Hoping to catch the sunrise I snuck out at 6am but it was already light. Still the valley view was wonderful and a great taste of what was to come.
Again we took the inland longer route, and it was a dream drive of rugged scenery, hairpins and rural villages. Originally I’d hoped to go to Biokovo Nature Park north of Makarska where there is an eagle reserve and supposedly the best view of Croatia. The downside was an additional hour long drive up a ‘scary, single direction gravel road with limited passing spots’. That’s just one of the numerous warnings from the reviews…Mark said no chance…and I had to concede it likely wasn’t the best option for a campervan.
So instead we drove to Omis, and as we neared the coastal town from the mountains I’ve never known Mark so trigger happy with his camera (sadly most photos were blurry from my driving 🙈). Each hairpin brought a new glimpse of the town as we winded closer to Cetina lower flow (home to various water sports and a zip wire). While us humans loved it, our older dogs weren’t impressed with all the wibbly wobbly driving (Ernest slept through).
We ventured into the older part of the town which is nicer and took the pups to Cafe Bagulin. Being the cake fiend I am I asked if they had any but sadly not, so we just ordered coffee. You can imagine my joy when the waitress brought us free cookies! We gave her a big tip and the bill was still only £2.60.
We then drove on to Split, but stopped at Dog Park Katalinic first. We really shouldn’t have bothered. It was a scrap of land covered in broken glass, with sheer cliff drop, no fence and no doggy friends to play with. Mabel looks like an Instadog here though 🤣
Split itself was a really pleasant surprise. We were both hesitant because of all the high rise flats and industry driving in, but the town itself is an amazing labyrinth of old passageways. Diocletian’s Palace, Saint Domnius Bell Tower and Saint Domnius Cathedral being the focal points.
Well that is until you find Froggyland! This is hands down the weirdest place I’ve taken Mark to and we both loved it. An eccentric Croatian taxidermied 500+ frogs into everday scenes to depict the life of humans 100 years ago. Erm yes, you did just read that.
You weren’t allowed to take photos but it’s a must visit (I snuck one of the circus scene to give you an idea). They were expertly executed, humourous and educational. I’m going to be hard pushed to find anything weirder though.
Another random stop was a little further along the coast in Kastel Stalfilic. Here stands the oldest olive tree in Europe some 1500 years old. The park was closed so I just to jump the fence to give the tree a hug. However karma got me for being naughty, as I tasted one of its olives and they were foul!
Our final stop for the evening is Trogir. Again we lucked out with overnight parking near the city bridge for £1.60 (typically you aren’t allowed to wild camp and sites are around €40 a night!).
We wandered around the town, getting lost in the street maze and enjoying the changing light. Yellow, purple, grey, to night blue within half an hour, I just know my photographer friends would love Croatia.
I’ve not fully adapted to these long nights in the van; though I have plenty I could do. My first thought is to raid the food cupboards, so I need a method of better discipline, or I might need to venture back out in pursuit of ice cream.
***additional mini rant below***
As he doesn’t drive, Mark still has no clue of the vans size and thus likes to test my driving skills. I’d managed to park in Split and was sticking out a little but not badly. Mark jumps out to pay…runs back and says there is a bigger space further up. I reverse onto a busy road and realise his space his smaller and much tighter, but he has run off again so I park as best I can until he returns and I point out I cant stay here.
He runs off for the third time and returns to say there is a parking lot around the corner. I reverse the van out and follow him…straight away I know I can’t turn right into it and it’s a very narrow entrance…but there are big parking spaces inside. So wing mirrors in, cursing Mark, I squeeze our van in and loop the wrong way round the carpark, ensuring I park so I can easily drive out. As we walk out, I spot the no campervan sign 🙈 We are improving but parking can still be a challenge lol.
SofaWolves 