Saturday 7^th April

 

We go home this evening and on the spur of the moment as we drag our cases to the main hotel we decide to leave on the next bus for Split and not trek the long hill down only to come up again later. Our flight doesn’t leave until after 9 and we have the whole day to look around Trogir and maybe Ciovo both linked by bridges so no boat today!

We catch the bus at 10, cases stowed in the special hold underneath. At the bus station we leave our cases at the left luggage place by the airport bus stop. This is open till 9pm at 5 kunar the first hour and 1½ kunar every hour after. Split was heaving with people especially around the markets which looked enticingly interesting. It is a Saint’s Day and a tannoy sends what sounds like a religious message across the crowds.

Lonely Planet had said to take bus number 1 to Trogir but there were no buses here so we walked further into town where we learnt that the bus station for Trogir was quite a way further up and a number 37 bus.

It took nearly an hour of slow moving, picking up at every stop ridiculously close to one another, mainly through housing. It was nice to hear English voices and a little girl singing the wheels on the bus and we saw the family again in the queue for the plane home. We passed by industry and derelict factories. The bus drove by the airport and on for another 5 miles when the bus would leave Trogir back to Split. There were frequent buses both ways.

Trogir is a listed UNESCO site and most of it is on an island, walled and with 2 gates. We crossed a short bridge to it. The water here seemed more like a moat.

 You can see that tourism is important here as there are many restaurants with front of house people touting for trade. We settled for one selling” craft beer” though this was perhaps a clever ploy as we had had the beer in several places previously. We liked it anyway. We had pasta dishes and salad and sitting by the harbour the wind was really cooling us down. We had been extremely hot.

 

 

Ciovo is on the opposite bank and cruisers and sailing ships are anchored both sides. Above us aeroplanes take off and come down for landing which makes it a little noisy.

We walk over the bridge to Ciovo. Only when we have walked several miles do we realise how big it is. Most buildings are apartments for holiday makers.  It is pretty and the houses have charm but the roads are so busy particularly with motor bikes, even down narrow alleyways we thought for pedestrians only. It is probably more than 20 miles round and we had had enough of the traffic with no footpaths by the road! We went back to Trogir.

We walked towards Kamerlengo Castle on the SW corner. Built by the Venetians about 1430 it is imposing with high walls facing the sea. It wasn’t open but perhaps it will be in high season. The views from the top are supposed to be splendid.  The castle used to be connected to St Mark’s tower which was to be used in defence of the strip of water between island and mainland- artillery was installed on the circular top. Now the area between the 2 buildings is a sports field.

Bits of shiny stones protruded through the gravel paths and I tripped. My sandals have a rocking base supposed to be good for posture but unfortunately in trying to correct my balance I actually fell forwards more to my embarrassment with only a little grazing. I did jar my jaw though and for several days my bite was altered which was weird!

We walked through a sort of park where green lizards sunning themselves, skittered back to the shelter of the rocky wall underneath as we threw shadows over them. There must be hundreds here. I needed to clean up my hands and check I wasn’t bleeding but we didn’t see public loos. I asked a café worker if I bought an ice cream could I wash my hands first. It was a lovely ice with cherries and under £1 and luckily there wasn’t much blood!

In the square there were young men wearing traditional dress. I think they were waiting for enough tourists to gather. They were singers and their CDs were on show. They didn’t seem very enthusiastic though and we never heard them while we were on Trogir which is small enough wherever you are. Above the “stage” which is the town’s Loggia, an ancient roof supported by 6 columns, incongruously white washing flaps in the wind.

