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Published: October 18th 2006
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Vis Island
Vis harbour is really beautiful. Full of boats from all over the world. It was a wonderful sunny day when I arrived in Split . After such a wonderful stay in Dubovnik I was hoping for more of the same and Split certainly seemed to have the credentials. Split is home to the Diocene palace. A UNESCO site but before joining such a grandiose society it was in fact the retirement home for a Roman Emperor. Cant quite remember his name but I do know he was Roman.
The town is surrounded by barren grey mountains to the east and to the west the Adriatic sea and some of Croatias many islands. Inluding the famous Hvar island, home to some of the richest people on the planet. Since I am not rich, Hvar was definately not in the plans but split was. I have to say at first I was a little disappointed in Split. The habour area is nice and all but the surrounding city is pretty ugly and dirty. The palace can be walked around in about half an hour. This time includes being treated badly by the people who work in the tourist (dis)information. I would say that it is just not that special a place. I did enjoy myself
Split
Split and the Dioceane palace. The town is a major gateway to Croatia's many islands. but that was due to the fact that I was with Marta who had left Slovenia at an ungodly hour to get to Split in time. We had fun. We avoided getting rained on, ate fantastic seafood and... well that was really about it.
The real reason for anyone going to Split is to jump on a ferry and head to on of Croatia's islands. So we did just that. Waking up early one morning we jumped on a ferry to the island of Vis.
Vis is one of the most isolated islands in Croatia. It stands out from the rest of the islands. Many of which are within sight of the mainland as they sliver paralel to the coast. If you find Split on a map Vis is the large(ish) island that sticks out neared to Italy than the rest. Geography has helped to keep it isolated but so has politics. Until the late 1980's Vis remained a no go zone for any outsiders. To visit you either had to be a local or someone who, shall we say, did not quite see the bountiful goodness of communism. It was also the first part of the old
Leaving Vis
Marta and me leaving Vis on the morning ferry back to Split for a quick coffee before the bus to Zagreb for a quicker coffee before the train to SLovenia. Phew. A long day indeed. But fun. Yugoslavia to be liberated during the 2nd world war. Being used as a supply and training base for the partizans who continued to fight on the mainland. For us Vis seemed like the perfect choise. Granted it would take longer to get there and we would have to give up the chance of drinking martinis with Bernie Ecclestone at his Hvar island home but sacrifices are sometimes needed.
On the fery over Marta and I were talking about our accomadation budget. We had spent way to much on the room in Split. So we were determined to get the cheapest price possible. We set a ceiling of 200 kunas for the two of us and were discussing eleborate tatics to feign indecision in an effort to force the price down. As the ferries docked we put our minds in loig drawnout bargaining mode. So the long bargaining went a bit like this.
Tout: 'Do you want an appartment?'
Me: 'Oh we are not so sure, how much do you charge?'
Tout: ' 150 Kunas a night.'
Me: 'Um...ok.'
October is out of season so room prices were rock bottom. For our 18 euros a night we got a new appartment with kitchen and private bathroom which overlooked the little town and harbour.
Vis is a really nice little island. After, foolishly, asking for info at the tourist (dis)information the first night we howed down at fantastic seafood restaurant. Unfortunately, the food wasnt as fantastic as the price but we had fun. We were also able to get in the last proper day of summer at the beach. Walking across the island we got to see the island proper. A very hilly rock would probably be the best way to describe it. At a viewpoint there was a cross in memory of all the British pilots who had died in Croatia during the war. The word 'Croatia' had been written over a scratched out word which was almost certainly Yugoslavia. The day was so sunny and hot. The water was cold but swimmable and we spent the whole afternoon on the beach alone with a family from Hungary and some nudest sunbathers. Aged 55+, unfortunately. In the evening we watched Croatian TV and cooked up a meal which was washed down with Vis wine. Excellent by the way. The 2nd day was spent sleeping in and wandering around the bay of Vis town. It was cool.
Cant say Vis blew my socks off. I do feel however that it is the perfect spot for a few days break for anyone. Granted there is know exciting national parks, ancient monuments or insane nightlife. Its just a Croatian island with normal Croatian people on it. We could have easily spent another couple of days wandering around the place. If you do go however. Perhaps give the tourist information a miss. I think Croatians use it merely as an employment service for the rudely insane. Cheerio all for now.
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