I’m not sure exactly when the ‘travel bug’ bit me, but ever since I get a bit anxious, when I don’t have a trip planned and there seems to be no cure for it (not that I’d want there to be).
Even though I’ve been to Split (Croatia) before, I was really looking forward to this trip as last time I was here for work, but this time it was a vacation, which meant plenty of free time to spend exploring the beautiful country.
Split is the second largest city in Croatia and the largest city of the region of Dalmatia, with about 200,000 people living in its urban area. It’s an old city and to me reminds a bit of Venice in Italy and Birgu or Valletta area in Malta, because of it’s narrow winding streets and limestone roads.
A short walk up the stairs, just next to Split Old Town, is the hill Marjan-Bene for beautiful views over the city and the Adriatic sea. Perfect spot for a little walk in nature. The locals have a saying that they don’t need a shrink, because they have Marjan.
Had my mom as a travel companion this time as it’s been her dream to go to Croatia ever since I showed her the photos of my 1st trip down here – especially the photos of the Krka waterfalls in Krka National Park. This time we went to Plitvice Lakes National Park. Plitvice Lakes is the oldest and largest national park in Croatia. It belongs to UNESCO World Heritage List and today the park covers an area just under 300 km2. The park is situated in a mountainous region about 4 hours drive from Split, but it’s definitely worth the trip. It is a really beautiful place! The views and the waterfalls are amazing. Made only about a 100 photos of waterfalls…And we also saw a rainbow from the top of one waterfall! Gorgeous!
Even though May is not a high season, the park was very crowded, so at times it was a bit difficult to actually enjoy the scenery as there were herds of people coming from every direction. I wonder what the place would feel like if I’d be wandering between the hundreds of waterfalls by myself. I definitely want to go back there someday in autumn, because it sure must look absolutely amazing when all the trees change their colours. Compared to Krka, Plitvice is definitely grander, but Krka National Park is also a very beautiful place to visit and to me felt a bit calmer, as there weren’t as many people – one could actually see the waterfalls and take pictures without staying in line.
We also spent a day in Dubrovnik. However, to get to Dubrovnik, we had to cross the border of Bosnia-Hertzegovina twice. First to get to Bosnia-Herzegovina and then about 10-15 minutes drive later a 2nd time to get back to Croatia, as if you look at the map, there’s about a 15-20 km long strip you’ll have to drive through to get back to Croatia. We had a stop there in a little town called Neum, so now I also get to cross Bosnia-Herzegovina off the list of countries I’ve visited as my feet have actually touched the ground there.
Dubrovnik has a lovely little Old Town, but oh so crowded. Of course, wherever you went, whether in Split or Dubrovnik, there was the “shadow” of Game of Thrones lingering behind you as many scenes of the series were filmed in Croatia. So on every other corner you could see signs like “Game of Thrones walking tour” or “King’s Landing” or Game of Thrones museum or Game of Thrones souvenir shop (which I must say is seriously overpriced – a simple mug with a simple Game of Thrones text cost at least 4 times as much as a regular souvenir mug – and people buy these!). Having seen only about half an episode, didn’t really know what the fuss was about. Silly me..
The Croatians also seem to have a thing with statues. In Split, behind the Diocletian’s Palace, is a statue that is supposed to bring you good luck if you touch his toe. And in Dubrovnik, near the cathedral in the Old Town, there’s another one of which nose you have to touch to bring you good luck. And yes of course I did so. One can never have too much of good luck! Most probably there’s a candid camera somewhere and the locals just entertain themselves, looking at tourists posing and touching the toe or the nose of the statues..
