Our ship glided quietly under the cover of darkness through the crystal clear waters of The Adriatic Sea. The sunrise brought another beautiful morning as we arrive back in Croatia on the Dalmatian Coast at Split. A lovely breakfast and we were soon on our way to explore. Just outside the port we spotted a bus advertising a sightseeing tour so we hopped on that and set off with Dolores our guide and a bus full of people. We had a very interesting and informative tour of the local area seeing many of the lovely sandy beaches and dense Mediterranean Pine Forests. We also saw the grand shell-like City Stadium built for the 1979 Mediterranean Games and now used by the local football team. We also learnt that Zinfandel wine originally came from this region and the Wimbledon tennis player, Goran Ivanisevic is their most famous resident.
Our bus tour finished but Dolores then gave us a conducted walking tour of the Diocletian Palace, an ancient, originally Roman Palace built approximately 2000 years ago. We walked through many original areas which have now been transformed into shops, businesses and cafes and today many people live in 250 flats built into the original walls of the Palace. We saw the Emperor's Mausoleum, which later became St Duje's Cathedral.
After our very worthwhile tour, we enjoyed a coffee sitting on the Promenade in the sunshine, watching the world go by. We made contact with our friends Sam and Stuart and joined them for a wander around the local market and a repeat of the Palace Tour with Guide Firman repeating much of the knowledge he had learnt earlier from Dolores. A necessary wine and beer quenched our thirsts, again sitting on the Promenade, before returning to the ship and getting together again for a very late lunch.
6.00pm saw us leaving a still very sunny Split and make our way back into the Adriatic Sea towards our next adventure.
Last night, as we were about to leave Venice, several urgent calls were made for a lady passenger to contact reception. Eventually the Captain announced that, as we had a strict time schedule to keep, we had to leave without her. This evening he announced that she had made her way to Split and had now rejoined the ship. "Time and tide wait for no man (or woman)".
Another superb evening meal in the Adriatic Restaurant - Prime Rib of Beef for Janet and Stuffed Red Leg Partridge for Paul and an early night after four busy and hectic days.
