Later that morning, I returned to show the town to my family. We stopped at a café and found the fishermen relaxing over coffee and beers, and chatting, smoking, and playing cards. As Willa crawled up and down the length of the restaurant, these grizzled men stopped their conversations to encourage her explorations: "Brava! Brava!" one crusty old grandfather shouted as she successfully scaled the stairs. Recognizing an opening, I picked her up and brought her over.

"Do you have any lobster?" I asked, simultaneously dangling my child and pointing to a picture of a lobster tacked to the wall. They were supposedly abundant in these waters, so I couldn't fathom why they cost around $40 in the restaurants.

The lighthouse steps (Joshua Paul) [enlarge photo] BY THIS AUTHOR • Read an excerpt from Gayle Forman's "You Can't Get There From Here" MARCH 2007 ISSUE • Table of Contents • Dream Trips • Lighthouses of Croatia • Family Camps • Eat Like a Local: Chicago • Trips That Can Change Your Life: Adventure Biking • Road Trip: The Olympic Peninsula • 40 Best

"No," he told me with a mournful shake of his head. "Not now." He beckoned me out to his boat, rifled through a barrel, and held up a fish with a mohawk of spiky fins. "This is good. You will like." He disappeared into his boat, and a minute later returned with a gorgeous pair of what I guessed were John Dory fillets, a relative bargain at nine bucks.

That night, I ditched the slimy gray fish and cooked the John Dory in a butter sauce with a dash of the black truffles I'd bought in Motovun. The meal was so rich that not even bottomless-stomached Nick could finish his. I half-joked that we leave the leftovers for the ghost.

"OK," Nick said.

We set the fish on a clean plate in the middle of the cleared table. The next morning I was a little disappointed to find it still there, gelatinous and untouched. It was only after I'd thrown it away and brewed a couple of cups of coffee that I realized there'd been no clattering the night before, and indeed, things remained quiet for the rest of our time at the lighthouse.

Booking a Croatian Lighthouse
In 2000, Plovput, the national lighthouse authority, began renting out 11 lighthouses in order to raise funds to maintain these and the country's 37 other coastal beacons. All but three of the tourist lighthouses are on islands, and most are accessible by scheduled ferry service. At the more remote spots, visitors must cart in their own provisions. Plovput is also the central booking agency (011-385/21-390-609, lighthouses-croatia.com). Its website has information on each of the lighthouses, including details about transfers. Reserve at least nine months in advance for a stay in the high season--from June through mid-September, rentals are on a weekly basis--although if you have your heart set on a specific lighthouse for a particular time, it wouldn't hurt to inquire a year ahead. Prices range from around $525 a week for a four-person apartment in the low season to $1,700 per week for an eight-person apartment in the high season.

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