Theme for a lifetime of inquisitive wanderings.
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a sigh
– Robert Frost
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
We have put the bustling Adriatic coastline behind us and traveled inland across Croatia. We spent January outside of Zagreb on a small farm, wrapped in heavy, thick mornings of mists. The winter fields are bare, the distant mountains slumber and the mess of earth is covered, hiding man’s toil and muck under the white weight of snow. The rugged land, abandoned homes and empty fields provided a backdrop for discussion, “How is this country surviving?” “Where are the crops? The herds?” We haven’t seen any, yet. Dilapidated ruins and the rubble of stone walls litter the countryside. There is a sawmill across the field, processing hardwood logs, “Where are the timber lands?” We haven’t seen them, yet. Another neighbor, an ex-pat from England, runs a business to reclaim the region’s deconstructed homes for their solid oak beams which are repurposed into veneer flooring for the EU market. I can’t help but think, “How long will that supply last?”
Croatia has a productive, lucrative history. Beautiful architecture and contributions to the cultural arts carry its rich legacy. From its days of supporting Venetian merchants to the productivity of Yugoslavia, Croatia has survived. Modern tourism is flourishing here, the island-dotted coastline is truly magnificent providing harbors and accommodations for any type of traveler but 2020 certainly shut down that prosperity.
Bicycle of the month
