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| The Azimut |
This week marked our first foray into Dalmatia, probably the most famous region of Croatia. A couple months ago, Adam got an email from American embassy staff inviting us to join them on a 3 day cruise from Split to Hvar island and the Krka National Park, and then back to Split. We signed up and paid the fee, quite happy to temporarily delegate three days of logistics to someone else.
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| Five Wells Square, Zadar |
We rented a car and took the scenic route down the coast to Zadar in northern Dalmatia. It was a little jarring to go from Rijeka, with its lone Jadrolinija passenger ferry, to an area of Croatia where the harbor is jam packed in early high season with massive cruise ships and tourist boats. We walked past the harbor into town, looking for lunch. The Romans initially laid out the town, so the streets were flat and straight, practically midwestern. When you only have a couple hours, flat, straight streets are a real bonus and we were very grateful to the Romans for that. We had a fabulous lunch at a restaurant Pet Bunara (five wells), which was located right next to Zadar's famous Five Wells, a set of wells built over a huge cistern that helped the Zadarians withstand Turkish sieges. We walked past St. Donatus's church to the Sea Organ, which are modern-looking steps leading down to the sea that look sort of like organ keys (in fact, the ocean currents and waves are supposed to wash up behind the steps and create music, but it was not making sound when we were there, and I only just learned on youtube that it can make music). We only saw a tiny bit of it, but Zadar is gorgeous. Even moreso when you realize how many times the city has been decimated, from ancient times all the way up to the "Homeland War" (as it is called here).
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| Trampoline Park, Split |
We arrived in Split around 6pm. Behind our hotel and the beach was a sort of park (just $2 admission per kid, stay as long as you want) with several bouncy houses and lots of trampolines, and a bar/coffeeshop alongside it so that parents can have drinks while the kids play. We
intended to walk to the Split city center along the coast, but we were lured into the trampoline park and had too much fun drinking coffee and hanging out without kids. We stayed there until it started to get dark, then we walked along the rocky beach for awhile, and headed back to the hotel. It was a beautiful day.
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| Happy Kids, Happy Parents, Split |
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| History lesson at the Perestil, Diocletian's Palace, Split |
The next morning, we took a taxi to the wharf, dropped off our bags at the train station, and headed out to explore Split, and in particular, Diocletian's Palace. Diocletian was a Dalmatian, and he built this massive palace for his retirement. After his death, a city rose up within the palace walls, and parts of these walls and infrastructure are still visible today. I liked the Egyptian columns and a headless sphinx, and the outline of his dining room with some of the floor mosaic was also visible. Adam shook me out of my wanderer's torpor and convinced me we needed to take an official tour, so we did, and it ended up being a private tour. Our guide gave the kids "Roman candy" which was boiled orange and lemon peels rolled in crystallized sugar. I'm quite sure the Romans didn't have crystallized sugar but I didn't argue the point with her. We got to see beautiful flower-shaped rain drains (which a tie shop and a bank built around), the dining room, floor mosaics, the substructure, and other things, which we wouldn't have seen without her, and then we had to run and get our bags for the boat.
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| Lucy in the Freezing Adriatic |
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| Hvar Town and Spanjola Fortress |
We boarded the boat around noon and that was the beginning of my first ever "cruise". The boat had about 15 cabins (ours was below deck) and a dining room, where breakfast and lunch were served. In short order, Jonah had made friends with a very nice 10 year old boy named Martin (from Minnesota), and the girls found a little group of girlfriends, too. Jonah, Lucy and Georgie are completely friend-starved and Americana-starved, so this convergence was very good for our little ducklings. They swam in the still-freezing cold Adriatic, but the water couldn't have been more inviting. It was clear and azure and you could see down practically to the bottom. Next, our captain drove us to Hvar Town on Hvar Island, one of the most famous Dalmatian islands. We docked there, walked up to its castle for some gorgeous views, and then gave in to the children and let them order pizza. That night was very loud. Our ship was the first one at the dock, and four other ships were roped to our ship. One of the buoys was next to our window and when the ship parked next to ours would bump up against our ship, the buoy made a loud squeaking noise. Also, Hvar Town is quite the hopping place, and we listened to party sounds a lot later than we would have liked.
