Last night we watched the sunset at Zlatni Rat, Croatia's iconic "Golden Horn" beach. Today we decided to get a view of it from up above. Time to hike Vidova Gora!
Attitude Adjustment
Vidova Gora is the highest peak on the island of Brač, and also the highest peak on all Adriatic islands. We packed a lunch and set out. Within five minutes, both P&S were fiercely complaining that they didn't want to hike and that it was so far to the top (which it was). We let them whine for a few minutes and then told them "You have a choice. You either change your attitude now & join us on the hike, or you can stay here with a bad attitude & we'll pick you up after the hike." Naturally, they both decided to come with us as opposed to being left at the base on their own (which admittedly we would never have done, but I'm not sure they knew that). And to their credit, from that moment on, they really did have a positive attitude the entire rest of our hike.
Trekking Up
We had learned previously from several Croatians that the islands' land is full of white stone. The hike brought that fact to life for us . . . virtually the whole way it was white stone & rubble under our feet. Not exactly an easy terrain for hiking, but everyone held it together and did super well.
It took a solid 2 hours (of constant movement) to get to the top, one switchback after another. The girls kept motivated largely through two family activities:
Listening to audio book of "How To Train Your Dragon": We had started listening to the book during our road travels (thank you New York Public Library audio books!), but still had over half the book left to go. I pumped my phone up to max volume so we could all follow along & hear it over the crunch of stone beneath our feet. Next time we'll make sure we bring our little portable JamBox speaker for better audio quality. We were all engrossed in the HTTYD story line, and listening helped keep the girls minds off the task at hand, especially on the way up when the views were limited.
"I'm Thinking Of An Animal" game: Countless rounds of the animal guessing game (think 20 Questions) also kept us occupied. Today's animals included antelope, rhinoceros, sea urchin & ostrich. Nice assortment :)
We came across only a few people on our ascent, including an older Swiss couple. They took the family picture in the montage below.
Lunch With a View
In reading about this hike prior, we knew there was a picnic table at the summit. As we were approaching the summit, the entrance point for people who drove to the top was flooded with tour buses of tourists. We stayed the course, passing as many of them as we could. We spotted the lone picnic table and were so bummed to see it was already occupied. Thankfully the family left a few minutes later and we pounced on the chance to make it ours. I told the girls "We earned this picnic table!" and it became a saying that made us all laugh the rest of the day :) Meals always taste better after physical exertion. Peanut butter/apricot jam and salami/cheese sandwiches, paired with nuts and fruit hit the spot. At the top we also ran into the same Swiss couple we had seen on our way up. They were lovely & so impressed with the girls. We all gave each other high fives and wished each other well.
Vidova Gora Views
At 2,550 feet elevation, Vidova Gora peak provides some pretty beautiful views of the Adriatic. It was especially cool to look down onto Zlatni Rat "Golden Horn" beach (left pic), given we had just been there the night before. We found a cool snake skin in its entirety at the top. Our nephews Gibson, Grayson & Mason call Uncle Doogie "Snake Man", so naturally he did a fun(ny) Google Duo message for them :)
Descent Decision
The trek up was relatively time consuming & challenging, so we thought we'd spare the girls the hike back down. Our original plan was to have Doug hike down solo, grab our car & then swing back around to pick us up at the car-accessible top (me & the girls waiting all the while at the top). That plan fell apart when we realized the drive from town (where our car was) to the top was 40 minutes! It would have taken Doug just as long to get us as it would for us all to hike down. So that's what we did . . . buck up and start our 1hr40min descent. Full disclosure: I also told the girls that a gelato would be in order when we got back into town. That immediately put an extra spring in their hiking step! More about how the rest of our afternoon in Bol unfolded here.
Hats off to the girls for accomplishing this Vidova Gora hike. They're building some serious hiking legs! Can't wait to see where else we explore via hiking in the months ahead!
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