Originally we’d planned the trip as a group of four, with Natalie and Rick joining us. Unfortunately Rick’s travelling companion went and got herself hitched, and so he dropped out, leaving Stephen to look after the ladies for the trip. This looked like it was going to be trouble, late on Saturday night as we were looking for our hostel in Split, when we heard (in a threatening Mediterranean accent) 'ey you lovely ladies need directions?'. We turned, ready to fight or run, only to see Rick bearing down on us wearing a goofy grin...he'd stitched up a plan with Natalie all along (or at least from 3 weeks before).
Split
Unfortunately we had a ferry to catch so we only got to blitz through Diocletian’s palace – especially because we’d been up late catching up with all Rick’s stories of adventures getting from Athens to Split overland, via Albania amongst other countries you would never think to visit. It is incredible that the retirement palace of one of Rome’s most powerful emperors has been so fully absorbed into the fabric of Split town that we ate breakfast in the main gate and stayed in what was once the servants area without thinking twice.
Part of Diocletian's palace
Time hasn’t been kind to the palace, or to Diocletian’s legacy – he was a persecutor of Christians, but they’ve built a church on top of his mausoleum - but I think it rams it home how spoilt Europeans are for history that this place isn't behind glass...
Hvar
Hvar regularly comes near the top of lists of must-visit Mediterranean islands, and feels very much like a rich person’s playground with a harbour full of yachts, some lovely resorts and a spectacular harbour setting. This was our 'splash out' stay and so we stayed in one of the aformentioned resorts (the Amfora) which was simply wonderful. We only had 36 hours on the island and while the end of summer (with an almighty rainstorm) impaired the afternoon of the Sunday we were able to spend most of Monday by the pool (and the rest of it exploring).
A view of the harbour
Hotel Amfora pool and private beach
The town itself was fascinating, with a warren of back streets reminiscent of Granada (although on a much smaller scale). Hvar also has a legendary nightlife, although it turns out not on a Sunday unfortunately...but we still had a lovely dinner and really enjoyed exploring the town at night.
Rick and Stephen got inspired enough to climb to the fort at the top of the hill while Sarah and Nat enjoyed more sun
Korcula
Our next stop on our island hopping adventure was the town of Lumbarda, on the island of Korcula - again only a short ferry ride away. Nat's cousin is lucky enough to have a beach house there and while it was simple, it was everything we needed. It even looked over a small beach, complete with a beach bar and a jetski hire place (which Stephen and Rick made use of).
The main beach of Lumbarda, though, is rated one of Croatia's best, and while it is not quite up there with an Australian beach, it had sand (not pebbles) and the clearest water we'd seen in a long time. It also had German tourists, including one playing oompapah music on an accordian. We lapped it up - we needed our vitamin D dose to get us through the impending winter.
Korcula was the home of Marco Polo, and the town is hugely proud of their most famous son. It is also the home of the Moreshka - a sword dance which apparently shares some common ancestry with the Morris Dancers of England.
Skye (Nat's cousin) had worded us up on the best places to check out while we were in Korcula, and we followed her guidance, having cocktails in one of the turrets from the town wall and fantastic dinner.
A long way from home
Our last day on Korcula dawned gray, so we decided go get on our bikes - literally...fortunately the island is covered with bike tracks so we could ride to our hearts content.
Rick and Stephen rode up to Zrnovo - an epic climb
Dubronik was a competitor town to Venice during the 16th century, and was fiercely independent. In order to keep this independence it had built a tremendous wall around the perimeter - walking around it took us the best part of the morning. It was a brilliant city to visit, and we weren't the only people to find that - the city was crammed with people. It had been shelled by the Serbs in 1992, but you wouldn't know it today so rapid has been the re-building.
A tip we (or Rick, really) discovered - the best view of the city is from up the hill. Given that the cable car was destroyed in the civil war, the top of the hill is you can climb a bit of the way up to a lookout and get much the same view by going up Bernarda Shawa Street - Bernard Shaw was famous for saying 'If you want to see heaven on earth, visit Dubrovnik'. He was right, and it was a shame to leave...
The view from the top of Bernarda Shawa Street
On the wall
A couple we'd sat next to at dinner in Korcula had pointed us in the direction of a bar perched neatly on the outside of the walls, which was definitely worth checking out.
Relaxing by the 'hole in the wall' bar
The view from the neighbouring fort
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