This second part of the trip starts with Croatia, I left behind Slovenia and with it the company I had for some days, now I was travelling again by my own. As I didn’t have time to apply for all the visas I wanted I had to skip Bosnia & Herzegovina, so the plan was to go all along the Croatian cost.
The bus i took from Koper brough me to Pula a small town in the north Adriatic cost of Croatia, It has many Romanian old buildings. The most know of them is the Pula Arena, a roman amphitheatre. I decided to stay a little outside the town in a youth camping were I built my tent. Few meters from the camping there was a small beach, next to it I met some people during the night and had a swim next morning. If you find yourself in Pula and want to travel south, the best alternative is to take one of the ferries, but plan it because they don’t go every day. I knew about it so i had my ticket in advance, the ferry to Zadar leaves at 7:00 am!. the idea was take the ferry, walk around Zadar and continue by bus to Split.
Zadar was the first walled city I visited, It has very old gates, towers, churches, etc. despite the small size, this old city has a lot of history and culture importance. Between the modern marvels of Zadar one should visit the Sea Organ made by Nikola Bašić in the attempt of the city to rebuild the city cost that was very affected in the war. The organ is made of special cavities that are located in the cost and are hit by the waves creating harmonic music. In the same place I found on the floor circle shaped displays representing the Sun and the planets. Those displays produce lights that create an artistic effect in syn with the organ sound, However to appreciate that one should stay until night and I didn’t. I walked the narrow streets and stoned paths and later got into the bus to Split.
In Split I had a nice CS host who showed me the whole walled city and told me different parts of the history of this city as the Diocletian Palace and the temple of Jupiter. Split ia a bigger city and it is very visited by tourists, the beaches were really crowded but i had a swim there. these days were the hottest in my trip. A morning going up to the top of the mountain it was 40 degrees, but I conquered the top, I tried traditional Croatian food and enjoyed a lot the city sights. After split I had to avoid the small cost of B&H, despite some people told me it was possible to cross it, I went in the same way and took a ferry to Hvar, a super touristic Island.
It was a really nice place, with very nice beaches and good environment, as expected it also has a fortress, the Venetian Fortress that would defend the city from the top of a hill, that of course, I conquered. From Hvar another ferry took me to Korčula, another Island with a very different environment to Hvar. Here it was less touristic, there was a very nice place to camp in the forest that you could reach by boat from the city center. It is small but it was the type of romantic villa. My trip had to continue and from Korčula I went by bus to Dubrovnik, the road was beautiful with nice landscapes and sights.
Dubrovnik was really worth visiting, Is the biggest of the walled cities in the Adriatic cost. Its history is full of battles, conquers, empires and mix of cultures that somehow are living between the same walls. It was interesting to find a Mosque, a synagogue and an Orthodox church separated by just few blocks. Also there is still working the 2nd oldest pharmacy of Europe where I bought band aids :). There are many marks from the recent war, but the city shines for itself, literally, the floor of the walled city is bright in every corner. The old city is surrounded by a large and high wall, from where one can have a view of the city and its surroundings. The negative side is that Dubrovnik is a lot more expensive place compared with the rest of Croatia, since the hostel, that was full, to the food, it is costly. The city offers many activities for the tourists and is a must to visit it.
Dubrovnik was my last stop in Croatia, and was ready for starting another trip in Montenegro.
Oliver's Mind 