 

 

 

The buildings are beautiful and interesting, the stuff of artists though Bob doesn't seem to have captured it too much today.The Cathedral is open but many groups seem to be inside. We watch people climb the Gothic Belltower. You can see them through the latticed windows. The view is probably breathtaking but you need plenty of breath to get up the stairs. I wasn’t risking it…

We went around the opposite outside wall then back through the middle. The island had been a little disappointing as buildings were still shut for the winter season. It must be very bad in the summer when more tourists come as we thought it busy today( though this might have something to do with the Saints’Day)

It was back on the slow bus to Split. It didn’t seem to take as long though and at 6 o’clock Split Harbour with the market still in full swing was as busy as ever. I wanted to buy well- made wooden bows and arrows for the grandchildren but Bob said we wouldn’t get them through customs so we settled for cotton Pirate T shirts instead, which really weren’t exciting enough! We retrieved our bags and bought tickets for the airport bus. There seemed to be a lot of people arriving which made us think the earlier we left the better. We only just all squeezed on and I worried the cases might fall out the other side of the hold as people threw their bags in on top.

At least everyone was going to the same place and there were no lost cases. Split airport is tiny and from upstairs you can see the sea. The time soon passed and we were on the plane home. We had added another 4 islands to our list and I have to say my favourite was Hvar near Starigrad where we had the beautiful unexpected bike ride through the countryside.

 

 

Friday 6^th May     Hvar

 

We were up by 5am and on the 6 o’clock bus for Split, surprised at how many people were on the bus. Of course we shouldn’t have been really as school starts at 8 and hotel workers need to start early. The hotel provided us with a packed breakfast-2 rolls each and butter, cheese, pate, jam, chocolate spread and honey and water. Thoughtful! We ate this at the quayside while we waited for the boat.

 The diesel fumes were heavy this morning or maybe we had become more used to clean air out in the sticks. Yesterday we had walked 9 km to Omis mostly beside the sea’s edge. Occasionally we had to go up to the busy road which like a motorway it never seemed to stop. Cars were fine- they would toot a greeting and give you plenty of space but the lorries came hurtling towards you and on a fairly narrow road they came too close for comfort and we had to sometimes leap over the barrier where the sea was steeply many feet below.

The weather was perfect until we came into Omis and the heavens opened so we sheltered under a pine tree ( not the best cover) The clouds seemed to get caught in the mountains here and we often saw them passing lower, across the rock mass. The walk had been relaxing and beautiful however and today Split seemed a typical city with a lot of roadwork noise and traffic!

We bought our tickets for the catamaran, Krilo Star, which is faster travelling than the boat- maybe 30 mile an hour instead of about 6. It cost 70 kunar each to Hvar. As people got on, the catamaran rocked and as boats about it moved I started to get worried that it might be a rough journey. I felt a bit queasy already. It was fine though when it got going and it picked up speed.

We dropped people off at Brac then after an hour from Split we arrived at Hvar Town. It is described as having chic ambience and is popular with artists. It did seem more expensive for eating out and there were plenty of restaurants. It was very cosmopolitan with many expensive boats moored in the harbour. I had the best cup of tea (very large) anywhere here called English Afternoon and with Bob’s coffee it only cost us about £3.50.

We caught a bus to Starigrad which means main town, even though Hvar town has taken over the political and cultural side of things. Just 2 Km before the end of the journey we had to wait at the port for the boat passengers. While we waited we chatted to a young couple from Farnham in Surrey who were staying on Korcula and loved it. They said like us how the winter timetable- until June- makes travel a bit more difficult. He’d left his camera tripod behind and had to hire a car from Starigrad to be able to retrieve it.

At our destination we left the bus and walked past a park where there was frantic sparrow activity and by the terrific noise there must have been hundreds or even thousands. The birds must have been nesting in the mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees as they flew up with grass in their beaks.

Not far from here we found a bike hire shop. At 60 kunar for half a day each we could ride and if we broke down or had any trouble the owner said he would come and fetch us. I left my bus pass as proof of identity and we set of the way suggested. What well maintained bikes they were with enough gears and mine had a carrier. It was a beautiful route and for me was the highlight of our holiday. We hadn’t very long as we needed to be back for the 2.40 bus-logistics again!

Turning left instead of right for the bus stop we went onto a rough track just off this road. There was a very large dead snake in the middle of the track which reminded me that they can be poisonous and I said to Bob that if we got bitten then we needed to take a photo of it as we wouldn’t know what it was called for anti- venom.  The snake had gone a couple of hours later on our return!

