Split and Zadar

The other backpackers in the room, a couple it seemed, came in even later than we did. As it was the eve of Sunday, there was carousing in the streets into the early hours. Seemed like a um, lively neighbourhood. I also heard a catfight. The room was a bit stuffy but fortunately there was a breeze coming in from the window.

We first visited the markets and then had a breakfast of fruits with baked goods on the esplanade. I suggested to the niece that she buy some sweet cherries and flog them to her colleagues or at least wave the fruit in their faces to make them envious.

We had until about midday to do a whirlwind tour of Diocletian's Palace. Then the niece has to catch a shuttle to the airport and I have to catch a bus for Zadar. The palace dates from the 4th century and is very well preserved for its age. Diocletian's home town was Salona, just a few km out of today's Split. We tend to associate the Romans with Italy only but their empire was large and thinking about it, it's not surprising that some of them lived in other Mediterranean lands. Of course Croatia as a nation didn't exist then, there were just colonies of Rome on the coast, such as Dubrovnik.

Diocletian is known for his persecution of the Christians, which would be passé within decades of his death with the Christian Roman Emperor, Constantine. But it seems he was a good reformer and his efforts enabled the Roman Empire to last longer. He also retired from office voluntarily, unusual for Roman Emperors. Sadly he only lived for 3 years in his retirement. The story goes that emissaries tried to persuade him to come back to fix the empire but he declined, saying how happy he was in his garden.

The sphinx in the picture really did come from Egypt.

The whole palace complex is part of the modern city of Split and people work and live (and hang out laundry, I could see) within it. So they are definitely not ruins.

We ended up at the fish markets of Split where we saw these unusual (to us) pink fish. I don't know what they are. I'm sure a search will yield the answer but perhaps someone will tell me.

The niece was a bit worried because the bus left at 1355 (it was intended to connect to a Croatian Airlines flight and not the slightly earlier BA flight) and that was cutting it a bit fine, but the bus driver assured her that it would be ok as the airport was seldom crowded. I had to leave at 1345 for my bus but I promised to check by email later how it went.

I reached Zadar about 1720, with a 20 minute stop at Šibenik, familiar territory. I missed two urban buses going to Puntamika, where the hostel was, the first pulled off just as I reached the stand, and I missed the second because I didn't know that number was also valid. No matter, it gave me time to check the timetables in the station for Plitvice NP. I decided that I should visit the national park the very next day because I didn't want to miss the night bus to Pula two days hence in case the return bus was delayed.

Puntamika is about 5 km out of Zadar. It's an area of resorts and other tourist accommodation. The supermarket was closed early because it was Sunday, so I had a dinner of steak and chips. It was expensive, exceeded only by the fish platter we had in Milna, on Brač, but I felt that I deserved a treat after all that hard travel.

The only other occupant of the dorm was a Japanese backpacker, already asleep when I got back. Someone had been to a Gotan concert from a ticket stub left behind. A heavy downpour started just after my return. Good, I will sleep well.