he was at least 10 to 15 years older than me :-(I had already seen the site, it's a South African site about tours to Croatia 🙂 maybe one day I will have a chance to visit that wonderful country.
The house is not a house, it’s a grain mill. Well, an old one that actually could use a remodel job..
Nice landscape, beautiful. I left South Africa in 85 and around 83 worked with an Ivan but I think he was from Czechoslovakia, plus I think he would be a little older. He was going back to his country though 🙂
Stunning pictures, and thanks for the trivia, too. I didn't know that Croatia is one of the most water rich countries in Europe.I guess I will have to return to Europe one day, to visit all those places that I haven't seen yet.
Beautiful pics…LOVE the bridge!
George, Ivan grew up in South Africa, but his family heritage is Croatian..however he is only now learning the language since he moved there.. ha! Check out his website if you think it is the same Ivan http://www.visit-croatia.co.za/ If so, it would be just crazy to catch up again, hey? 😉
Come to think of it, it couldn't be the same guy, I'm forgetting my age, I just turned 50 and he was at least 10 to 15 years older than me :-(I had already seen the site, it's a South African site about tours to Croatia 🙂 maybe one day I will have a chance to visit that wonderful country.