Speeding around Split (Croatia, part 2)
I had so much fun -- and took so many photos -- in Croatia that I'm splitting it into three posts. You can find the first post, devoted to Zagreb, here.
After spending two nights in Zagreb, and soaking up some amazing food and sights, we spent Monday driving to Split. Google Maps initially told me it'd take four hours, but it was more like five and a half. For the first I-don't-know-how-long (but-it-seemed-like-forever), we were in a 40km speed limit zone. That's 25mph. As Becky said, it was the land of school zones. Now Sammy Hagar is singing "I can't drive 25" in my head...
We arrived in Split and were able to make our way to the neighborhood of our AirBnB, but it was impossible to tell from the street which house was the right one. Fortunately our host was super responsive and said that his dad would come out to meet us. Sure enough, we found dad straightaway, and he coached us into the tiny parking spot meant for our car. Then he took my giant suitcase full of bricks (or so you'd think if you were carrying it) and started up the stairs.
Before you ask, yes, I was a little embarrassed to have this 60-something man jet up the stairs with my 23kg (50lb) suitcase. He was winded at the top, but he trotted up four flights without seeming to strain at all.
An aside on how floors work in Europe: the ground floor is considered the 0 floor. The 1st floor is up one flight of stairs. In this AirBnB, the family lives on the 3rd floor (up three flights), and there's a doorway inside their place to an attic apartment on the 4th floor. It was small -- tiny by American standards. A cubbyhole kitchen; a dining room table seating 4 in combination with a living room -- a foldout couch facing the TV, which is mounted above the stairs; a small bathroom with a toilet, sink, washing machine and shower (around 40 sq ft); and a bedroom, which would be large if it weren't for the roofline stealing valuable real estate. However, the views from this tiny attic were stunning.
On our first full day in Split, we'd booked a walking tour with olive oil and wine tasting. I know, rough life, right? It turned out that we were the only people who booked for that morning, so we had our tour guide Maja (pronounced Maya) all to ourselves. She walked us around the old town and gave us a ton of history on Diocletian's Palace, the old town, olive oil, and a lot of other stuff. She was delightful.
Diocletian's Palace was fascinating! Many of the walls are still standing. There are, in fact, a number of souvenir shops that currently operate inside the walls. By that, I mean that the palace walls were 15-20' thick -- double walled -- and there are shops that are inside the two layers of wall.
We went into the main courtyard. There's a rotunda next to it that hosts live singing (a major tradition in Dalmatia -- the Croatian coastline near Split). They were so fantastic that Becky had to buy a CD after she heard them. She's a talented choral singer and was loving the tradition of live singing in the region.
I didn't take any photos of the olive oil tasting, although I did buy a couple of small bottles of olive oil infused with black and white truffles.
Here's the wine tasting we did, minus the wines. I don't have time to take photos of wine, y'all. It's time to taste it when they put it on the table!
A few photos around the city of Split:
On our second full day in Split, we went on the tour that both of us decided was the high point of the week. It was a speedboat tour of six islands and a few caves. I took so many photos and videos. I was wearing a silly grin all day: speed plus water? Yes please! I'll try not to bore you to tears, but seriously, this was A.MAZ.ING.
We took off from Split before 8am, boating around 90 minutes to the Blue Cave. There were lots of other boats heading that direction, but frankly, ours was the fastest on the water. We took great joy in waving "BUH-BYE" to other boats as we zipped past them.
The first stop -- the Blue Cave -- was an interesting formation. Essentially, the "wall" of the cave is right around sea level, so the sun shines in, bounces off the sea floor, and light bounces into the cave. That probably makes no sense. Photos then!
For reference, the photo above is taken in water that's several meters deep. I'd guess 25-30', although it's really hard to gauge. The water is the most clear I've ever seen. We were told that pilots during the war were able to spot submarines deep below the surface due to the clarity of the water.
Our next stop was the Seal Cave. I think. We didn't go in far enough that it was interesting, really. Our tour guide Merkl (no idea of the spelling) said they were the first tour company to go in there. True? No idea. But I liked him. He was a speed demon. Man after my own heart!
