Greetings from Split, our second stop on the Croatian coast. Split is Croatia’s second largest city, with a population of 160,000, smaller only than Zagreb, the capital. Nearly a million tourists visit here every year though, making the city feel larger than its size.
A word about the population. Croatia’s total population is 3.8 million, so it’s a small country, and it’s getting smaller. Not so long ago the population was 4.5 million. The reasons for the plummeting population are both economic and political. Without getting too deeply into it, consider this. Croatia has more than 150 political parties.
Moving on, today’s tour began with a 30 minute bus ride south to the village of Omis. The drive took us right along the coast, affording us some pretty views of the Adriatic Sea. The coast here is rocky, and the occasional beaches we saw were of gravel, not sand, which did not seem to trouble beachgoers in the slightest.
Then came Omis, and all I can say is WOW. I knew they had mountains here, but I had no idea how spectacular they were. It’s not their height, though they’re plenty high. These mountains drop off sharply in cliff faces, the kind that attract climbers from all over.
The River Cetina also slices its way down out of the mountains and empties into the Adriatic Sea at Omis, making the town a great location for kayaking, river tours, and even glass bottom boat rides (the river is that clear). Throw in canyoning, ATV tours, and ziplining, and you’ve got a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts.
Now add a small, but charming old town, and Omis is as nice a little town as I’ve seen in a very long time. It was the old town that we got to explore first, as our bus dropped us off right at its edge and directly across the street from the river. We spent around half an hour poking around the shops and taking photos before returning to our starting point, already tickled with the day’s excursion.
Then it got better. We crossed the street, boarded small boats, and set off up the River Cetina on a 45 minute ride to Radmanove Mlinice, a riverside restaurant. The river is so clear that I could often see the bottom, and it was no problem spotting fish swimming near the boat. The highlight, though, was the amazing mountain scenery. I’m running out of adjectives, so you’ll just have to see my photos. Hopefully they’ll do these rugged limestone cliffs justice.
As I said, we arrived at the restaurant after about 45 minutes, and were seated under outdoor dining flies beneath huge sycamore trees. There we were served a delicious snack of bread, cheese, olives, and prosciutto, accompanied by a glass of red or white wine. Not bad, not bad at all.
After finishing our snack and exploring the grounds we boarded our bus (no boat ride back down the river) and drove straight back to Split, where our guide took us on a short orientation tour of Diocletian’s Palace, a large palace and walled fortress built for the Roman emperor of the same name. Apparently Diocletian was born near Split and had the palace built as a retirement home. About half of Split’s old town lies within the palace walls, and the whole area is very walkable.
It’s also right along the city’s wide seafront promenade, which is lined with palm trees, shops and restaurants, and is about a twenty minute walk from the pier where our ship was docked. Ordinarily I’d say a walk like that is no big deal, but it was blazing hot, humid, and offered almost no shade. After several hours of mostly being out in the sun I was definitely happy when we got back to the air conditioned ship.
It was probably around 2:00 when we reached the ship, and even though all aboard time wasn’t until 5:30, we were ready to call it a day. We have very few sea days for the rest of the cruise, so we need to pace ourselves to make sure we have enough energy to go charging around a new port every day for the next several weeks.
Tomorrow we’re in Dubrovnik, our third and final stop in Croatia. If it’s anything like Zadar, Omis, and Split, I’ll love it. However it goes, I’ll be back to tell you all about it, so stay tuned.
Approaching Omis. Check out those mountains.
This is the square where we were dropped off in Omis. Head down that narrow street and you’re in the old town.
Look in the opposite direction from the same spot and this is the view. That’s the River Cetina, looking upstream. The river spills into the Adriatic Sea about a quarter of a mile downstream from here.
A scene from Omis old town.
Lots of little alleys to explore in Omis.
The old part of town really is pretty.
There was a rope ladder up to a ledge behind this house.
On the river now, just after leaving Omis. That’s quite a bridge leading straight into a tunnel in the limestone cliff face.
Our boat looked just like this one.
They were faster than us.
These ducks were swimming out of our way.
There were a few watch towers like this on our way upstream.
Looking upstream. So beautiful.
This little shrine was built into the cliff face along the river.
I need to find out what kind of tree this is.
Kayakers out enjoying the river.
I was enjoying the river too.
At the restaurant. That’s a big sycamore tree behind me.
My snack at the restaurant. Not bad at all.
We were serenaded by this accordion player while we ate.
On the way back to Split. Most of the beaches we saw were gravel, which seemed to be just fine with the beachgoers.
Back in Split. This is the main square in Diocletian’s palace.
Every palace needs a tower.
And if it’s a Roman palace, it needs centurions.
Entrance to the Temple of Jupiter. It costs a few euros to enter.
About half of old town Split is inside the palace.
Pretty spot.
Old town outside the palace.
Not sure who the guy is, but that’s Michele smiling at me.
It’s supposed to be good luck to rub the toe of this statue. Look how shiny the toe is from all the rubbing.
Michele mailed a postcard home.
The fruit looked great.
On the oceanside promenade on our way back to the ship after a great day in Omis and Split. Now it’s on to Dubrovnik tomorrow.
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