“Travels to a Different Time” : July 15, 1971: Murter, Karlovac/Pag, Yugoslavia: Another Dumpy Room and No Water on Pag!

Travelling shoes on at 6:30 a.m. to a new island called Pag. We were to go to Karlovac then by boat to Pag. The bus ride to Karlovac was dicey. Very narrow roads with a bus driver with a passion for passing and a skill of narrowly missing oncoming traffic. Up the mountains we climbed causing Mom to get very nervous but a spectacular view of the coast. The bus driver stopped for a snack break up in the mountains. By 11 we were in Karlovac catching some chow, goulash, before getting on the ferry to Pag. We arrived around 1 in Pag and what a dumpy room. Off to a beautiful pebbly beach and home to the dump at 4:30 with no water. We noticed they were digging up the town and laying down new pipes. Is this why the locals are lining up filling jugs of water at the town fountain? Like the locals we went and bought a jug so we had drinking water. For $2.50 we had a delicious clam and fish dinner and then went to watch people taking an evening stroll on the waterfront. Diary Entry of Margaret Mary Stephen: There are rows of women in black sitting on tiny stools in front of their homes making lace. When we moved in here we wondered why the tub was full of water and none in the tap. No one understood English so the plastic jug we bought came in handy. I met an old man sitting on a bench and I asked him the way to the post office and I was so surprised he spoke English. I asked him about the lack of water and he said Pag only has water one hour a day. He said they have a bathtub but have not had a bath in 5 years. He thought they would finally have running water in two weeks. This is why the streets are dug up.