After the Seal Cave (or whatever he called it), he told us about the Green Cave. Again, he said theirs was the first tour company to go there, followed by others. Then apparently the locals strung a rope across the entrance and decided to charge ten euros a person for entry. All the tour companies boycott it. The Blue Cave charges, but they offer a service: you get off the boat that brought you, get onto a boat with their tour guide, and they take you through the cave. In the case of the Green Cave, they just decided to start charging. Our tour guide got us really close -- he was joking as we went under the rope, "that's 20 euros! That's 40!"
There's a guy in a boat near the rope, making sure people don't go in without paying. Lame.
After the Green Cave, our intrepid guide took us to a private beach. We were allowed to swim for a few minutes. The water was 20C, he said -- about 68F. I wasn't willing to go in, but others were.
After that, we moved ourselves along. I really like a fast boat.
As we docked for lunch on some island or other, we saw a bunch of sea urchins. We were told (by multiple guides on multiple tours) that they only inhabit clean water. We saw them all over the coast of Croatia.
We stopped for lunch on one of the islands, having fresh fish and a taste of the local wildlife.
After stopping at yet another island -- we were told Croatia has ~1000 islands (Italy has like 6, which proves God loves Croatia more, they said) we headed back to Split. But not before our boat captain did high-speed donuts in the water. It was like a roller coaster. A roller coaster in which all of the passengers had had a quantity of wine. Maybe our pilot wasn't the smartest.
Anyway, we made it back safely to land, although I was a little sad to reach the end of the day. The tour company shut down for the season the day after our tour, so we were on the next-to-last thrill ride of 2018. It was such a fun time! This was truly a memorable day. I'd happily do this tour again.
After spending two nights in Zagreb, and soaking up some amazing food and sights, we spent Monday driving to Split. Google Maps initially told me it'd take four hours, but it was more like five and a half. For the first I-don't-know-how-long (but-it-seemed-like-forever), we were in a 40km speed limit zone. That's 25mph. As Becky said, it was the land of school zones. Now Sammy Hagar is singing "I can't drive 25" in my head...
We arrived in Split and were able to make our way to the neighborhood of our AirBnB, but it was impossible to tell from the street which house was the right one. Fortunately our host was super responsive and said that his dad would come out to meet us. Sure enough, we found dad straightaway, and he coached us into the tiny parking spot meant for our car. Then he took my giant suitcase full of bricks (or so you'd think if you were carrying it) and started up the stairs.
Before you ask, yes, I was a little embarrassed to have this 60-something man jet up the stairs with my 23kg (50lb) suitcase. He was winded at the top, but he trotted up four flights without seeming to strain at all.
An aside on how floors work in Europe: the ground floor is considered the 0 floor. The 1st floor is up one flight of stairs. In this AirBnB, the family lives on the 3rd floor (up three flights), and there's a doorway inside their place to an attic apartment on the 4th floor. It was small -- tiny by American standards. A cubbyhole kitchen; a dining room table seating 4 in combination with a living room -- a foldout couch facing the TV, which is mounted above the stairs; a small bathroom with a toilet, sink, washing machine and shower (around 40 sq ft); and a bedroom, which would be large if it weren't for the roofline stealing valuable real estate. However, the views from this tiny attic were stunning.
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| Sunrise in Split |
On our first full day in Split, we'd booked a walking tour with olive oil and wine tasting. I know, rough life, right? It turned out that we were the only people who booked for that morning, so we had our tour guide Maja (pronounced Maya) all to ourselves. She walked us around the old town and gave us a ton of history on Diocletian's Palace, the old town, olive oil, and a lot of other stuff. She was delightful.
Diocletian's Palace was fascinating! Many of the walls are still standing. There are, in fact, a number of souvenir shops that currently operate inside the walls. By that, I mean that the palace walls were 15-20' thick -- double walled -- and there are shops that are inside the two layers of wall.
 |
| The right and left walls are original to the palace. |
We went into the main courtyard. There's a rotunda next to it that hosts live singing (a major tradition in Dalmatia -- the Croatian coastline near Split). They were so fantastic that Becky had to buy a CD after she heard them. She's a talented choral singer and was loving the tradition of live singing in the region.
I didn't take any photos of the olive oil tasting, although I did buy a couple of small bottles of olive oil infused with black and white truffles.
Here's the wine tasting we did, minus the wines. I don't have time to take photos of wine, y'all. It's time to taste it when they put it on the table!