There were vineyards and olive groves all along the route. This flatter region usually has lavender for which Hvar is famous. I have since been told that lavender is less popular with the tourists now so they don’t grow as much and if any was growing it would only be very tiny at the moment. The soil was almost orange and amongst the rocky olive groves were the deepest red poppies. There was a bike park with a water tap nearby.

We passed Hvar airport which was a scruffy field with flags, wind sock and a little hut.

 

There were plenty of butterflies( It was very hot!) – maybe an osiris blue though it looked bluer than the book picture, various tortoiseshell colours, a swallowtail and white butterflies. There was a bird that from its shape looks like a woodpecker but it had a crest, black and white checkered markings on its tail and it seemed to shimmer turquoise on its body as it turned towards the sun. We thought it was maybe a hoopoe but the crest was not full enough and the colour was wrong. Maybe it was a crested jay.

 

People were working on the vines and someone sold fresh lemon juice and tea from a hut in the field. A straight route took us to the marina at Vrboska. There were the most fish of all sizes here. We bought cheese and ham pastries from a baker, that were heated in a microwave, then we sat at a bar and ate them with beer. If they don’t sell food then this is acceptable. We believe this is the place nicknamed little Venice because of the stone bridges over the narrow canal leading to the open sea.

Here the children were just coming out of school with models of pot plants and cards. Maybe this is for something like our Mother’s Day. The church bells rang and at the top of the town is a church fortress built in 1575, rare in Dalmatia

We rode on towards Jelsa and the journey became more hilly. I was being drained by the heat. The sea was as green as we have ever seen it but despite wanting to see more of the coast we decided to head back. We hadn’t been aware of the wind but riding back it was a bit of a push. Most days were windy this trip and sometimes it was very gusty.

We praised the bike man for his maintenance skills and decided that lonely Planet should be aware that this is a gem of a company and the ride even more so. Bob had some fruit and I cooled down with a lemon icecream while the sparrows twittered away in the trees above us.

The bus drove back by the ferry again but this time the boat had just left so we hope thelady getting off with her luggage hadn’t wanted to catch it. The route passed through the mountain tunnel but sometimes might go over the top with no indication when. This was the quick way to Hvar Town.

Wherever we have been in Croatia we have seen very little litter if any. Beer bottles are recycled- we saw people removing them from rubbish bins into huge plastic bags and at 1 kunar each on return you could see why.

I was shocked that to go to the public toilet here cost 7 kunar- more than 70p!( more than double that in Split) We just had to have a beer and use the bars.!

We thought we might be able to visit one of the Plakeni islands from here. We watched out for the taxi boat that was advertising a trip to 2 of them. We waited but no one came. Then eventually a small boat came with “taxi” on the side and he said he would take us to the nearest, which happened to be a nudist stronghold. He said he would take us for 150 kunar and he would wait while we walked the island, which might take several hours (which we hadn’t got before our return ferry) This was way over the price advertised as he said we were only 2 people instead of a boat load. He did reduce it to 100 k but we were more worried about the waiting bit. We thought we might get stranded if it wasn’t a scheduled time. A bit later we saw him take a family over. There didn’t seem to be much there but if we had time it would have been nice to go to one of them. The name Pakleni is derived from the pine resin used to waterproof the boats.

We walked round to the Monastery, which was closed till 5 then up and down through the maze like streets. Far above the town is the indomitable fortress. We thought it might be closed as there was work being done on it. Later though as the sun began to set we noticed people watching with cameras on the battlements. They had been so still they could have been statues or ornamental trees until the sun caught in the lens of one.  

We had a meal which was OK but not as good as on Solta. They had pictures to let you know what to expect but then they did if differently so what was the point?

The sun has started to die a little at 6pm and there is cloud but this has been the best weather day since being in Croatia. Our boat left at 7. 35 and there was just time to drop off and pick up. We sailed directly towards a deep red sunset. A fitting end to a beautiful island!

