Split
29 June 2014 | Sotar Island
One of the Palace Gate entrances
Today our destination is Sotar Island just south of Split, the second biggest town in Croatia. It is a Sunday and we are 'blown away' by the number of charter boats en route to their first anchorages. Saturday is change over day and Sunday is when the new charterers head out for their week on the water. We are confronted with at least 50 boats coming out of the marinas in Split, but fortunately heading in the opposite direction to us! Chartering is big business in this part of the world. We anchor in a quiet bay in front of a low key holiday village. Tomorrow we plan to head around the headland to the larger village of Rogac, where we will leave the boat tied to the town quay and catch a local ferry over to visit Split. The ferry ride takes an hour and we enjoy talking to some American expats, living in Sarajevo and Brussels, both with husbands in the Military. One of the women admired our boat shoes, enquiring as to where we had bought them. So we share stories of what we are each doing and the hour trip is soon over.
Split's old town is dominated by the Diocletian Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is a strong rectangular fortress built by the Romans as a retirement residence for the Roman Emperor Diocletian, in 295 AD. The old town with its labyrinthine streets,restaurants, markets and souvenir shops sit within the walls of the palace and it feels like an open air museum. There are various entrances through large palace gates, which lead into the heart of the town. Being summer there are many tourists, but we find a very good open-air fruit and vegetable market, surrounded by butcher shops and fish markets and we are able to stock up on fresh local produce. Bern visits the marina to check out the chandelaries, but is disappointed with their stock considering Split is such a hub for many Yacht Charter companies. We spend a few hours wandering around the old town, but it is quite hot and we are glad when the time is up to catch the ferry back home to the boat to some peace and quiet in Rogac.