Trogir and Split, Croatia

The shoreline adjacent to Trogir, Croatia.
My arrival at Trogir was marked by the arrival of a light rain. By the time, I had reached town it was a full downpour. I had hoped to have a quick visit in town and then move on to Split, but the rain was quite a deterrent. I stayed the night.


Trogir in the sunshine.


Descending to Trogir.
On my descent to Trogir, the most amazing panoramic opened up. Unfortunately, it was a bit rainy and I had a hunch the view would be spectacular in the sunshine. The next day when the sun came out, against my better judgment because it was my rest day and there would probably be other views, I biked back up the hill to get a look. Brilliant.


The view from my hostel door in Trogir.


Trogir, Croatia.
Trogir has a beautiful little old town nestled on a small island between the mainland and another island. I did my best to get lost wandering the streets, but I just couldn't make it happen. The place was not big enough. I need to head back to Venice to make it happen. I have had trouble getting lost in any of the old towns I have been visiting. I think they are just too small with too many easy land marks.


Trogir Castle.


A restaurant waiting to open in Trogir.


It is amazing how much they can cram into these small streets.


A different kind of sewer access system.


Trogir streets.


The Trogir market.


More Trogir city streets.
After a great morning in Trogir, I tried to take the ferry to Split to save my legs. For some reason, I did not consider ferries cheating (this is a bike tour). I think it was because I was going to take one from Greece to Turkey anyway. Also, you don't have to take apart your bike when you take the ferry. Throw on that it would let me be in Split on my rest day as planned and I was sold. However, the ferry left two minutes early. I got to the terminal to wave goodbye. If there was a ramp, I could have tried making the twenty foot jump to the departing ferry ala James Bond.


The edge of Old Town in Trogir, Croatia.


The morning market on the mainland.


Trogir city streets.


The fancy cafe avenue in Trogir.
Missing the ferry left me with choices. I could bike the 30k on a major road to Split. I could just rest up in Trogir. I could take the bus. The buses left every twenty minutes and were cheap. In the end, I decided to go against my desire to bike it and take the bus. It felt a little dirty.


Split, Croatia harbor.
Split is the second biggest city in Croatia. When I got to Split, I set out to explore. The big place to visit is the Roman ruins that make up the Diocletian's Palace. I enjoyed the ruins in the palace, but felt a little overwhelmed by the number of people. However, that large number of people were also able to support a single vegetarian restaurant in the city which I happily visited. After an afternoon in Split, I realized I did not really want to spend my entire rest day there. Yeah, I needed to use the Internet and was not going to be touring, but it just didn't feel right. It would be restful for the legs, but not the mind.


Grgur Ninski statue.


This toe has been polished clean, unlike the rest of the statue, because everyone rubs the toe for good luck!


Diocletian's Palace ruins.


St. Domnus' Bell Tower in the Diocletian's Palace.


Descending St. Domnus' Bell Tower in the Diocletian's Palace.


The view from St. Domnus' Bell Tower in the Diocletian's Palace.


On the way to the vegetarian restaurant in Split.


The main pedestrian street in Split.
Since Split did not feel right, I decided to jump a bus to Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Taking the bus would save me two days of riding, which was exciting and frustrating. Since I am about about five days behind schedule, it would catch me back up a little bit. It would have been some brilliant mountain riding. On the other hand, I am sure my legs could use more than a single day's rest. I also would not need to worry about setting off a landmine when I went looking for camp spots. Lots of pros, some cons.

I would have preferred to bike and ferry my whole trip, but I can't. I am behind schedule. Taking buses on my rest days to cover a lot of ground will let me catch back up. It won't be what I planned, but such is life. I got over it and am excited to be able to slow down a little bit in the future when I get fully caught up.