September 10th - 12th
We were staying in a campsite a little way from the ancient town of Split at a fairly big campsite but one that allowed us to park right on the beach. It was lovely in the morning to be able to open the main door and stare straight out at the ocean.
Over the few days we were in Split we had a good explore of the city which was born out of a Roman Emperor's retirement palace. Emperor Diocletan had a palace built when he decided that he didn't want to work all his life and invented the concept of retirement. After his death families from nearby Salona, moved in and some of their descendant still live in the Palace. Because of this change of functionality, much of the original architecture has been lost in place of family accommodation but there are some great sights left intact too. There is the impressive Cathedral of St Duje and Diocletan's Mausoleum which is now part of the peristyle and hidden amongst cafes is the Temple of Jupiter. This is now a baptistery with some interesting stonework and in the roof there appears to be some faces which look slightly worried. There's also a massive statue of Gregorius of Nin and rumour has it that touching his foot is lucky. There is also the original keep, or castle which was part of the defensive garrison which also lived in the palace. One of the most striking things about Split is the way old and new combine. In the main square you see ancient architecture and modern living side by side. On a sunny day it is quite beautiful.
While we were staying in Split we met two great chaps Mike and Johnny, who had driven from Liverpool to enjoy the sights and sounds of Croatia. We spent a very pleasant evening swapping stories about our travels and discussing other unrelated topics such as Ukulele chords, Oasis albums and camper van conversion.
September 13th
We traveled to Peljesac Penninsula and were again rewarded with great weather, roads and views for the journey. We saw a valley full of vineyards and some of the beautiful Bacinska Lakes as we drove along. We were heading for the little village of Trstenik which has a lovely little harbour. There we met up with Vedran who runs Freaky Diving and arranged to dive with him on the 15th. From there we pushed on north to Orebic, to a campsite Vedran recommended and spent the evening having a wander into the heart of the town along the beach. From here you can see an archipelago of islands, and the largest island of Korcula. Here we found a small store selling wine made by the owner. The peninsula is famous for it's wine which is made here. The grapes are grown all over the peninsula by local families and sold off to a co-operation for distribution. The local familes also sell a portion of the wine they produce directly so we were able to pick up a bottle of Postup (named after the hills where the grapes are grown) and that evening we settled down to some lovely wine and cheese from Pag island, just a bit further north on the mainland. All local and absolutely fantastic. Also famous in this part of the world is olive oil, which we also fully intend to get hold of at some point.
September 14th
Today we had a relaxy day by the beach. Our campsite was a stones throw away so it took all our effort to get to the beach and then couldn't find the energy to move from there. Did manage a bit of snorkeling though.
Still, diving tomorrow so I should have some interesting stuff to update you with!
We were staying in a campsite a little way from the ancient town of Split at a fairly big campsite but one that allowed us to park right on the beach. It was lovely in the morning to be able to open the main door and stare straight out at the ocean.
Over the few days we were in Split we had a good explore of the city which was born out of a Roman Emperor's retirement palace. Emperor Diocletan had a palace built when he decided that he didn't want to work all his life and invented the concept of retirement. After his death families from nearby Salona, moved in and some of their descendant still live in the Palace. Because of this change of functionality, much of the original architecture has been lost in place of family accommodation but there are some great sights left intact too. There is the impressive Cathedral of St Duje and Diocletan's Mausoleum which is now part of the peristyle and hidden amongst cafes is the Temple of Jupiter. This is now a baptistery with some interesting stonework and in the roof there appears to be some faces which look slightly worried. There's also a massive statue of Gregorius of Nin and rumour has it that touching his foot is lucky. There is also the original keep, or castle which was part of the defensive garrison which also lived in the palace. One of the most striking things about Split is the way old and new combine. In the main square you see ancient architecture and modern living side by side. On a sunny day it is quite beautiful.
While we were staying in Split we met two great chaps Mike and Johnny, who had driven from Liverpool to enjoy the sights and sounds of Croatia. We spent a very pleasant evening swapping stories about our travels and discussing other unrelated topics such as Ukulele chords, Oasis albums and camper van conversion.
September 13th
We traveled to Peljesac Penninsula and were again rewarded with great weather, roads and views for the journey. We saw a valley full of vineyards and some of the beautiful Bacinska Lakes as we drove along. We were heading for the little village of Trstenik which has a lovely little harbour. There we met up with Vedran who runs Freaky Diving and arranged to dive with him on the 15th. From there we pushed on north to Orebic, to a campsite Vedran recommended and spent the evening having a wander into the heart of the town along the beach. From here you can see an archipelago of islands, and the largest island of Korcula. Here we found a small store selling wine made by the owner. The peninsula is famous for it's wine which is made here. The grapes are grown all over the peninsula by local families and sold off to a co-operation for distribution. The local familes also sell a portion of the wine they produce directly so we were able to pick up a bottle of Postup (named after the hills where the grapes are grown) and that evening we settled down to some lovely wine and cheese from Pag island, just a bit further north on the mainland. All local and absolutely fantastic. Also famous in this part of the world is olive oil, which we also fully intend to get hold of at some point.
September 14th
Today we had a relaxy day by the beach. Our campsite was a stones throw away so it took all our effort to get to the beach and then couldn't find the energy to move from there. Did manage a bit of snorkeling though.
Still, diving tomorrow so I should have some interesting stuff to update you with!
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