We saw works of art all over Croatia. The recent war has left some scars and ten years on life is only just reaching financial stability. The islands have survived relatively unscathed, just as they have through countless scurmishes over the centuries. Some towns and cities in the mainland suffered badly but repairs have been swiftly and skilfully done. Evidence of the conflict is there to be seen but major damage is rarely obvious.

The cost of repairs to the old town was enormous and the United Nations and other international bodies contributed large sums. This traditional instrumentalist is playing for donations to help fund a smaller project. He plays two strings at once. The lower one is a drone and he picks out a simple but catchy dance rhythm above.

A short walk from the main street, up the narrow stone steps, leads you to quieter residential quarters.

Repairing roofs has been a difficult task. The material for the tiles came from quarries that fell into disuse many years ago. The original rose coloured tiles are now almost impossible to match and new rooves are a richer red colour.

The smell of burning on a boat causes alarm. Fire afloat is not something we want to experience, so when smoke and ash wafted our way in the marina we immediately got out of bed to find the source. The whole horizon seemed to be ablaze and the flames quickly spread down towards the valley, fanned by a warm and gusty wind. Scrub fires have been a problem in recent summers and this year was not going to be any different. Several nights in a row, we saw the mountain ridges silhouetted against an eerie orange glow.

There was little to see next day. Almost all the vegetation has been burned and the valley-sides are bare stone. Aircraft buzzed overhead during daylight hours dropping tons of water on the smouldering ashes, but nothing could be done once darkness descended and fires spring up where the breeze helped to rekindle unburned patches.

The flames advanced rapidly, threatening the agricultural land down in the valley. The fire department were there to meet them and were able to deal with this natural assault before it caused any serious damage.