Summer vacation - Croatia part 1
Our last day in Italy was spent driving effectively across the middle of the country, from Lucca to Ancona. Ancona, definitely not a tourist mecca (don't go there), but you may have to as lots of ferries to the Adriatic coast leave from this ugly little port town.
The four of us had rented a lovely but teeny cabin on the overnight ferry from Ancona to Split, one of the big ports in Croatia. My previous research had indicated that the trip was kind of boring, and that food options were limited, so we devised a devious plan whereby we brought a delicious picnic (Italian snacks, cheese, salami, bread and whatnot). Oh, and a shit ton of wine. One bottle each isn't enough, right?
Getting on the ferry is sort of a pain in the arse. We went to one location to learn that we had to go to another to get our tickets. We then drove back to our original location at the port, and two us stayed with all our luggage while the others returned the rental car to the airport (of all places). Waiting in the sun for a few hours was actually pretty pleasant - we gossiped and drank Peronis and I yelled at an old man when his dog peed on my bag. Douche. We were then nearly the first ones to board at 6:30pm for an 8pm departure. Queue us tucking into our picnic on the sundeck and generally enjoying ourselves, possibly to the annoyance of everyone around us.
After not nearly enough sleep we arrived in hot and sunny Split. Split has had a facelift in the last few years, and is actually pretty nice once you get out of the grubby port. We had a great airbnb lined up right near a beach. That day we walked all the centre of the town (pretty small really), doing the sites that Rick recommended. We had a drink sitting on swingy chairs near the beach, and then hit the beach again the next morning for a pre-check out swim. Bliss!
After only 24 hours in Split, we were off to Hvar!
We got a short catamaran ride to Hvar, and here was where we got our first indication of what Hvar was going to be like. About 90% of the boat was young (average age 20), very attractive, and wearing very few clothes...
We rented an okay apartment a little bit out of the main drag. The bloke we rented it from was a classic 'no problem, whatever you want' kind of guy - over promised but under delivered! Sort of authentically nice, but trying to earn as much as possible from clueless tourists. Ahh, he was a character, to say the least!
We enjoyed our two nights in Hvar (pronounced Var, btw, the H is silent), but 2 days was definitely enough. We explored the town, admired the fancy resorts we couldn't afford to stay at, and enjoyed the beautiful gorgeous amazing weather. We spent nearly a whole day at a white stone beach, alternately roasting on sun lounges and then dipping into the bloody freezing, but crystal clear ocean.
Hvar is mostly populated it seems, but the young and very beautiful, and the rich. Lots of Sail Croatia, basically a Contiki tour on a boat, ships stop for the night, disembarking hordes of 20 somethings looking to party. The other main group is the owners of the massive luxury yachts pulled up to the esplanade. There were at least a dozen every evening, and these things were serious! You could see into their private gyms/dining rooms etc from the boardwalk. Suited staff waited to lower the gangplank for their owners. Basically, they reeked of serious money and glamour. As none of us had brought sequinned outfits, had all over tans, or were keen to go to crazy loud nightclubs with 100 strangers, we didn't really feel like we "fit in". Okay yes, we were also sort of jealous of them.
From one cultural low point, to a historical highpoint - after Croatia we headed to the pearl of the Adriatic, Dubrovnik!