Being the “crazy cat lady”, I said hello to all of the cats I crossed paths with (and there were many!). They seemed super chilled, just running their daily errands. Seems like the locals care about them as there were water bowls on the streets for them and also many people fed them as the cats keep the population of mice and rats down in the city. On one end of the main alley in Split Old Town there were about 20 stray cats in one place (in a so called “cat garden”) and an old man was sitting with them. I don’t know if he goes there every day to hang out with the cats, but whenever I passed by there, he was there feeding them. And the cats seemed to be very comfortable with him as none of them were more than a couple of meters away from him. He didn’t speak much English, but was happy to tell me that there were 4 new baby kittens hiding in the bushes. :)
Oh and apparently there’s a beach in Split, where dogs are lifeguards wearing actual lifeguard vests and all. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to go there to check them out this time as I found out about it too late, but next time I’ll be sure to find the place. The beach is supposed to be located right opposite the Hotel Zagreb in Split, about 15 minutes drive from Split Old Town.
Someone once told me that the best cure for stress is to go somewhere, where the sound of the waves is louder than the sound of your thoughts. I find it to be very true. I always love spending a whole day at the sea whenever I travel. It’s like the sea air resets your mind and makes you feel refreshed. There’s a Croatian saying that if you put your hand in the sea, you’re connected to the whole world. I think it’s beautiful.
This time we hopped on a speedboat from Split that took us to different islands of the Adriatic sea. First stop was Biševo island, where we changed to a smaller boat that took us inside the Blue cave. We had to change boats, because the entrance to the cave is really low, so only special boats could enter there. On a sunny day the sun passing through an underwater opening illuminate the cave with a luminous blue light, which makes it really beautiful. The water is crystal clear and you can see all the little fish swimming underneath, not the slightest bit afraid of the boats.
Next stop was Komiža town on Vis island. The musical Mamma Mia was filmed there a couple of years ago, so want to guess what song was blasting out of the speakers of the boat while we drove off there?! Yes, it was “Mamma Mia” by ABBA and then the rest of their album as well…
Stiniva Bay was another beautiful spot, which unfortunately was over-crowded and that took away much of its natural beauty. As the bay is under environmental protection, boats could only drive up to it, but not park there. However many smaller boats were still parked on the shore of this tiny beach, which is a shame.
Next stop on our tour was the Blue Lagoon on Budikovac island for a little swimming and snorkeling break. Imagine crystal clear turquoise water and the little fish swimming around you. Just beautiful! The water was about 15-16 degrees Celsius, which is a bit cold for my liking, but nevertheless I jumped in! It got warmer after a few minutes though as the sun was shining bright and it was a really warm day for a refreshing swim!
Then we were off to Pakleni islands, which are a group of small islands (approx. 20 of them) around the island of Hvar. Beautiful little islands, however the name hides a darker meaning. Apparently “Pakleni” means “hell” in Croatian. Why do such beautiful islands have such an awful name?! The story goes that during the war times a lot of ships and planes went missing around these islands and were never found again and therefore they are called Hell’s Islands.
The nicer story is, that the name originally derives from paklina, an archaic word, from which pakleni is derived, too. “Paklina” means “tar”, and in this case refers to the pine resin once used to coat ships that was harvested on these islands.
But to this day no one really lives on these islands permanently. The restaurant workers come there mostly from Hvar island to work and then go back home at night.
So how to know that you’ve been bitten by the travel bug?! Well the symptoms of this condition may vary depending on the person, but the most common ones are (usually develop whilst on a trip): sense of freedom, happy glow, widened view of the world, friends in different parts of the world, feeling renewed etc etc etc. Once you’ve felt it, it becomes addictive. :)
The more I travel, the more I want to travel, because so much of who we are, are the places we’ve been to. If we were meant to stay in one place, we’d have roots instead of feet (quote by R. Wolchin).
I’ve got a chest full of maps of all the places I’ve been to (we’ll most of them anyway). Some of them have holes in them already, because they’ve been used so often (e.g. London). Others look brand new. I know there’s this invention called GoogleMaps, but I guess I’m an old soul, because I enjoy travelling with a paper map (I also prefer reading paperback books). There’s just a different feel to it.
Back home now for a couple of weeks, then off to Belgium for a few days! For work this time, but should still have enough time to wander around and take some photos!
Sincerely,
A.
Travelling – it leaves you speechless,
then turns you into a storyteller.
– Ibn Battuta –
AT VISUALS PHOTOGRAPHY 