Split day 2
17 September 2017
Day two in Split started early for one of us. The propane tank was delivered to the marina office and the old bow roller was delivered to the guy with the lathe who promised it would only be a few hours
and we would have a new roller only 100 eu omg for a little piece of rubber? correction teflon. Expensive but at least it will be exactly what we need. We removed the old anchor by tying a line to it and then lifting it straight up and slowly swinging it towards the back of the boat then prepared the spot for the new roller that we were going to get hope hope hope.
Now the moment we had been waiting for. We removed the sales slips and bubble wrap. It was so shiny and so big. Wait one minute does that label on the anchor say 40 kg? omg is it to big?
The 33 kg anchor that was ordered was a little on the big side for Ice Bear but 40 kg thats a big anchor. Would it fit? Can the windlass lift it? Did we order a 40 kg? Do we keep it? How would we get it back to the store? and of course the most important question will it look weird on the bow. While we were pondering our next move a guy appeared at the stern of the boat with the new bow roller it looked perfect. To late we had already decided to go to town. Once again we walked. There was a new collection of large yachts to look at including a huge sailboat that actually looked like it had sailed.
The boom vangs where massive not to mention the size of the things passing for the stay turn buckles. Once downtown we entered the Diocletian's Palace and went into the Substructure (basement ). When the palace was still used as a palace this area was used as storage. As the city and its inhabitants changed they used the area for different things. At some point people lived and worked in the underground rooms. Olive and grape presses
were both found during excavation and as the city above grew over the site holes were dug into the ceiling so the city's garbage could be tossed down inside. Hehe there has been a lot of cleanup and
now this area is amazing to walk around in. There are ancient stone pipes that both brought fresh water and took waste away as well as examples of carved stone figures and pillars. This is also the
area that was used to keep the chained dragons in the Game of Thrones. We shouldn't have told Emmet this as now hes convinced the prints in the Concrete floors were from dragons. The Palace above is mix of all the types of architecture from The Roman era to modern day all mashed together. It seems to work well though. You never quite knew what you would see as you wandered around the small streets. One time it was a cathedral then up a few stairs into a round room with an open ceiling the brochure called it a vestibule. There were sphinxes from Egypt and temples to gods repurposed for Christian needs. Around another corner was a group of men loading firewood into two baskets so that other men standing way up on a balcony could pull them up. All so the restaurant with what must have been an amazing view could cook the evenings meals. I would guess by the size of the woodpile they would be at it for hours. Some of the small streets had wires overhead that hung samples of whatever the store underneath sold and when you were going up stairs you needed to watch that you didn't step on the pillows or customers of whatever cafe claimed the steps. There were even a few roman soldiers walking around willing to pose with you for a few kuna. We found out that a large % of the residences inside the walls were actually occupied by locals perhaps that explained the relaxed and friendly atmosphere. We found a hole in the wall restaurant that must have had a good rep because they were turning people away and other restaurants not to far away had tables to spare. It did not disappoint plus homemade bread mmmm.
It was dark when we returned to Ice Bear luck smiled on us and the loud party in the charter flotilla near us was just heading to town.
The third day in Split was all about leaving for the next destination. We installed the anchor roller wrestled the new anchor to the bow tied on a line and slowly lowered it into place. Found a new home for the old anchor in the forward storage locker. Cleaning it out in the process. Noted the 5 guys in itsy bitsy speedos sunning themselves on the flat surfaces of the powerboat they just arrived in and wondered about the male dynamic in Europe. Retrieved the filled propane tank and purchased food and liquids at the marina corner store. Then as we were leaving split we stopped at the gas station and fueled up. We really liked Split if it wasn't for the fact that we destroyed the budget we could have stayed for a week to properly explore. However the next place came highly recommended it was a little hop in the wrong direction but we were promised a place we would never forget.