Wednesday 4^th April

Today we would go to Solta which only has an area of 22 square miles being about 10 or11 miles long and 2 wide. We hoped to hire bikes. Apparently many people from Split have holiday homes on the island.

As we waited for the bus, house martins from nests in the eaves of the houses dived over our heads. There was room for us to sit as we rode today and we were glad of the patterned glass which kept some of the sun out.

It was a smaller Jadrolinija ferry than to Brac. It was old and the toilets were a shock- just a ceramic hole- not the best design for ladies to use on a boat! I wasn’t sure my balance was good enough so I crossed my legs instead!

We arrived in Rojac 12.05 after almost an hour of slow travelling. Buses were actually waiting so we took one to Maslinica, 9 km away, where, we read in the Lonely Planet that we would be able to hire bikes.

After just 2 km, up a steep hill with sharp bends, the bus stopped at a village, Grohote. Everyone got off and we were advised to go for a walk. We went to a bar,( choice of 2) luckily with toilets (what a relief) and after a cold drink we looked around the stone houses and their allotments. Several houses were in a bad state of disrepair ( without roofs) but this added to their charm.

 

Poppies were in abundance and potatoes seemed to grow well too. Wild flowers and wild oats were everywhere so no wonder the first sign we saw was advertising honey.

 

The bus left at 1 to pick up the junior children from school and then the driver dropped them all off at their individual houses.

Maslinica was beautiful in the sunshine and so very quiet. Obviously the season hadn’t started here yet so it wasn’t a surprise when the promised bike hire shop not even the tourist information place appeared to be closed or not apparent.

 

Maslinica is a tiny harbour fronted by tiny islets. Tiny fish swam in the clear water and we could see sea urchins on the rock just under the water’s surface. These are the reason why bathers should wear some foot protection as they have poisonous spines. They looked like cute little water hedgehogs. We saw a lizard sunning itself on the stone steps and an iridescent green beetle trying hard to take off.

We walked by a garden with an outdoor bread oven. It was a lovely smell- better than UK barbeques! We were tempted, as the home cooking seemed to be for paying guests, but decided to try for the other side of the island.

We had to go back through Grohote again and then on to Stomorska on a bus the size of a small minibus and this time it was full of large school children. The terrain here is extremely hilly and we were glad there were no bikes for hiring! We stopped at a coastal place, Neculjarr and then more inland, Gomieselo. We wonder what the children had to do beside homework as there didn’t seem to be any leisure facilities.

 

At Stomorska we confused the driver by getting off then getting back on as we were worried about missing the ferry.

 

 We have seen several donkeys, one fitted out ready for carrying a load. We noticed wine-tasting advertised and there are plenty of vineyards and olive groves.

It was back to Grohote again and we decided to walk the 2 kilometres down to the ferry port. We bought food in case there wasn’t anywhere to eat remembering how small Rojac seemed.

We had noticed a lot of similar church towers on our bus rides here. They all had serious bell mechanisms. At Grohote it said that the church tower (only rebuilt in 1950s) and others around would use different peals for important events in the lives of the villagers- fire, death, festivals and so on. A sign also said how grape vine disease in the 1940s affected the population causing massive emigration.

As we walked we were hardly passed by any vehicle. There are no pavements but the views are lovely. At Rojac workmen are using Brac limestone to create an imposing harbour edge. It’s such a fabulous colour in Croatian light. We had to walk out of the harbour for about half a mile to find a restaurant. We had nearly an hour and a half till the ferry left so we ordered sea bream with vegetables and chicken wrapped in bacon and cheese with chips. It was delicious though fairly expensive. We had been spoiled by our all- inclusive deal at the hotel.

It felt a cheat to ride buses here but the steep hills would have taken a severe toll on us if we had been able to bike and there certainly wasn’t enough time to walk this terrain.

 

Tuesday 3^rd May

We decided to do another part of Brac, this time taking a boat from Makarska, a half an hour or so on the bus the other way from Split towards Dubrovnik.

A lady from England (there were many nationalities on the site) who had travelled on her own came with us today. We had been teaching her cribbage and Bob seemed to fathom out timetables well which gave her confidence to keep us company.

