Bog! Bog! Bog!

03.10.2003 25 °C

Dobar dan!

Well I've finally made it to Croatia....I say finally because a) I'd wanted to come here for 3 or 4 years now, and b) when I went to check-in at Dublin airport, I wasn't sure I would even make it here! At check-in, they did the standard pass-port/ baggage check etc. and then asked if I had a visa for Czech Republic, as I had to fly via Prague. No.....of course i didn't as I was only transitting and my final destination doesn't have visa requirements!!! They said that it could be a problem as many Aussies had been deported from Czech recently because of visa problems.... and then phoned through to some immigration official in Prague to check with him/her. Finally I got the OK and went on to the boarding gate, where they called my name over the loud speaker and went through exactly the same rigmarole....so I was very grateful when I finally got on the plane in Prague for Split, on the Central coast of Dalmatia in Croatia.

As far as I understand, there is actually no significant Dalmatian population on the central-south coast of Croatia, the name rather derives from the Illyrian word for brave and strong man...or something like that! Still, you can buy postcards with the mandatory adorable spotty dog from all the suvenijri shops.

I was delighted to finally arrive in Split (about 8 hours after leaving Dublin) and after clearing customs in about 5 seconds (I think Australia is actually the only country that cares about that sorta stuff), I headed into town courtesy of a German tourist bus full of 80 year old retirees.....it was either that or wait for 2 hours til midnight! I had planned to head straight to the hotel, but couldn't find the jolly place (the old town of Split is quite a beautiful maze of alley ways) so had a late night roam about the marble-paved remnants of Diocletian's palace, admiring the ancient alley-ways, columns, arches and campaniles. Under the streetlights, the marble glistens brightly, as though it's just been polished...charming...

After staying in a characterless squat of a hotel, I found a private room to stay in the next day (literally a room in someone's house they offer for travellers to stay in), with a marvellous view of the cathedral, eastern city gate and campanile (the bells of which awoke me each morning at a ridiculous 6am!!!!). Aside from the spectacular view, it was a great location as it was actually within the walls of the former palace of Diocletian (Roman Emperor 245-312AD). The old town is now the central tourist area of Split, full of quaint cafes, chic boutiques and splendid ruins....some are actual built into the remains of the palace, but over the centuries more buildings have been added so the city has an interesting blend of architecture from different eras.

I spent Sunday doing a walk around the Marjan peninsula to the west of Split city. The peninsula is the location of Split city's beachside villages, charming little stone villages and churches, and local sculptor, Mestrovic's wooden life-of Christ reliefs, inside a little castle (the Kastelet). The peninsula is also a favourite place for the Splicani (locals) to ride their bikes, roller-blade or scoot around, and then stop in the little rocky coves for a swim in the crystal blue waters of the Adriatic.

Denise (mum) flew in from Australia on Monday so it was great to finally see her after 4 months of being away from home! I met her at Split airport, and after a long lunch and a mandatory gelato (truly divine stuff!), we did a quick wander about Diocletian's palace, visiting the Peristyle (central courtyard of the old palace), vestibule (where subjects used to wait before meeting Diocletian), cryptoporticus (great gallery where the dude used to go strolling up and down), and Cathedral of St Domnius (Domnius was actually martyred by Diocletian, who used to make a sport of persecuting the Christians of the time). The Cathedral was originally the mausoleum of Diocletian, but after his body disappered from here in the 18th century, it became a place of worship (and more recently, tourism).

On Tuesday wa took a bus out to the ruins of Salona, just to the north west of Split. Salona was once the capital of Dalmatia and the likely birthplace of Diocletian. It was home to more than 60 000 people and n important centre of Christianity for the time. Here you can see stretches of a large aqueduct, a necropolis, basilica, and amphitheatre. From here we took a bus out to the ancient Greek city of Trogir (300c BC) where we wandered through the marble paved streets and visited the Romanesque cathedral, Cipiko Palace (a gothic mansion which is now home to the tourist bureau), the town loggia (with a pretty clock tower and classical columns), Pinakoteka (church of John the Baptist with the mandatory Madonna and child iconic painting), Kamerlengo fortress, Marmont's Gloriette and St Mark's Tower.

On Wednesday we took a boat out to the island of Brac, the third largest in the Adriatic. The island is famous for its marble which was used for the building of the Reichstag in Berlin, the US White House and Diocletian's palace. All over the island you see fields of olive vines, orange trees and marble clumps which have been stacked up high to clear space for agriculture. We took a bus across to the town of Bol, a lovely beach resort famed for it's Zlatni rat (golden cape), a shingle beach jutting out into the ocean on a small sliver of pine covered land. It's meant to rate in the top 10 beaches in the world (according to Lonely Planet) and it is undeniably beautiful - the water is a transluscent azure - but i dunno about lying around on pebbles!! From there we took the bus back to the port of Supetar, (home to a village of stone houses that curve around the waterfront), where we wandered about the village before taking the ferry back to Split.

We spent Thursday morning looking at the archaeological museum of Split, with a good mix of Roman, Greek and Illyrian artefacts (urns, jewellery, columns, reliefs, busts etc), and admiring more of the old town (in between shopping) before taking an afternoon ferry across to the island of Hvar, where we are now....

Some things I've learnt about Croatia since I've been here.....when someone greets you with "Bog", they are actually saying hello, not telling you to find the nearest public toilet. The word for pig is "svinjska" (just like swine!) and very useful if you don't eat piggy. No-one seems to ever eat here.....you can go from cafe to cafe to cafe, and people are just drinking....pivo (beer), kava mijelko (like a macchiato and very very potent), or caj (tea), which is why the locals are so damn skinny!! When they do actually eat, it's always very healthfully cooked fish or pizza (delicate base, no oil, plenty of veges).

What else, the young men are much better looking than the lads in Ireland, though i think all the men over 50 have names like Sergio, Damir and Stavros (just the open shirt, hairy chest, bejewelled fingers look - reminiscent of Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast). The best mode of transport is the Vespa.....And everyone is obsessed with soccer!!!! I think a dislike of soccer here would be a ticket to social ostracision....you'd be a complete leper.

Anyway, Hvar town is a lovely Adriatic resort town full of international sailing boats, German tourists (everyone presumes we're German!!) with overly sun-tanned skin and dowdy 1980s swimsuits, waterfront cafes and pizzerias, and stalls selling lavender.......

Will finish this up later....

need to go grab some lunch (pizza and icecream) before heading out on the afternoon ferry to Korcula island...

Ciao!

Belinda