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| Swimming hole, Krka Falls, near Skradin |
The next day, we cruised up the Adriatic and then on the Krka River to Skradin, a town north of Split in Krka National Park. Unfortunately for me, I spent a fair amount of the morning leaning over the back of the ship, worshipping the watery god. Jonah and Lucy were also lying down, trying to keep their tummies happy, but Georgie and Adam had their sea legs on and were perfectly fine. Once we approached the mouth of the river Krka, the water and my stomach calmed. We disembarked and got onto a smaller passenger ferry to go to the Krka Waterfalls, where everyone swam in a clear freshwater lake with a huge waterfall in the background. We walked a little in the park, but the stress of the morning (coupled with the loss of my morning coffee) gave me a huge headache, so I went back to the boat for drugs and a nap while Adam took the kids to explore Skradin. Later, our friend Yasmina, who helped organize the trip and knows the sea, told me that there are only about two days per month of this type of rough sea, and that was one of them. My drugs worked like a charm, so we went out to Skradin together and found a little restaurant that had had a lamb roasting on a spit earlier in the day (the oven was still smoking). We had fresh bread, Dalmatian prsut (prosciutto), Pag cheese, and salads (and the kids had fabulous french fries), and it was perhaps the perfect meal. On the way home from dinner, Adam bought a tall skinny-necked glass fig grappa bottle from a woman whose family produces it, so we're adding another delicious fragile thing to the summer suitcases.
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| 2nd floor jump, Azimut |
On the last day of the cruise, thankfully, the seas were calm and no one had any seasickness. The kids and Adam again got to swim in the Adriatic, and this time, Jonah jumped off the second floor of the boat. Five times. We pulled into Split around 1:00PM. We again dropped our bags off at the train station and went to the Split Archeology Museum, and we climbed the belltower in Diocletian's Palace. We took a taxi back to the hotel and the kids convinced us to take them again to the trampoline park. They really had to twist our arms.
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| Solana salt factory salt flats, Pag, Croatia |
We left for home the next morning (yesterday), via the island of Pag. Pag is famous for its lamb (the sheep eat aromatic herbs and lick salt off the rocks, giving their meat a distinctive flavor), sheep cheese, salt (there have been salt flats on the island for thousands of years), and ancient lace-making. Because the Bora winds sweep through Pag, there are really no trees, just scruffy vegetation, which fortunately, the sheep like to eat. On the way to Pag Town, I took a picture of some salt flats on the island and then my camera battery expired. After we arrived in Pag Town, Adam tracked down the location of a five star restaurant/vineyard/hotel on the island. We toured a salt museum (I was in
heaven) and I bought a bit of lace from an old lady who indicated that she was the maker of it. I'm choosing to believe her.
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| About to jump |
We drove off to the restaurant, Boskinac, and it was an oasis of green after seeing so much of the dry, karst, treeless part of the island. There were olive trees and grapevines on rolling hills, with a stone manor house and large balcony with crisp white table linens. We were prepared to fork over a shopping cart full of money for the meal, which we did, but unhappily for us, the food was underwhelming. The fabulous wine, the gorgeous setting, and the charming Australians at the next table made up for the mediocre food. Our Aussie friends, who know lamb, said that they couldn't tell the difference between this Pag lamb and pork. Since we don't have that many extended conversations with Australians, I mentioned to them the title of my blog. They told me that the word "crikey" is actually a bit old-fashioned. It's not really a cool word anymore, so it's not really used much. Maybe it's a little bit like "gee-whiz!" or "no, duh!". Hopefully, the word will be retro-chic someday; I aim to be cool in every way.
Crikey discussion aside, the wine was perhaps the best I've ever had, and we plan to go back to get more wine on the way to or from our upcoming South Dalmatia trip. Two hours later, we were back home in Rijeka.
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| On the Azimut |
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| An unidentified fruit tree, Hvar (any ideas?) |
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| a new friend Ella |
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| Hvar Town beggar |
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| Spanjola Fortress, Hvar Town |
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| Spanjola Fortress, Hvar Town |
