Split was next on the list. I hadn't really heard much about the place other than it was on the coast, and to be honest that sold it for me. A very tedious bus journey from Plitvice dropped me at Split harbour. It's not so much a city as a large town so I was being eased back into tourist life after relaxing at the park. I bumped into an Aussie chap that I'd met in Berlin so we decided to go for a walk the next day up to an observation point. Another amazing view and another mistake wearing flip flops as the whole thing took nearly 4 hours. I'd been told about a small monastery that was built into the rock face so decided to check that out. I wandered through the small archway that seemed to lead to the front door through a small courtyard. Having checked the door and found it locked I turned to head back down. Something had been hiding in the undergrowth in the corner of the courtyard and took unkindly to me being there. I'm fairly sure it was a lizard of some kind but I'd just heard that snakes were common around here and I wasn't keen on finding out. Whatever it was scared the absolute bejesus out of me, and I fear I must have let out a rather unmanly squeal, much to the amusement of Aussie guy and now the large tour of people who'd gathered at the steps. In the confusion of it all my left flip flop parted ways with my foot and as I was in an exceptionally keen mood to leave the scene I was already at the bottom of the stairs before I really noticed. I had to go back. I slowly and quietly hopped one flip-flopped up towards the courtyard and as I got to the top, there my second flip flop lay. I was close. As I got it wrapped around my big toe, the fear inducing keeper of the monastery gate made another appearance. It was a tiny lizard, about 3 inches long, and really not very scary. I of course told everyone at the bottom of the stairs that a Komodo dragon lived in these parts, but I'm not sure they believed me because they all went up anyway. They didn't even squeal. Gits.
So, back to town and I had a wander through the absolutely massive street markets that seem to be everywhere. From pineapples to small wooden donkeys, you'll find it. I bought a donkey.
I'd heard that a beach on the nearby island of Brać was worth checking out and it just so happened that I knew some people that were over there so I took a ferry and went to stay for a couple of nights. After the ferry I fluked a really cheap taxi with 7 other people down to Bol, which is where the beach is. Now, a lot of places here in Croatia are Unesco Heritage sites which means they have to adhere to strict rules and regs. One of which prohibits excessive signage. This is all well and good and keeps the place looking nice, but when you're roaming around ineffectually with a bloody big bag in 30+ heat it tends to get a bit tiresome. I knew I was roughly in the right place but couldn't find this hostel at all. I asked a couple of old guys and they just stared at me as though I'd ask them to explain quantum mechanics to me. So then I asked a woman who immediately shouted over a wall in Croatian. A head appeared. With a monumental language barrier come some interesting situations. They beckoned me into their house to have a glass of water and explain myself better. I knew the name of the hostel and with this information, she began to ring everyone on her phone to see if they knew where it was. I then said that if I could use their wifi then I could use my phone to help. All well and good except they had a very long Croatian password with special characters and all sorts. This was not going well. Between the three of us (and an entire contact list from her phone) we concluded that it must be this place just around the corner. They sent me on my way with a smile and a wave and once again I found myself wandering like a nomad through these beautiful but unsigned streets. Through more luck than judgement I stumbled across a small sign on a fence post and from there I found my way. Thank you, you strange Croatian women.
Afterwards,my holiday within the holiday began. I sat on the beach doing very little, eating bloody good food and staring in amazement at the variety of small wooden donkeys that are available. I definitely bought too soon, I thought. From there we moved on to Supetar which is the capital of the island, probably a bit smaller than Aberystwyth. We had a few drinks on the sea front, rode some bikes around and generally did very little again for the next day or so.
Back to Split for a couple of nights and I did a walking tour to learn a bit about the place. It's going to be difficult to write it all here so maybe Google it if it's of interest, but basically the town is centred around an old ( year 305 ) Roman palace. The Emperor Diocletian built it after he abdicated due to the high levels of sulphur in the water nearby, which were a good medicine for his arthritis. There are still huge parts of the original buildings there. It's incredible to think they've been there for the best part of 2000 years. There are also loads of scenes from Game of Thrones filmed in Split so it's quite cool to try and recognise where they were.
So now I'm on yet another tedious bus to Dubrovnik which is a bit of a change of plan from original, but from here I'm going to start heading North again and get me some Alps. :-)
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