Looking at a blank Word document to begin an article is becoming less and less intimidating. It is difficult to begin when I don’t have any ideas on what to share, but also when I have too many ideas! My life has been wild and adventurous (so grateful this is my current normal). Blogging has taken a backseat so I can enjoy the present and finish my finals (I found out during the second half of my trip that I passed all of my classes!)

The week following my exams, May 21-28, I took a solo trip to Croatia. When I booked the flight tickets, the plan was to visit for four days. About a week after I booked the flight, the flights changed so I had to stay in Croatia for a week. Go ahead, shed a tear or two for me. I did not stay in the same city throughout this week; this article describes the first half of my trip to Split, Croatia- the capital of former Dalmatia.

On Sunday morning, I woke up early to catch a bus to Split. It didn’t feel early because while I was waiting at the bus stop at 6:15am, the sun had already risen. This was a culture shock to me: in the summer in Europe, it is already daylight by 5:00 am and the sun sets at 9:00 pm (which is about two hours more of sunlight than what I am accustomed to in Texas!) The information online about the public city buses was lacking, to say the least. The most legitimate website described when the bus leaves its starting location and arrives at the ending location, and nothing about the stops in between. Thankfully, my hosts had great timing, and I only waited at the bus stop for five minutes before a bus came. Each time I took the bus, I paid 13 Croatian kunas in cash (about $1.85) for a receipt/bus ticket. There was no app or a refillable bus card, like what I used in Prague and Porto. There also was no recorded announcement on the names of the stops, and I only missed my stop once.

Ok, enough with my boring explanation of buses. I arrived in the city center early in the morning to catch my first ferry on my island-hopping tour! I am proud of the way I planned this tour because I saved money doing it myself and I could choose how much time I spent on each island. Before I hopped on the ferry, I walked around Diocletian’s Palace which dominates Split’s old town. At 7:00 am, the place was completely empty- no street vendors, tourists, or men dressed as gladiators to hinder my view of one of the most well-preserved Roman ruins. There was nobody around to see me slip on the white, polished marbled ground.

The first island I visited was Korčula, most known for producing Grk wine (looks tasty, but I didn’t try it) and claiming to be the birthplace and home of Marco Polo. In the 15^th century, Dalmatia (current-day southern Croatia) was ruled by the Republic of Venice. Although historians do not agree if this was his actual home, it is very likely that Marco Polo frequented the island on his voyages. Regardless, I will remember Korčula as the place where an evil seagull stole the last bite of my ćevapčići sandwich from my hands (a Balkan fast food sandwich that looks like a fluffy pita, filled with ajvar, onion, and small sausage links. Anja, my roommate from Serbia, introduced me to ajvar and I am hooked on this red pepper, tomato, and eggplant spread). Korčula’s old town is designed like a fish bone, and it did not take long to meander through its entirety. The pebble beach and clear water were nothing like I’ve seen before, and the cold sea was refreshing after the hot sun.  

I hopped on the next ferry to visit Hvar. Hvar is known for its lavender fields (I didn’t come at the right time to see them) and for wild clubs and parties during the July festival season. After visiting Korčula and Split, I had a good idea of what a typical Croatian historic city center looks like and I decided to do something different in this town. I hiked to the top of the Spanish fortress, admired the views of the ocean, and then kayaked for a couple hours along the coast. I enjoyed the first hour of kayaking because it was quiet and peaceful and I had the view of the cliffs all to myself. By the second hour, I was bored, tired of the repetitive movement, and frustrated that I kept veering right. When I returned the kayak, the owner suggested that I readjust my grip position on the paddle to compensate for veering one direction and he gave other helpful pointers. In the last hour on the island, I wandered the old town (it looked pretty similar to the other old towns) and enjoyed a cone of overpriced gelato.

I spent my third day in Croatia in Split. I took the bus again to the city center and hiked up Marijan Hill. I learned that natives of Split are prouder of Marijan Hill than Diocletian’s Palace. I hiked for a few hours and ended up at Kasjuni beach. Like every beach I visited during this trip, it was made from pebbles and had clear water with beautiful surrounding nature. I must have walked at least five miles up, around, and down this hill. I had a view of the Adriatic Sea for the majority of the hike, and it was easy to enjoy nature in silence because there were hardly any other hikers. During the hike, I stopped by St. Jerome- a church that was cut into the rock in the 15^th century. There are so many historical ruins scattered throughout the country and it is easy to happen upon some by accident.

In the evening, I went on a walking tour of Diocletian’s Palace and enjoyed the city center. The featured photo on the left is a photo of me touching the lucky big toe of St. Gregory of Nin’s statue- the first saint to preach in the native tongue of the people, and not Latin. While I walked around, I ran into some of my classmates from Texas A&M! They were on a two-week intensive course with a professor for an international business credit- how cool! I took the bus back to Podstrana and went for a sunset swim by the guest house. I packed my thing and then prepared for the second half of my journey in Zadar!