Split

Croatia is fast becoming one of our favourite spots.

FRIDAY 24TH JULY

We left Zadar on Friday (probably should have had more days here). Our apartment in Zadar (Apartment Fifi) was excellent  and to top it off they drove us to the bus station and even walked us to the actual bus, all free of charge!

The bus we caught to Split ended up taking about 3 and a half hours. This bus took the coastal route and had many stops. The coastline between Zadar and Split is magnificent with lots of little harbours and coves and some sizable towns.

At one point, we saw several water bombing planes skimming the water to fill up, to fight a nearby bushfire.

When we arrived in Split, our apartment owner met us at the bus station. The bus station and ferry port are in the same location and is quite hectic here. We had a 10 minute walk to the apartment through a busy crowded and hot Split. The apartment is not too big but in a great location set inside the old Diocletian's Palace walls. It is an ancient palace built by the Roman emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century AD, that today forms the center of the city of Split.

As soon as we settled we were out the door to explore and to replace Andy phone which didn't  survive the swim in Zadar. We first booked a trip to Krka National Park for Saturday, bought a phone for Andy (Samsung S5, no ore trinkets for Kristin now). We then wandered around the town and got our bearings.

For dinner we went to several restaurants but being mid-summer they were all full. We settled on one called Konoba Feral and the meal was adequate and view good. After a drink on the main promenade we went back to the apartment for a sleep.

SATURDAY 25TH JULY

An early rise to get on our tour with a 8 am bus trip to Krka NP(One and a half hours drive away). The organisation was a bit chaotic and it wasn't  until we were half an hour down the road when a Chinese couple asked the guide if this was the tour to the Blue Grotto on the island of Vis! The look on the guide's face was priceless.

The Krka National Park extends over 109 km² with several different areas of natural and heritage significance. Our tour started with 30 minute boat ride from Skradin to Lozovac. Just as the boat left the dock a CCR CD starting playing on the loudspeaker, with songs like Proud Mary and Take me to the River.

The highlight of the day were the spectacular waterfalls. Here you could swim in a large lagoon beneath the falls. We stayed here for several hours, swimming, relaxing and having lunch (also a quiet beer!).

Next we did the boardwalk up around the falls which gave some more impressive views. At the end of the boardwalk there were old mills used to crush all types of grain and some more lookout points. The waterways were filled with trout (no fishing allowed) and we saw several snakes also in the water. There are many different species of frogs also.

There was a short stop at the town of Seblinek.

We arrived back at Split about 5pm and walked to the local beach (about 15 minutes from the old town). It was extremely busy and unusual  for a Croatian beach shallow and areas of sand. A quick swim then back to the apartment to freshen up for the evening.

For dinner we went to one of the highly ranked restaurants in Split called Bokeria (we booked a table the night before). The food was very good indeed. We shared an entrée of Bombilini and then Kristin had a risotto of zucchini prawn and shrimp and Andy had the Beef Tagliata with a truffle sauce.

After a bit of walking around we ended having a drink at a bar, sitting directly under our apartment. It was very crowded and a woman who had a really good voice  was singing. We sat down and the bloke sitting next to us, Simon, was from Bayswater in Melbourne. Instead of having an early night, we had a few drinks and soon it was after midnight.

Off to Hvar tomorrow morning on a ferry.

Cheers,

A & K.