Supetar

The next day gave us a chance to enjoy our island adventure. We rode into Supetar for breakfast, locked up our bikes, and hopped on a bus that would take all the way across the island to its southern side and the resort town of Bol. We had considered biking across the island, but were quickly glad we had chosen the bus instead as it climbed steeply up the island's mountain ridge for a half hour and then descended steeply for the next half hour; we would have spent the entire day on our bikes getting there and back. Bol is known for its beach, Zlatni rat, the Golden Cape. As I mentioned earlier, most of the "beaches" along the Adriatic coast are concrete. Bol has one of the few actual beaches, a thin stretch of tiny pebbles a little less than a mile from the town center. We got off the bus and walked along the promenade to the beach. It was another gorgeous day.

We had drinks long the promenade...

...and watched a windsurfing class along the shore.

Then it was our turn. We were in pre-tourists-deluging-the-area season and so were able to obtain (without a reservation) windsurfing lessons from one of the surf schools along the promenade. The stretch of water between Brac and Hvar (the island in the background) provides a usually calm area with steady breeze -- perfect for windsurfing schools. On our day there was almost no wind at all, which dismayed many of the more experienced surfers, but was perfect for beginners like us.

We then made our way to the beach proper and went for a swim.

After the dip in the ocean, we rented a couple beach chairs and lounged the afternoon away, enjoying the scenery.

Towards evening, we boarded a bus back to Supetar, showered at our campground, and then walked into town. We strolled through the little center, looking at the old buildings, and then headed to a restaurant for dinner. The place happened to have a TV and we watched Greece beat Czech in overtime in the Eurocup semifinals. In addition we enjoyed a lovely set of classical music all evening, which we discovered later came from the next door dance recital.

The next morning we packed up, had some difficulty paying for the site (we had to call the campground manager on his cell phone), and then picked up some food for breakfast and lunch in Supetar. We hopped a ferry back across to Split where we spent the day seeing the town.

Split

The center of Split is a fascinating city to wander through. The old town there is built of the remains of the palace of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. The layout of the palace is still very much in evidence as the buildings that have been erected since follow it. The buildings themselves span many time periods and are built almost on top of one another, many with stones from the original palace.

We checked out the Cathedral (of St. Domnius) and then climbed its campanile, started in the 1200's.

Construction and restoration continue in the city.

In the Peristyle, the central courtyard of the former palace, street performers plied their trade. These men were setting up to sing.

Staying out of the sun wasn't too hard in the narrow alleyways of Split.

We ate at a pizza place outside the historic center for lunch and then stopped by an Internet cafe for an hour to avoid the hottest part of the day. We ate ice cream (quickly!) as we sat out under palm trees along the Riva (oceanfront) for the rest of the afternoon. At 7:00 PM we boarded our ferry for the overnight journey up along the coast to Rijeka in the Kvarner Gulf. We had a little cabin all to ourselves with a bunk bed, showers, and even a little desk. It all seemed quite plush after our nights of camping.