Split and leaving Croatia

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We got into Marina Kastela on Saturday afternoon, after detouring once for a quick final swim. At this point, people prepared to go separate ways. First things first - SHOWER. None of us could wait five minutes once we tied up to take a real shower, with hot water, in a big room, without swimsuits (if so desired). Going to a real bathroom. Brushing our teeth. I stood in the shower for a good twenty minutes. It shut off after about 30 seconds, but it was still hot and allowed me to thoroughly wash my hair multiples times, shave, and just clean all the salt, sweat and dirt off my body.

After this, Marko prepared to go to his grandmother's for the evening, dropping Fay and Christoff and I at Split. Luka and Ivana were having dinner with Luka's family here and showed us Diocletian's Palace, the iconic central area of old town Split. I was impressed, to say the least. This place was huge. I was expecting like a palace. Instead, it is old town meets new town. The old giant palace is filled with new shops throughout. In the main entrance facing the harbor you walk in and left or right are halls which give you a history of the palace. While straight through the halls are filled with shops, mainly souvenir shops. We walked upstairs where we got great views of the harbor and some of the old architecture. Then we made our way further in where there are streets with shops and homes, even a ballet going on at this point. It was just so amazing to see how lively and incorporated this city was within 2,000 year old buildings.

We had dinner at a busy pizza place within the palace area - the waiter was super friendly and informed us it would take at least 30 minutes for the pizza, just to let us know. We stayed and had a drink and talked about our fabulous trip while waiting. The pizza was also worth the wait. I swear, I think I have found my favorite pizza ever. Croatia. Every time we had it, it was so delicious!

We wandered some more and tried to book a bus or train ride for me for the next day. We walked into a sketchy area and it seemed like the stations were closed. I don't know - it seemed different the next day. Then we waited for Ivana and Luka so we could go back to the boat; we all passed out on the return drive. Ivana, Luka and Fay left at 4:30am for their flight to Zagreb. While Zoran and Anja offered to drive me to the bus station in Split; they were also keeping Christoff overnight. I think they really regretted their offer as driving into Split on a weekend during the summer is like a torture. I finally had them drop me off and I walked about 10 minutes.

I was able to get a bus ticket to Zagreb pretty easily, having to wait just over an hour. Here is probably the first time I got truly stressed out in Croatia. The Split bus station seems normal - I had walked over to check out where I needed to be and it looked pretty easy. When I came back 10 minutes before my departure time, it was chaos. Chaos. Some genius basically decided it would be a good idea for all buses to take off at the exact same time AND my bus was 20 minutes late, so it was mass confusion. You could not walk anywhere and since it was summer, there were tons of tourists with big backpacks or suitcases crammed in together. You really could barely even move. I couldn't get any worker to confirm that I was in the right spot. I was close to tears. Finally, my bus came and I got on and got two seats to myself. The ride itself was quite pleasant - I watched shows on my laptop the whole time - there was even a charging point above my head. We had one stop halfway to Zagreb in these beautiful mountains right in the middle of a huge thunderstorm. HEAVEN!

We got to Zagreb before 6pm and I was able to book an 8:30 bus to Slovenia. Woohoo! So, I found a nice cafe at the bus station with a worker lady who was friendly once she realized I actually wanted food in addition to wifi. I got cevap again, but I have to say my friend's cevap was heads and shoulders above any that I bought. Still good though.

The bus station in Zagreb has the potential to be nice, but it is so dirty; the bathrooms, which you pay for, are ok though. They do not make any announcements in English, so I guessed when I had to be at my "gate" to depart and when I got to the platform I was the last one to get on. It was a very nice bus and nice driver, but no charging point. Still, I was able to read and watch some tv during the 2+ hour drive to Ljubljana. There were only about 10 other people on the bus, so it was another pleasant ride. When we got to the border, the customs officer boarded and checked passports. Mine was the only one in question and he had to take it to his office to stamp. Maybe some people were annoyed, but I was like "Yay! Another stamp!"

Thoughts on Croatia:

1. Croatians are fiercely, fiercely proud of their country. I don't think I've ever witnessed such national pride before. And I'm an American.

2. Croatians are beautiful people.

3. They love their cafes, bars, and banks. They're everywhere!

4. They have seriously the best pizza.

5. I find many similarities between Croatians and Americans - one of which is them being a little loud and very friendly.

6. There are so many beautiful parts of this country you would need a few weeks to truly appreciate it all.

7. Croatians truly enjoy life.

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