Today we started to wind our way down back down the coast towards our final destination of Corfu with a stop at Split, Croatia. Unlike Venice yesterday, today the boat docked within walking distance of the old part of the city so we were able to have a leisurely start to the day.
Like many places we are visiting on this trip the old town was contained within an old wall around the outside of which was a market selling everything from tourists trinkets to flowers. It seemed to cater to both the locals as well as the tourists. We seem to have got into the habit of trying to pick up a football shirt from the local team for our son when we go away. Having already got a shirt from a trip to Rome last year we felt that Italy had been covered but Croatia that was a different matter. Despite not following football at all I did know that the “big” team here is Dynamo Zagreb but they seemed to be difficult to come by, as did those of the local team in Split. In the end we managed to pick up a reasonably priced shirt from the Croatian national team. He doesn’t read the blog so I can post this safe in the knowledge that the shirt will still be a surprise when we return. Our trip to Kotor on Thursday could be challenging as I am not sure what the “big” team in Montenegro is!
Having wandered around the outside of the wall we found an entrance gate outside which were stationed two Roman Centurions. In Rome it would cost you an arm and a leg to have your photo taken with them but in Split they seemed to be part of the attraction rather than a money spinner, which made a refreshing change. We had thought that inside the wall might be, well, nothing, but actually there was a thriving town with many little streets leading off in all directions and, once again, you didn’t have to get far from the centre for it to a quiet and peaceful place.
In the centre of Split old town was a church and a bell tower. It is almost obligatory for us to have to climb any towers that are available, although my tower climbing partner, Grant, was absent on this occasion. The views looking over the walled city were great but I got quiet angry at the other tourists there who were insensitive to others. In this particular case it was the camera wielding orientals who insist on stopping to take photos in the most inconvenient places holding up the flow of traffic.
We spent several hours wandering the streets in the town and so were glad to get back to the ship for a rest. One thing we are having no difficulty at the moment is completing our 10,000 steps a day.
Next stop just a little further down the Dalmatian coast to Dubrovnik.