Wednesday 17th July, cruise day 5
After a late night, early sailing and no pressure to go anywhere, the day started slowly with the obligatory scenery admiration session as we left the river and headed back into the Adriatic.
Breakfast was at a leisurely pace, followed by a bit of free time.
At 10.30 our tour leader Ziggy provided a very comprehensive, interesting history lesson accompanied by some great slides that put things into perspective) covering the changes to and in Croatia since the areas early civilisation and the various invasions, colonisations and tussles with the neighbours. He also gave some great insights into the reasons behind, and nature of many Croatian attitudes, characteristics, customs, notable people and national outlook. I enjoyed the presentation thoroughly as it gave a bit more context to my limited understanding of what is very complex, Croatian history.
Soon after that the boat moored in a very peaceful bay (not alone though as we are seeing lots of sailing and motorised boats of all shapes and sizes, wherever we go) for a swimming session in the very clear water.
After the stop we cruised to Stari Grad on the island of Hvar, while eating a delicious fish lunch. On docking among a sea of other large and small cruisers, and many large and small sailing boats, we assembled on the dock for a short walk to a bus parked a few streets away, and took in the views during a short drive across what is called the Hvar plain (where the Greeks and then Romans set up many farms to take advantage of the fertile (but very rocky) soil.
The changing nature of this large island from agriculturally driven to one that has an economy based on tourism, means that the small farms are family run with most of the produce consumed locally, and a few products such as those based on lavender, olive oil and oils distilled from various herbs (sage, rosemary etc) .... oh and of course the inevitable wine and grappa ...sold to tourists directly and in local markets. After greeting us with wine, and then grappa, our very lively hostess filled us in on what her family’s farm produces and showed us distillation of rosemary oil, which is very intense to produce small quantities of high quality oil. Following the interesting talk we had a chance to purchase some of the products, than walked back up the driveway for the next leg of our island tour.
The bus took us along some very steep coastline and from the road we had the chance to look down on little inlets with small beaches, populated by a house and boat or two .... and looking like an idyllic existence.
The road went through a long tunnel to take us to the other side of the island to visit the town of Hvar. Interestingly, Hvar has become a very popular holiday destination of choice, and by raising the prices significantly, it has become even more exclusive and very much the playground of those with plenty of resources. That said, I found the town not nearly as appealing as others we have visited and was happy that we were not spending significant time there.
This bit from a promotional website gives you a bit of an idea about the town.....
‘Hvar is an ancient town with a rich history on the island with the same name. Hvar is proud that it has the most sunny hours of all the islands in the Adriatic Sea. Many people say of the town Hvar that it is a town as from a fairy- tale because its arhitecture, wonderful nature and its mild climate.
From the sea, there is a waterfront promenade strip bordered with a row of palm trees and seven centuries old walls, overtopped by the fortresses protecting Hvar, extending downwards to the town and to the Venetian loggia.
In the centre is a magnificent piazza, a square generally considered the most beautiful of the kind in Dalmatia, dominated by St. Stephen's Cathedral and bordered by the palaces of Groda and by the cascading stone-built houses of Burag. Visitors are advised to visit the fortress Fortica (Spanjola), the cathedral of Hvar, the theatre of Hvar (established in 1612) with the arsenal and the Franciscan monastery.
The nightlife in Hvar is what attracts the numerous young people from around world. A typical partianer day in Hvar involves getting up near noon, having a fresh fish with domestic vegetables and virgin olive oil, then taking a place in excursion boat to one of the Pakleni Island bays, enjoying perfect sea and beautiful people around.’ !!
On arrival we were greeted by a local guide Natalie, who showed us the key sights - the piazza, the nobility side of the old town which goes up the hill, the commoner side which spans across to the harbour / port area, a closed nunnery where they make a unique form of lace from threads from agave, the historical theatre, and the steps to the fort on top of the hill.
Following the tour we had a couple of hours free time till the bus departure time, which meant a yummy ice cream (not the famous lavender ice cream produced locally, but from another shop recommended by the guide), climb to the fort on top of the hill to take in the scenery and then enjoyed an iced coffee before meeting up with the others.
Back on the bus the trip back to Stari Grad within 20 minutes, which was time for a quick shower and head out to the town for a drink with a small crowd and dinner in a very nice, casual restaurant (cevapi again), before a nightcap back on board and bedtime!
10,554 steps, 32 floors, 7.4 km.
Thursday 18th July, cruise day 6
Things were very peaceful for an early morning start in Stari Grad, not a soul on the long wharf or any of the many boats, when I went for a short walk as the sun popped over the other side of the bay. This changed quite soon as boats pulled out, including us in a row of five, not all in order as the one next to us (we were on the wharf) went before the far one, and we went soon after.
Not long after breakfast we pulled into a secluded, and fairly deserted cove for an extended swimming stop, which as longer than usual and saw some passengers take multiple dips, and gave others time to let their breakfast settle before taking the plunge. Once the stop was over we headed off to our final stop - the large Croatian city of Split, and arrived around lunchtime.
Shortly after arrival we assembled on the wharf and were divided into two groups - each allocated a guide for a short city tour - concentrating on the long history of Split, it’s people, changes, impact of tourism etc, and including a look into and over the significant Diocletian’s palace....
I have added some quotes, followed by personal highlights...
“The story of Split is 17 centuries old, dating to the time the Roman Emperor Diocletian decided to build his Palace right on the peninsula near the great Roman city Salona, where he wanted to spend the last years of his life. During these 1700 years the Palace slowly turned into a city, which to this day lures with its rich tradition, glorious history and beauty of its natural and cultural heritage.