We expected the bus at 8.30 but it didn’t arrive till 9 – the rush hour traffic in Split!

The bus is in the style of a coach with cut out seat belts, seats that can recline slightly ( a bit unsociable) and with a luggage hold underneath. It is not designed for standing room and neither is the way they are driven. The road is winding with no pavements and the road to Makarska has steep drops on the right where the bus is on the edge. We had to stand as the bus was full and we were swung about- nothing much to hold on to- and I tried not to look down to the sea below!

In Prague the young gave up their seats to older people but not in this part of Croatia. Eventually after some time I got a seat next to a girl who said she had just got back from Rome after 14 hours on a boat and she lives in Makarska. She was very proud to tell me that she had won a trophy playing her violin. I thought she was university age but she said she was 16. Such independence so young!

Our fare was roughly just under £3 each and Split was a little cheaper. We thought this reasonable.

We looked around Makarska and not seeing the tourist information office we went to the museum which is at Tonoli Palace built by a physician Tonoli in the 18^th century. The museum itself is very small having few artefacts but the staff spoke a little English and they acquired some information on the area for us.

We visited the local market where I bought some strong smelling lavender oil in an atomiser which unfortunately didn’t make it home to England but we had very sweet smelling dirty laundry! People were selling their own honey which looked delicious and there were huge roots of something looking like horseradish which the vendor pared thinly.

After visiting the church of St. Marks, clearly not interesting to our companion, we bought some lunch to share between us. We missed seeing the Bishop’s treasure but I can see that the opulence of the numerous altars can be rather overbearing and often it feels awkward viewing, when people are privately offering and praying.

We caught the ferry at 12.30 costing 28 kunar (under £3) each per journey. This ferry took only 25 cars and is much smaller than those at Split. We ate our loaf, cheese and ham on the ferry. The noisy ferry arrived in Sumartin on the southeastern corner of Brac after an hour.

 

A quaint port, it seemed a sleepy place with only a couple of bars open. There was a bus to Bol but it went just before the ferry arrived. This is a famous beach depicted on a lot of the tourist guides.

We walked out to the east where old sailing ships were being renovated in a traditional way at a boat yard. There was a lightbulb on top of a small building that we believe is the lighthouse.

The weather became really hot for a short while and we walked right by the coast disturbing a chequered black and white lizard, a grey moth, numerous butterflies and a huge, huge bee. We thought the palm trees we saw may have the beginnings of dates from the yellow spindly bits hanging down.

 

We sat on rocks beside pine trees watching the sparkling sea. In the trees we noticed dense webs encircling some of the large pine cones. I learnt later that these are from the processional moth and the caterpillars are covered in hairs with a protein that irritates skin. It is unwise to stand underneath speculating their origin as hairs, apart from the caterpillar, can be enough to set off an allergic reaction. Trees have been decimated by these and it is a big problem.

The sea doesn’t smell much of salt having a fairly low content and no sea weed but the clear air allows you to detect the faintest perfumes and some plants have really heady scents.

The wind got up as we walked back to the harbour and as we sat with a beer we just caught a bottle as it blew over in a gust. Unfortunately we had to leave on the 3.30 boat as we would have liked to stay longer.

The sea was a bit choppy out in the middle and then as we approached Makarska the rocky mountain range of Biokovo loomed in front. The ramp was put down before we reached the quay but then the sea here is flat as a pancake. It was 10 minutes till the bus left at 4.30 and we were tired. It was a shame that we hadn’t had time to visit the monastery here with its world shell collection and art works. The bus station is a bit of a walk away from the sea but we made it. The bus journey was more civilised and took only 30 minutes.

We were glad of our “included” drinks and varied Croatian meals of local fish and meats- trout, sea bass, squid, shrimps, duck, pork, pasta dishes, risottos, roasts……Bob even finished it all off with brandies every night!!

The hotel does a trip to Brac as it is so close but they need a minimum of 15.There were only 4 of us who put our names down so we withdrew and decided that we had probably seen enough. We had a constant view from the hotel dining room windows of the limestone quarry and we had been to 2 different parts of the 25 by 9 miles (3^rd largest )Croatian island.

