4. Zaton to Split

 Tuesday, June 20, 2023

As we left Zaton on another bright, sunny day, the beginning of our drive a local road, followed by a freeway, followed by another local road. 

We wound our way through several interchanges (thank goodness for GPS) and set out on a beautiful coastal highway. There is a freeway that takes a more direct inland route but we chose the coast road because several people have told that this drive south in Croatia is one of best in the world. It is a major transportation route from north to south in Croatia.  And the road hung precariously above the ocean below. Nothing but a guard rail and rocks to prevent a major mishap. Fortunately, we were driving on the inside lane going north. That gave us some comfort. After all, we chose this highway along the coast rather than a faster less scenic route.

In most places the traffic was fairly light which gave us more opportunity to take in the view. We saw more beautiful sea after more beautiful sea. Far across the Adriatic Sea is the east coast of Italy. There were occasional viewpoints where we could pull over and take in the vista in awe. Although we were high above the water, there were walkways from some of the viewpoints down to the water/beach. It was a long way to go enjoy the water firsthand.

One of the spectacular features of this journey was the brand new bridge (opened last year) constructed to solve major transportation issue for Croatia. If you look closely at a map, you will notice that Croatia is divided into two sections. In between these two sections is a part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. That meant that each time someone want to travel north or south in Croatia, they had to also go through Passport Control to enter and again to exit Bosnia and Herzegovina. There was no direct land route. There was a ferry route but it was very slow with long queues of traffic, in particular transport trucks and tourist busses. So eventually the pressure was on to build a bridge.

The bridge site high above the water and is several kilometres long, no small feat of engineering or construction. But the bridge (toll free) now provides a road link from the furthest point south to the furthest point north, uniting Croatia. The bridge is beautiful. It is a suspension bridge with many spans, all of which have high and beautiful infrastructure to keep the bridge in place.

And so we crossed the bridge and continued our journey. Some time in mid afternoon, we took a break at a cafe overlooking an amazing agricultural valley. The valley reminded us of Holland Marsh, with its vast array of orderly gardens growing many different kinds of fruits and vegetables. It was geometric masterpiece. 

The cafe was both a delight and a disappointment. The disappointment was the limited menu. We had hope to have lunch but their menu was limited to desserts and coffee. So we ordered a cake (much like an Australian lamington) and coffee and proceeded to the balcony overlooking the valley. And there was the delight.

An amazing vista spread out in front of us. The plots of each garden section were visible. There was a canal waterway used for irrigation, also used for recreational boating, small motorcraft, larger hand paddled units that looked almost like canoes but not. There was evidence of fishing and, of course, the beauty of the mountains in every direction, safely guarding this incredibly important agricultural area. There were modest homes along the canal with various watercraft, huge backyard gardens and children's play equipment. It was an exquisite scene, a perfect place to sit for a while and enjoy our cake and coffee.

Once underway again, we travelled through many towns and villages, always flanking the Adriatic. Shops were bustling, people scurrying to and fro. Parking was at a premium everywhere and we noticed that in spite of the steep slopes, most people walked to and from their destinations. Some had electric scooters that whiz up and down the street.

There were many beaches along this section. We had come down a lot in elevation and were often very close to the water. We could see people sunning or swimming or wading in the water. It was the beginning of summer and the temperature was well over 30C. But we have been told that the water has not warmed up enough for swimming. This information seemed to be confirmed by the adults who were sitting or wading and the children were in the sea.

We finally reached our destination, Split, and easily located our hotel called Hotel Corner. It is both beautiful and comfortable and every person on staff speaks English. We are here for a couple of days ad will enjoy their restaurant and swimming pool. Right now, it is time for breakfast.