Split

The next day, I got up early, had breakfast, then made my way to the bus station. My Uber drive told me that his real job was being a chef and shared that the Zinfandel grapes were originally from Croatia*. I guess it is just what Uber drivers do, share interesting tidbits about where they drive because I know I sure did.

(*Side note: One of my friends worked at the vineyard in Nappa Valley where the owner sponsored the DNA test to prove the grape did indeed come from Croatia.)

I found my bus, then 4.5 hours later, I was in Split. My passport needed to be checked, checked again, checked yet again, then one more time as we went from Croatia to Bosnia to Croatia. When I arrived at the bus station, I had no idea where to go as their wifi was not working. I found a cab, showed him the address on my phone and he took me all of three blocks. I guess it was OK because I had luggage, but I easily could have hoofed it. 

I arrived at the hostel, was shown my bed, then promptly took a nap. First things were first, so I bought some food, made myself lunch, and walked around town. Split was bigger than Dubrovnik and way less hilly which was nice. I walked around Old Town which was gorgeous. It was like stepping back in time to the days when it was basically the Roman emperor Diocletian’s beach estate, replete with marble arches, walkways, and even the odd Centurian that posed for pictures.

I bought a very large cucumber for dinner and came back to the hostel. I did some research and found out, unfortunately, that one of my favorite films Titus featuring Sir Anthony Hopkins directed by Julie Tamor was not filmed here. I previously visited other shooting locations of this film, including Mussolini’s old office building EUR in Rome, so needless to say, I was bummed. Research fail. 

To assuage my sadness, I concocted my latest drink craze, Croatian Sangria. It is just like regular Sangria except it is cheap red box wine sweetened with plentiful apricots from the Croatian countryside. As I needed an early night, I finished my drink, showered, and finished up Welcome to Sarajevo featuring a young Goran Visnjic of ER fame as well as the American Yugoslav War action movie Behind Enemy Lines. I had seen it when it first came out some 15 years earlier but understood the context much better this time around.

The next day, I went on a walking tour of the city. While the guide was excellent at pointing out different parts of the city within a historical context, there was a much more fascinating part of her tour. Privately, I told her that I have a history degree and really found her tour fascinating. She shared that although she had a doctorate, she did not have the political connections to get any teaching work. Such is life in the Eurozone, apparently.

After the tour, I headed to the beach. It was expansive. There was also a kind of boardwalk with a bunch of restaurants and bars. I stopped and had a mojito at the History of Split bar. Another wash of awe came over me that I was here doing this. I got some supplies for another tour I was taking then made a fresh round of Croatian Sangria. 

I did not sleep very well that night as my dorm mates were really loud and drunk. I got maybe 3-4 hours, but that is what the Red Bull I purchased was for. I gathered my things, then headed to the pier. I had a Croatian island hopping tour to attend.

I got to the pier early, met my group, then took my seat wedged between an Indian couple. Our vessel was an oversized zodiac boat with room for about 8 people crammed nut to butt on inflated pontoons that ran behind the captain. There was some backing to the seats, but not much. No matter. To the tunes of Zucchero, a song that has lovingly haunted me since my year abroad in Spain, we headed across the pristine blue waters of the Adriatic. 

Our first stop was the Blue Cave. Since Croatia had many islands broken off into the Adriatic, this lead to some interesting formations One such was the Blue Cave. On this island was a cave that had part of it drop out into the ocean, leaving a hole for sunlight to filter through underneath basking everything within the cave in a supremely serene blue light. We were taken there by a different boat, and it allowed several boats to enter the cave at once. The crew then acted like Venetian gondoliers pushing us around the cave on a set course with oars. 

Our next stop was the Monk Seal Cave, which was really just a dark cave that had water going into it. We were only really able to put the bow of the boat in, have a look, and turn around. Not sure why we did that.

Keeping on the cave theme, we were taken past Stivina Beach. It was supposedly one of the best beaches of the world. Its claim to fame was that it was a beach inside a cave that over the eons had the ceiling cave-in.  Instead of stopping there, we were taken to one of the worst beaches in the world; dead seagulls, nicotine-addicted donkeys, and sea urchins. Plus, no shower after swimming about and a refreshment stand with prices that were beyond gouging. 

The tour continued to allow us some free time on the hip Croatian party island of Hvar where I took the opportunity to head to the best hotel with the nicest bar overlooking the harbor. Apparently, my instincts were correct as the crew of the tour came to the same bar at the Hotel Adriana. I had a Dark and Stormy to remind me of past times, both good and bad.

After a full day at sea, we headed back to Split. I said my goodbyes to my tourmates and crew as well as offered them some helpful guidance (bigger canopy, better beach) and headed to a pharmacy to get some sleeping pills to help with my sunburned legs. Beer too. As the pharmacist spoke no English and my Croatin was rusty, I needed to mime the phrase “sleeping pill” which was much easier than I thought. I got back to the hostel, finished my Croatian Sangria, and met a dude named Justin from LA that was here on vacation. Apparently, his job was cutting up companies like Thanksgiving turkeys. I bid him adieu, took a shower and cleaned the salt from my clothes. While I was showering, I noticed that my jewelry had given me tan lines for the first time in my life. I loved it. I came out of the shower, relaxed in the foyer drinking beer, listening to music, before it was time to go to sleep. It was indeed a lovely day.