I’m afraid today will be another day with little to tell.

This morning I finally got to go to the ruins of the Roman town of Salona. Salona was just a bit north of Split and when it was sacked several times in the 6th century. The survivors fled to Split and rebuilt their lives within the walls of the old palace. Much of the city remains unexcavated, I suspect because it lies under private land. There are the foundation walls of several churches and the lower level of an amphitheater.

I certainly enjoyed walking around the sight. The grounds were being prepped for tourist season so they had not been mown yet. The added advantage of this is that the flowers were still out. I did find it unfortunate that they have not excavated more of the mundane buildings but those also tend to be less impressive. There were also several impressively carved sarcophagi near the entrance.

I was not the only one at the sight as I had originally thought. There was a school group suffering through a history lesson; although I would have killed for a history lesson at the place where some of that history happened. Later there was a German speaking elderly tour group walking through. I’m not real sure how they still had their coats on by the time I met them, my coat had long since been put away.

For the first part of the afternoon, I decided to try the former pirate haven of Omis. A bit further south along the coast from Split, pirates would raid Venetian boats as they passed by and then flee up the river where they could not be followed. The town is supposed to have some sort of pirate festival in the summer because, why not! I didn’t find a whole lot to see in the town so after lunch and a couple of photos I headed to Trogir to finish off the day.

Trogir is located a little bit north along the coast from Split and its old town sits on an island at the head of a river. The gentleman at my hotel was kind enough not to laugh when I had said I was planning on spending half a day there. Trogir is yet another medieval based town with very narrow streets and a decidedly Venetian feel. I say Venetian because when you talk about Italian influence along the coasts of the Mediterranean you are usually talking about the Venetians for a good part of history, look it up they were fascinatingly ruthless. Aside from some smaller churches, buildings of different eras and the remnants of some of the old fortifications there isn’t much to do in the town. I will also admit to not feeling all that well after lunch, they used way too much salt, so I may not be giving the town its all. Still, I did have to drop my rental car off and go for a fun bus ride back to Split.

Since my time in Croatia is coming to a close tomorrow, and I most likely will not be able to post due to the ferry ride, I’d like to make some observations.

First, for English speakers Croatia is very easy to navigate as English is very widely used in all of the tourist areas.

Second, public transportation is much cheaper than renting a car and due to the wide variety of day trip companies if I had come in season it would have been easier not to rent.

Third, I have been underwhelmed by the food. I attribute this to a couple of things; I skipped a lot of dinners and I’m cheap. When I travel solo I tend to skip dinner as a way to save money and because dinner out all the time gets boring fast. That said you find a lot of the same menu options at a lot of different restaurants.

Fourth, the Croatians have spent a lot of money on tourist infrastructure and are still spending. This means it will get easier and easier for tourists to get around but it also means they are still seeing increases in tourists. Try May, June, and September as slightly off season months to come.

Fifth, I am not a beach person, I like my historic sights. Croatia is becoming another French Riviera and with good reason, they have a lot of beaches. Their tourist industry is really set up for the beach goer with extra stuff to do when you get bored of the beach. If you love Mediterranean beaches you need to come here!

Finally, I think some missteps on my part have not allowed me to see the best of Croatia. I really enjoyed Dubrovnik, would have liked it more without the rain and wind. I also really enjoyed Krka and I wish I could have seen more of the sights it has to offer. On this trip, I skipped a lot that Croatia has to offer. The Plitvice Lakes are supposed to be amazing, the country has some fantastic wines, and there are many islands off the coast that offer a quieter trip. At some point I feel like I will have to try Croatia again but this time a bit better prepared. Still, that’s the fun of trying someplace new!

I hope to post again on Thursday after I get to my next hotel in Tuscany, Italy!