Aloha-- you'll enjoy the drive. Be sure to get fuel before leaving Hvar. As I recall, we didn't see a gas station on the main road until Sucaraj ( I actually don't recall seeing one there either although there must be one).

We'll look forward to a full report when you return.

About those stone walls; we were told by the Croatian family we stayed with last September that, "The first thing a Croatian child learns is to put one rock on top of another."

If you look at the hillsides, particularly on the islands, you will soon realize the enormous amount of labor that was needed to terrace almost every square meter of each mountain. It is more diverse, I'm sure, but it rivals the great pyramids when you consider the amount of human toil involved ovr the centuries.

When phyloxia killed all of the grape vines in the mid 1920's, whole islands faced starvation as they depended almost entirely on wine making for their living. The people in Vela Luka, a small village on Korcula, say it was the most apallingly sad single day in their history when over 1,300 young folks were forced by necessity to leave on one ship for Argentina.

We traveled through Croatia in 1998, visiting my husband's grandparents' familial homes and many relatives, who treated us like royalty. It was a wonderful trip. There are several less expensive but decent Zagreb hotels than the Esplanade, if you're budget travelers like us. Zagreb is worth spending a little time to explore Driving was no problem. Although we didn't make it to the coast, we thoroughly enjoyed visiting this country.