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| This is the stuff you eat when you taste wine, apparently. |
A few photos around the city of Split:
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| Apparently it's good luck to touch this guy's toe. I saw so many photos being taken of people touching his toe. People are weird. |
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| Our favorite fountain. Who doesn't love water shooting out of a fist into a funnel? |
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| This is what passed for a street several centuries ago. |
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| I was fascinated by the stones. They've been walked on for more years than I can comprehend. They're worn smooth and shine like gold in nighttime light. |
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| Split at night. Anyplace with water is my happy place. I love love love Split. |
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| This promenade is newer than the old town / Diocletian's palace. Still older than most places in the US, of course. |
On our second full day in Split, we went on the tour that both of us decided was the high point of the week. It was a speedboat tour of six islands and a few caves. I took so many photos and videos. I was wearing a silly grin all day: speed plus water? Yes please! I'll try not to bore you to tears, but seriously, this was A.MAZ.ING.
We took off from Split before 8am, boating around 90 minutes to the Blue Cave. There were lots of other boats heading that direction, but frankly, ours was the fastest on the water. We took great joy in waving "BUH-BYE" to other boats as we zipped past them.
The first stop -- the Blue Cave -- was an interesting formation. Essentially, the "wall" of the cave is right around sea level, so the sun shines in, bounces off the sea floor, and light bounces into the cave. That probably makes no sense. Photos then!
 |
| Inside the Blue Cave. Yes, the color was just like that. |
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| Fish inside the Blue Cave |
For reference, the photo above is taken in water that's several meters deep. I'd guess 25-30', although it's really hard to gauge. The water is the most clear I've ever seen. We were told that pilots during the war were able to spot submarines deep below the surface due to the clarity of the water.
 |
| Seriously, the color of the water here is NOT RIGHT. But gorgeous. |
Our next stop was the Seal Cave. I think. We didn't go in far enough that it was interesting, really. Our tour guide Merkl (no idea of the spelling) said they were the first tour company to go in there. True? No idea. But I liked him. He was a speed demon. Man after my own heart!
 |
| Inside cave #2 -- the seal cave, I think? |
After the Seal Cave (or whatever he called it), he told us about the Green Cave. Again, he said theirs was the first tour company to go there, followed by others. Then apparently the locals strung a rope across the entrance and decided to charge ten euros a person for entry. All the tour companies boycott it. The Blue Cave charges, but they offer a service: you get off the boat that brought you, get onto a boat with their tour guide, and they take you through the cave. In the case of the Green Cave, they just decided to start charging. Our tour guide got us really close -- he was joking as we went under the rope, "that's 20 euros! That's 40!"
 |
| Approaching the Green Cave -- that's 20 euros! |
There's a guy in a boat near the rope, making sure people don't go in without paying. Lame.
 |
| The guardian of the Green Cave. What a boring job. |
After the Green Cave, our intrepid guide took us to a private beach. We were allowed to swim for a few minutes. The water was 20C, he said -- about 68F. I wasn't willing to go in, but others were.
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| One of the few sandy beaches in Croatia |
After that, we moved ourselves along. I really like a fast boat.
 |
| The look on my face. ALL DAY. |
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| My Buddy also likes waterfront tours. |
As we docked for lunch on some island or other, we saw a bunch of sea urchins. We were told (by multiple guides on multiple tours) that they only inhabit clean water. We saw them all over the coast of Croatia.
 |
| I heard repeatedly that sea urchins only live in clear, unpolluted water |
We stopped for lunch on one of the islands, having fresh fish and a taste of the local wildlife.
 |
| We each tried a little bit of this sea urchin. It was still moving. Apparently I am a Klingon. And possibly a terrible person. |
After stopping at yet another island -- we were told Croatia has ~1000 islands (Italy has like 6, which proves God loves Croatia more, they said) we headed back to Split. But not before our boat captain did high-speed donuts in the water. It was like a roller coaster. A roller coaster in which all of the passengers had had a quantity of wine. Maybe our pilot wasn't the smartest.
Anyway, we made it back safely to land, although I was a little sad to reach the end of the day. The tour company shut down for the season the day after our tour, so we were on the next-to-last thrill ride of 2018. It was such a fun time! This was truly a memorable day. I'd happily do this tour again.
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