Split Intro

It turns out that the picture I took from the plane yesterday (I honestly had no idea where I was in Croatia) turned out to be the peninsula I hiked around today. The pretty bay with the swimming beach and the number of boats anchored in it turned out to be a focal point in the evening’s conversation with 3 other interesting and informed people tonight.

Back up first: 9-hour time difference from Seattle so I have jet lag. It was very difficult to get out of bed. I cooked my own comfort breakfast and prepared for a long walk. My objectives were:

• Do a long hike/walk
• Visit all the major marinas to look for high-end sailing boats (or expensive yachts)
• Visit the park that both my neighbor and my host, Tonci, recommended

Since they all appeared to be the same route, that is what I did. 9 miles in a blistering 3h40m.

The 1^st marina was a disappointment with no interesting boats but the coastline out to the point was beautiful with multiple small swimming beaches. There were quite a few swimmers in the incredibly clear inviting water. Why didn’t I think to bring a swimsuit?

Here is a video from the end of the peninsula explaining the significance of the 2 buildings.

Then I came to a bay I recognized from the day before.

That evening my AirBNB host came by and we sat out in the courtyard with my neighbor and his son visiting from the US for drinks and laughs. I showed them these 2 pictures and they remarked that they have never seen so many boats anchored in that harbor as yesterday and wondered why there was only one today. I surprised them by knowing the answer.

A little farther along, I came to the 2nd marina which was bustling and full of sailboats. I followed some people dressed up in sailing gear into the marina and out on the docks. This marina caters to the yacht chartering community. Yachts are chartered by the week starting on Saturdays. The rows of sailboats were getting washed and loaded for their new crews. The nearby bay was full of charter boats returning on Friday but wanting to spend one afternoon at anchor.

Observations and travelling solo

There are a LOT of tourists in Split. Croatia’s biggest city is Dubrovnik where GoT was filmed and gets even more tourists.  Tourists can come from anywhere and come in many flavors from backpackers to package tours. To me, the antithesis of travelling to another country is a package tour with a guide. At the other end of the spectrum is the backpacker, this is the approach I try to emulate even when travelling on business. Travelling solo can be stressful but allows spontaneity that often leads to great experiences.

When I went down to the harbor last night to watch the sunset (getting lost 3 times in the maze of old Split), the tourists of all spectrums that I spoke to and overheard were dominated by Americans first and then by Germans. I heard more native Americans in Split than I do in on the docks in my hometown of Kirkland on a sunny evening. Not a bad thing, just an observation. I doubt that any of the tourists of many nationalities here spent their 1^st day in Croatia doing a hike that is not on the tourist map. That is just my travel style. The next day I felt a slight guilt for not fulfilling my civic duty as a tourist, so I bought a hat for HKR60 and quickly walked through Split’s highlight castles, churches and beautiful streets. It really is a spectacular place and is on the UNESCO list.