The Diocletian Palace and the entire historical core of Split have been on the World Heritage UNESCO list ever since 1979, and not only for the extraordinary preservation of the Palace, but also because the Palace and its city (or the city and its Palace, if you like) continue to live a full life. All historical layers from the old Rome, middle ages till today are still visible and alive in this structure. A walk through the ancient city takes you through time, along the great examples of ancient architecture like Peristyle, the middle aged Romanesque Church and Gothic Palace, Renaissance portals of the noblemen’s houses, Baroque facades and modern architecture superbly merged in the rich heritage.
The Diocletian Palace is one of the best preserved monuments of the Roman architecture in the world. The Emperor's Palace was built as a combination of a luxury villa - summer house and a Roman military camp (castrum), divided into four parts with two main streets. The southern part of the Palace was, in this scheme, intended for the Emperor's apartment and appropriate governmental and religious ceremonies, while the north part was for the Imperial guard - the military, servants, storage etc.
The Palace is a rectangular building (approximately 215 x 180 meters) with four large towers at the corners, doors on each of the four sides and four small towers on the walls. The lower part of the walls has no openings, while the upper floor is open with a monumental porch on the south and halls with grand arch windows on the other three sides. Over the centuries the Palace inhabitants, and later also the citizens of Split, adapted parts of the palace for their own requirements, thus the inside buildings as well as the exterior walls with the towers significantly changed the original appearance, but the outlines of the Imperial Palace are still very visible.’
Having been in Split only three years ago much of what I saw and heard was familiar, and I was excited to find that following the cruise, the apartment for a night in Split is around the corner where I stayed previously, and several restaurants were very familiar. Other notable points are that the age and extent of the palace are extremely impressive, the adjacent old town is very charming but ohhhhh, so busy, with lots of interesting streets ( that look like alleyways) and corners, with restaurants, apartments and shops in every nook and cranny.
Sadly the old parts of the city are getting busier and long term residents such as our guide, find this sad as it is destroying the heritage value of the palace and old town as continuous places of residence for many centuries.
Following the tour we had free time to wander and take in the sights and a coffee, before returning to the boat for the inevitable pre dinner drink. Here we also teamed up with other passengers and set off as part of a group of 10 for dinner, By chance we found a lovely, tucked away restaurant that could fit in the group, and enjoyed a companionable dinner with lots of laughs and stories. And of course good food and wine.
Dinner was followed by ice cream and people watching on the Split esplanade, a drink on the boat and another great sleep.
11,001 steps, 8 km, 14 floors
Friday 19th July, cruise day 7
The day started with a leisurely breakfast, followed by free time for the morning. Two fellow passengers (ladies) decided that the morning would be best spent on a shopping expedition, which would give us the dual purpose of wandering the delightful Split streets (trying to stay away from the busiest ones) and browsing in the many shops advertising the inevitable sales.
Half way through our time we took timeout for a coffee break before continuing with our expedition and heading back to the boat on time, each with some wardrobe additions.
Once all the passengers were assembled shortly after midday, we set out to transfer to Krka National Park. Until this current Peregrine cruise, this usually meant guests boarding a bus close to the boat, but recently the authorities have changed road access to the central bus and ferry pickup/ drop off locations so we walked to the nearby train track and took a very short train ride to meet our bus waiting for us slightly out of town. About an hour later we arrived at Krka National Park. The quote below summarises info about the park, and my comments follow.
‘Krka National Park is one of the many (about 10 I think) Croatian national parks, named after the river Krka (ancient Greek: Kyrikos) that it encloses. It is located along the middle-lower course of the Krka River in central Dalmatia, in Šibenik-Knin county, downstream Miljevci area, and just a few kilometers northeast of the city of Šibenik.
The park was formed to protect the Krka River and is intended primarily for scientific, cultural, educational, recreational, and tourism activities. It is the seventh national park in Croatia and was proclaimed a national park in 1985.
The Krka National Park belongs to the Southern European (Mediterranean and sub-Mediterranean) region. Due to its special position and the mosaic distribution of various types of habitats, it is characterized by exceptionally rich and varied flora and fauna.Eight hundred and sixty species and subspecies of plants have been identified within the territory of the Krka National Park, including several endemic Illyrian-Adriatic species.’
The park is particularly known for its terrazzo formations and for the many waterfalls, pools, leafy vegetation and crystal clear water.... a tad like Plitvice lakes but on a smaller scale. Like Plitvice a boardwalk has been set up to allow visitors to walk up and around part of the lake area (which we did and which was excellent), but unlike Plitvice swimming is allowed in the lowest lake and large areas with food outlets and souvenir shops attract a loft of families to swim and enjoy the location, rather than just enjoy the scenic aspect of the park.
On arrival we transferred to a small boat and were ferried to the main recreational area, where we were briefed by our tour leaders on our options (swim, sit, walk which included the) inevitable stairs and when to be where to rejoin the group and meet the bus. My pics largely tell the story of what I saw, and the daily step numbers tell how much walking was involved including steps! Fortunately there was a fair bit of cloud cover during the afternoon, so with the extensive vegetation cover, conditions for walking were great. At the appointed time we met up with the others, found the bus and an hour and a bit later were back at the Split waterfront.
As it was the last night of the cruise a ‘captains dinner’ was scheduled - including pre dinner drinks, group photo, thank you’s from and to our tour leaders especially at this time to Nate as he was leaving us to travel overnight to Ljubljana to join another tour! Dinner was great as always, and post-dinner drinks gave everyone a chance to keep talking and discuss forward travel plans.
Despite a wonderful cruise with lots of happy memories, a major major damper on this stage of the week was the thought of packing! It’s been wonderful, if somewhat cramped, not having to pack and unpack for many nights! With happy dreams about accommodating suitcases, sleep came easily!
14,385 steps, 29 floors, 10.5 km
2025-02-15