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.