May 29, 2020 — It was supposed to be a sunny weekend at sea for Tomislav Car and his wife and business partner Ana. Then the coronavirus pandemic and earthquake in Zagreb left them marooned on an island of the Adriatic coast. Spoiler alert: they and their business are flourishing.
Their weekend getaway off the coast of Zadar quickly turned into the headquarters for their company, Infinum, which has offices in Croatia, Slovenia and the United States, with employees from 11 countries.
The couple chose the first sunny weekend in March to steal away to their mobile home on the island of Pašman, they told Gloria. After the pandemic and earthquake, they considered their options and decided to stay and work remotely. It didn’t make sense to return home. Two months later, they’re still on Pašman.
“We fell in love with the island from day one,” Tomislav told the magazine. “We are delighted with nature and the sea and, as things stand, we will not leave here anytime soon.”
Although they had practically everything they needed in the house, it was primarily designed for rest and enjoyment. The couple adjusted the workspace and arranged their home office.
“Although we are on the island, we did really well with the procurement,” Ana said. “We ordered bar tables and chairs for a makeshift office, some furniture, a mini oven and similar little things. And everything came to us. Admittedly, with a few days of delay, but here, we tried all possible deliveries and we managed to arrange everything.”
The work did not suffer, and the couple spent every moment of rest united with nature. Tomislav guesses he has done hundreds of meetings from the terrace of his Pašman hideaway via Zoom. It’s a marked change.
The couple has negotiated a vagabond existence spent shuttling between the U.S. and Croatia for the last few years. Time spent on the road, on planes, in the hustle and bustle — among people. It has taught them to appreciate simplicity and nature.
The decision to stay was effectively made for them with travel restrictions. But the couple said given the chance to pick where to work during the era of social distancing…
“It is really beautiful,” she added. “We are in nature, the internet is great, we are connected to the whole world. We realized that we would also sit at home in Zagreb, so we didn’t miss anything.” She admits that they miss people, socializing with family and friends, but again, she adds, quarantine was experienced by everyone, those in the city or those on the island. There was no socialization anywhere.
All this, and even more, is appreciated by their dog, a Maltese named Eric.
We are not going anywhere without Eric,” Tomislav said. “We started looking for accommodation in camps and discovered mobile homes in Istria. Although this type of vacation is highly valued in the world because it is truly a luxury in a nutshell, people still often think that we are resting in a camper that the old men found dragged to the sea in the eighties.”
The couple owns three mobile homes, scattered around Pašman and Murter. While they enjoy one, they rent the others.
“When we are doing so well, we thought, others will surely appreciate it,” Tomislav said.
Ana has her morning rituals — before she starts working she runs, walks Eric and makes breakfast, while Tomislav usually, she reveals to us, immediately gets out of bed for a laptop and starts working. He only pauses to walk Eric or play the guitar on the terrace.
“We love pasta, tonight I prepare kiflice, and the other day I even made cream puffs,” Ana said. On a good day, they’ll spread out on the terrace as pine needles drop from the trees. Evenings can get a bit chilly.
“But here it seems like everything was made just right for us,” Ana said. “We’re connected to nature and the entire world at the same time.”s
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