The Croatian Coast

Split


We could tell that this place was going to be good before we even got there. Our plane from Berlin flew all the way along the coast into Split, and we could see the many beaches and inlets that make up the coastline from out of the window.

Coz we were smack in the middle of the tourist season, we decided to get out of the city and stay about 35kms south of Split to avoid the crowded beaches. We found a nice room with a balcony 50m from the beach with a scattering of restaurants and only one mini-market to service the whole village... If it was even big enough to be called a village. Pretty much, as soon as we got there we headed down to the beach to soak up a bit of sun, sea, and sand.. well stones actually... that we had been deprived of when staying in the cities. Croatias only problem, I think, is the stony beaches. OK, so you can adjust to lying on the stones after a while but it's a right bitch getting in and out of the water. We adopted the walk out in thongs then throw them back to the beach technique but the problem was you still cut your feet up getting back out. We now know why those hideous looking "Crocs" shoes were invented and don´t take the mickey out of anyone we see wearing them anymore!!! The stones are all worthwhile though because the water is soooooooo clear. It kind of goes from a turquoisey colour right through to a dark blue the further out you get. We hope the pictures we took have done it justice.

We took one of the many busses 8km along the coast to the nearby pirate town of "Omis". Not only is there a sandy beach here but there's also heaps of market stalls to look around. We took a "tourist train", basically a tractor towing carriages through the cliffs into Canyon Cetina. We were a bit disappointed coz the info on the train showed a waterfall tumbled down the canyon into a deep pool, and when we got there, we saw nothing of the sort. We asked about it and were told we'd have to drive another 20km inland to get to it - not easy when you don´t have a car!!! Still the scenery there was good to look at and it was a nice place to stop for lunch.


Korcula

The Croatian coastline has loads of islands dotted all the way along it, and we managed to stay a couple of nights on one of the larger ones called Korcula. It was a great opportunity for Sal to catch up with her Ma as well coz she was staying at a hotel nearby. Korcula is the birth place of Marco Polo, and the old town where he grew up is riddled with old school buildings and stalls selling various Marco Polo merchandise. You can quite easily spend hours or even days sitting at one of the many restaurants in the town looking at the view out to sea and over the other islands - it's so relaxing.

We took a ferry over to one of the smaller islands off the coast called Badija. It's completely uninhabited except for a monastery, one restaurant, a few deer, and what seems like hundreds of German nudists! The view here (and I don´t just mean the nudists) is amazing and the water is even clearer than the water on the mainland. This place really is paradise. We walked, well bushwhacked around the island, and it's got to be the smallest island that we've ever been to. It's only 4km and takes 50mins to do a complete circuit.

After a few hours on a ferry back to the mainland we checked out the sights and sounds of the city of Split before heading back to our room. It was kind of disappointing getting back there, not only coz the islands were so nice, but also because we had 2 Polish families staying either side of our room, and their kids would wake us up at 6.30 in the morning. Kids at a hostel - what's that about? We spent the next couple of days just lying on the beach coz we're probably not gonna get a chance to do it again for a long time.

Our Europe on a shoestring trek has now come to an end. We've seen and done so much but it's gone so frickin quickly. This trip will be over before we know it. Still loads to look forward to though - next stop New York City.

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