June 25, 2019
The coastal road between Dubrovnik and Split is just breathtaking! A curvy two lane road that winds along the edge of cliffs with the beautiful Adriatic alongside you. There are also many areas with pine trees so you’ll smell the scent of pine mixed in with the fresh sea air. I usually don’t like roads like this, they make me nervous but for some reason I’m totally content and enjoying the ride. Pepo, my driver, is good company and drives this road every day so his high speed isn’t bothering me.
We crossed the border into Bosnia-Herzegovina and stopped for coffee. There was a cafe with a beautiful terrace over a harbor. We stretched our legs and had some good strong coffee. The drive between Dubrovnik and Split is about 3-4 hours and can be longer depending on the border crossings. You have to go from Croatia, cross the border into Bosnia then cross back into Croatia. Luckily we didn’t wait more than 15 minutes at each crossing-good timing I guess. Croatia is building a bridge from the mainland across a waterway to their peninsula that juts out close to the Bosnian Coast. We could see all the construction and when it’s finished it will make it so much easier to go from Dubrovnik to Split-no border crossings.
Wow it’s hot! There’s a heat wave in all of Europe right now. While I had fun staying in Kotor and Dubrovnik, I am relieved to get on a boat! I am cruising with Katarina Line Cruises, a Croatian company that I have done business with for my clients. They have great itineraries and have been in business almost 30 years. You really need to see the Dalmatian Islands from a yacht. Taking days trips by ferry is tiring and no fun. We boarded the MS Maritimo, a beautiful boat that has 19 cabins with a max of 38 passengers – we were 24 travel agents on this trip. It’s always so exciting to board and explore!
I unpacked quickly and love my cabin! There’s so much room and it’s cool and quiet. Nice to stay in one place for 5 days.
Now off to explore Split for a few hours before we all meet up at 5pm for the first time.
In the fourth century, Roman emperor Diocletian retired and built a residence for his retirement in his native Dalmatia. When Rome fell, the palace was abandoned. Eventually, a medieval town built up from the abandoned palace. Today the maze of narrow alleys, which were Diocletian’s actual hallways, make up the core of Split. The residents of Split are actually living in a Roman emperor’s palace. Diocletian’s Palace is one of the largest and best-preserved examples of Roman architecture in the world.
One thing I noticed when looking at pictures of Split and Dubrovnik was that the streets always looked wet. Either that or too many filters, but I couldn’t figure it out. Now that I am here and I am slipping and dragging my feet over the super polished limestone, I understand. It is as smooth as glass from the thousands of years of footsteps, pretty amazing when you think about it.
Notice that some of the columns are darker, they are red granite from Egypt.
The Peristyle was Diocletian’s main square and still has the feeling of the center of everything. A Peristyle was an inner courtyard with columns that surround it, a place for relaxation for the Emperor and also as a place for religious and other public events.
There are two Sphinx still in Split, there were originally twelve and are made of black granite. both are from Egypt and dated at about 3500 years old. The other one is in front of the Temple of Jupiter and is decapitated. As Christianity spread through the region, they destroyed anything that was Pagan but this one survived.
The Temple of Jupiter and the other Sphinx.
The domed Vestibule is one of the most important parts of Diocletian’s original palace. It used to be the dramatic entry into his private residence. Now, because of its great acoustics, cappella singers perform Dalmatian folk music.
There are four gates that allow entrance into the palace and each one leads to the Peristyle dividing the palace into quarters.
This is a rendering of the what the palace looked like.
This is a picture (not mine) of it today from above.
Time to head back to the yacht to meet everyone. Definitely felt great to get out of the heat. The ship is really pretty and very comfortable.
One of my favorite areas, great to grab coffee in the morning and sit back here before breakfast.
The cabins are very modern and have lots of space and light.
Deck plan of our vessel MS Maritimo
First night dinner onboard and meetup with the other guests.
Dinner was very good, gazpacho, beet carpaccio, veal and dessert.
Time to go back out to town to experience Split at night.
Wandering around in the evening was so beautiful, the city looks so different in the golden light. I sat in a beautiful square and listened to live jazz music and had the most delicious dinner-Gnocchi with truffles and shrimp!