Saturday 30^th April 2016

 

We flew to Split, Croatia for a fully inclusive holiday that was advertised in the local paper. Never having done this before we were prepared for it to be a disaster. It was fine and we managed to see 4 more islands.

Croatia is still on winter timetables so coordinating ferries and buses was tricky. The site of our holiday village was in the middle of nowhere but by the beautiful Dalmation coast with the island of Brac closely in view.

It rained Sunday 1^st May and we went by mini bus from the hotel to Omis, our nearest town. It was a public holiday and the buses weren’t running.

The timetable for the local buses really needed an interpreter. We realised that the time buses are due to leave the depot are the only ones published and the traveller has to work out when they might arrive. Arrival time depends very much on the time of day and density of traffic. By the end of the week and long waits in the beginning, we got quite good at predicting this. Luckily the bus stopped outside the holiday village though this was at the top of a steep hill!

Boats went from Split or Makarska, both between half an hour and an hour away. In Split the bus station is opposite the ferry terminal.

 

Monday 2nd we bought tickets for the 11 am Jadrolinija ferry to Supetar on Brac Island. We wiled away our waiting time by looking around Diocletian’s Palace which now has shops and cafes within it. It was interesting architecture and the shops were quite expensive and classy, though small.  We expected to have lunch on the ferry.

The ferry was very slow but it was comfortable. Only when the ferry turned to go into port was it bumpy as it crossed the waves. It didn’t take quite as long as the hour advertised (nearly all ferry journeys seemed to be rounded to the hour) The only food on board was croissants and the coffee definitely wasn’t to our tastes.

We arrived in Supetar in sunshine. The port was lined with Palm trees and the warm toned houses (Brac limestone is a lovely white that reflects the light) with their red tiled rooves. For some reason the “picture” before us made me feel optimistic and uplifted. Lonely Planet didn’t rate Supetar but as our first island in Croatia, we really liked it.

We bought a cheesy pastry and pizza and ate it al fresco.

The water was the clearest we had ever seen. We could see to the bottom. Someone had thrown in some bread and a myriad of small black fish swam around it. There was one flat orange fish and then larger black eatable sized fish- we only had to reach down…

 

We couldn’t find any buses but taxi drivers touted for trade. We walked west facing the mainland, right by the sea till the cemetery and Mauseleum. The Mausoleum is the work of Croatia’s great sculptor Tomo Rosandic who was active in the first half of the 20^th century. All the memorials looked very ornate and grand.

All along the route was a pervading sweet smell like jasmine. Huge cacti grow here and some have had graffiti etched in their leaves. Birds were noisy with song and we identified blackbirds, wagtails, greenfinch and swallows skimmed over the sea feeding though we didn’t see any flies.

We walked past leisure- complexes and then through a holiday village to the sea shore. We didn’t find any shells anywhere in Croatia only rock.

We walked up through the houses away from the sea towards the main road. People here grew what looked like apricots, lemons, olive and figs. By the road we were amazed at the bountiful wild flowers- rock rose, broom ( we didn’t know it had a pleasant perfume) and other pink and purple flowers we haven’t identified.

We passed olive groves and vineyards. Everywhere there were piles of stones which when we first saw them we thought they might be a large cairn. I have since read that these heaps were made by   local women who diligently collected all the rocks from the land making it ready for planting.

After walking 2 hours we had bottles of “best” Croatian beer for around £2 each. Somewhere else this was advertised as “craft” beer. However they were all the same. Bob had the dark beer and I had the pale which was labelled as not for under 18s, pregnant women or if you were driving.

We went into the church, beautiful inside and out being in the glowing Brac white stone used in the White House USA. Outside is a totally recognisable statue of Mother Teresa. Nearby is the remains of a Roman Villa’s mosaic floor- completely unprotected.

At 3.30 we caught the boat back to Split and as we crossed the sky greyed and there was rain. The bus connected well and we arrived back in time for dinner.