Dateline Milna: Solin

I took the last couple of days -- the hottest of the season -- to travel with Slavko to the ancient city of Solin, on the mainland, to see his progress in building a new home for him and his wife, Nada.  He has the walls and ceiling up and on this trip he was able to run electricity as well as get his doors and windows ordered.  His site is actually above Solin on the highway that climbs to the fortress-town of Klis and then crosses inland into the mountains.  It lies in a sort of bowl, or valley, with a wonderful view of the mountains. We had a small barbeque of pork with bread the first night, then spent several hours drinking beer and playing bocche ball at Greben, the local hang-out for the older set. We stayed on the first floor of his brother's house next to his plastic bag making-and-printing business. I slept in the next day while Slavko worked.  Later, we travelled up into the mountains to a small village where his friend Mate grew up and is now building a vacation home on a small plot of ground bordered by ancient sun-blackened stone walls.  Since the only beer we could buy was warm,  while Slavko cooked beans and sausage in the sun over an open fire, Mate and I  walked a forest path into the old village and lowered the basket of beer into an old cistern full of icy, clear water. We ate almonds and plums from trees in a deserted courtyard while the beer cooled.  Several other men now showed up to share the feast.  They began singing those wierdly, almost chillingly harmonized, 20 second mountain songs. Later while they removed to another house with even more rakija (brandy), I went with Mate and family to buy cheese from a woman in the next village where I heard unearthly chimings in the night, (which turned out to be cow bells). 

Last night - the night of the Perseid meteor shower - Julia finally arrived home from a long stint in the U.K.  We could see the meteorites streaking across the sky just behind our house, quiet now since the neighbors on one side have left and the apartment on the other is unrented.