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07:49: Up and dressed, about to knock on the guesthouse door so I can pee and brush my teeth and get some breakfast. Today will be another scorching day.
08:18: Sitting down to breakfast. There’s no hot tap in the gents (for me to wash my socks effectively) and the hostess isn’t about, only the cook who speaks little English. I’ve got three new bites, one on my belly, one on my left forearm and another on my right ankle, at the back. I’m not very hungry, after the mountain of food I ate yesterday. Today will be my sixth day in a row walking. My AirBnB is in the southeast of the city, so it might be more than 30 kms.
08:56: Breakfast omelette was good — no bread, didn’t need it for once. I’m gonna wash my socks now using pails of hot water supplied by my hostess. Electronics are charging in the shack.
09:40: Making a move. €12.40 for camping, breakfast, and one apple/water mix.
09:56: Coated in F50 and lip balm. Left Jesnice.
10:00: Except I’ve walked out of town in the wrong direction — fucking west. About turn1.
10:08: Back on track. Nice strong breeze blowing, which helps me to cool off.
10:12:23
10:13: Obrežje. All the houses are brick. I’ve not seen an Alpine lodge since yesterday or the day before. I remember noticing one of them a couple of days ago.
10:42: I think I’m in Croatia. A few minutes ago I wandered into a village through a gate surrounded by barbed wire fences. The road signs are different and I see a flag flying.
10:45: Definitely Croatia. I’m entering the village of Klokočevec Samoborski. The c accent is the giveaway. The name is also unlike anything in Slovenia.
10:55: Stopped for a sup of water. Low, hilly scrappy villages and farms. We’ve just descended the prosperity ladder a few notches.
11:05: Bobvica.
11:29: Gradna.
11:36: Stopping for a rest and a snack of the last of the butter biscuits.
11:59: About to start moving again. This time with tunes and a Vaseline hole.2 (No probs yesterday.)
13:01: Pause for another drink of water.
13:08: Moving again. Strmec.
13:20: Found a bar selling pizza, but they don’t take card3.
13:33: Orešje.
13:51: Bestovje.
14:18: Zagreb city limit.
14:48: Nobody accepts card as payment in bars and cafés. Light industrial. Resting and connecting to the Croatian phone network to find out how far it is the the AirBnB.
15:39: Stopping at a Kaufland hopefully for cash and lunch and refreshment.
15:51: I took out HR 2,000. I think the exchange rate is HR 16 = €1. I bought the 30cl apple/water drinks — HR 30. I’m also going to have some food from a burger stand.
16:16: HRK 23.00 for ćevapčići with a 50cl drink. I chose Miranda. Ćevapčići are stubby shish kebabs served on fluffy flat bread. I’m digesting them now, then I’ll have some more to drink. My botled water was undrinkable by midday4 and seriously disgusting by 15:00. Two more apple/waters: HRK 30. The ćevapčići are accompanied by paprika mash5 and raw white onion chunks. Very successful, delicious and filling. I’m about to hit the road again. I’ll dump the last of my water. I’ll also connect my phone to the power pack as I’m using it as my navigation device and podcast player. My attempts to contact the Croatian phone network earlier at 14:48 all failed.
17:08:33 
17:21:21 
17:35:32
17:59: Flying stop for 50cl apple juice, HRK 15.00.
18:06: Wandering through working class suburbia since just after lunch. Just hit a tram line.
18:25: HR 21.48 ice cream, drink.
19:46:34
19:50: At the apartment block, but I don’t know my host’s surname and I can’t get a mobile signal.
20:39:34 
20:39:43 
20:42:08
20:44: At the local shopping ar
20:44: I got a signal after ten minutes, phoned my hostess who texted her friend Valentina in the flat, who came down and let me in. She’s a dote!6 The flat is gorgeous, lots of really interesting philosophy books. Now I’m sitting in the local shopping arcade which is a clone of Stillorgan Shopping Centre. I’ve just ordered the pikant pizza. Konsum next door is open. If it stays open after 21:00 I’ll pop in and get some bread and cheese for breakfast. Save making porris7.
20:55:59: Yes, the white tide line on my t-shirt is salt crystals from sweat.
21:41: Pikant pizza HRK 36, 50cl apple/water mix HRK 16 = HRK 52.00.
Looking forward to eating some veg over the coming days. Today was omelette, meat and bread. Right, back to the apartment and a wash before bed.
21:46: OK, I’m having an ice cream. That’s almost as good as vegetables.
22:16: HRK 21 for 3 scoops.
I amaze myself at how oblivious I managed to be here. Normally I’d walk into the rising sun.↩︎
Don’t ask. OK, you did. This is what you think it is.↩︎
I hadn’t yet found a village with an ATM.↩︎
…because of the heat, the water had become warmer than blood temperature.↩︎
I later learned the name of this delicious Balkan garnish: ajvar. It’s made from roasted sweet pepper, aubergine and oil, and typically not spicy.↩︎
A wonderful Hiberno-English term: “It implies fondness, admiration and affection in just four letters. We would never call someone a dote if we didn’t mean it.”↩︎
This name goes way, way back to when Aisling and I were in India — maybe Hampi — and found the intriguing options “Porris” and “Comflex” on the breakfast menu.↩︎
