Showered, dressed, cases packed and put out and had brekky all before 7.45am this morning as we had to be in Split to catch our ferry at 2pm and we had a walking tour there first!
At breakfast we learnt that our coach driver, Sacha, had been recalled to Zagreb and we have a new driver - Micho. Sad to see Sacha go as he was an expert driver and a nice bloke.
So we set off for Split along a very narrow road with very barren countryside - scattered houses and towns, but not much else! But Gasper explained that this area had been right in the middle of the war in 1995 and that most of the inhabitants had fled the region - in fact the whole area was covered with land mines which made farming impossible! When the army set the mines they kept no records of where they were put and many people have been killed accidentally. No wonder it looks crappy! Such a waste of land!
Once we got close to the coastal mountain range we passed through a long tunnel and came out to superb views of the coast! Very harsh, rocky countryside with low scrub and no trees (apparently all chopped down eons ago by the Phoenicians). The ocean was a magnificent blue colour and the small settlements dotted along the shore with their orange tiled roofs made great viewing!
Before long we were on the outskirts of Split and initial impressions were not the best, with very old and dilapidated buildings, graffiti everywhere and shocking roads, and to be perfectly honest it was not much better when we arrived at the ancient cathedral where our tour was starting. There were hordes of people about getting things ready for a festival tomorrow and there were street stalls and locals selling a multitude of things! We were told to be very vigilant for pick pockets and so tightly clutching our bags we followed our guide through the huge castle that surrounded the cathedral, and then into the church itself! The halls and tunnels below the castle were all full of stalls which spoilt the effect, but the Roman engineering of the massive place was most impressive! Once we had completed the tour we had an hour or so to wander about so we walked along the waterside promenade that had dozens of bars and restaurants - a quite attractive area and no doubt a Mecca for tourists and boaties that congregate here before heading off to the various islands! The are very few nice hotels in Split and to be quite frank I thought the city itself was a bit of a dump - old, dirty and grotty!
We had a couple of drinks till it was time to board our ferry, and very soon we were sailing on the very flat ocean towards Hvar!
The ferry ride was spent chatting to some of the others in our group, with Den and I having a great chinwag to Gary who had spent 18 years working for Harley Davidson as an engineer! A most interesting bloke.
Arriving in Stari Grad - the port on Hvar - we were quickly back on the coach and along the narrow winding roads to the town of Hvar which located on a little bay between rocky headlands! There were narrow, cobbled streets and very ancient buildings but the town is very tidy and the little boat harbour was chock full of visiting yachts.
Our hotel, the Amfora, was a little way from the town and we got a huge shock as we entered the huge lobby area which looked out on a series of glorious looking pools right down to the crystal clear ocean! What a superb place - top choice!
After getting our room, which unfortunately wasn't overlooking the water, we freshened up and had a fantastic dinner in the upstairs dining room - gazing out over pools and across the ocean to an anchored cruise ship!
It had been a long day on the road, but this place made it well worthwhile - and we are looking forward to 3 nights here, with plenty of relaxing time!