From Split to Dubrovnik Along the Dalmatian Coast

Saturday, May 10

Before splitting Split completely, we visited Salona, just outside town, to explore the ruins of the Romans' capital city in this region.  We wandered through the remains of a forum, colosseum, baths, gate, basilica, city walls, and a later Christian ecclesiastical compound.

  While the remnants of early Rome are preserved in a living urban environment in Split, in Salona the ruins are part of an active rural setting.  Olive groves, small farms, and the locals who tend them surround and are interwoven with stones and structures two thousand years old. I wonder how the time separating the millennia seems to children (and their parents) whose playgrounds abut the still-standing arches of Roman engineers...

We spent the middle part of the day driving along the Adriatic Coast, stopping frequently to take in the crystal-clear water that changed from turquoise to deep blue, tiny towns built around quiet coves and small harbors, nearby islands, and hills that ended in the sea.  It's like Italy's Amalfi Drive, minus the hair-raising turns and close encounters with oncoming tour buses!  This is where Croatians, Germans, and other Europeans come in droves to enjoy summer beach holidays, and it's easy to see why!  Along the way, we enjoyed a picnic lunch with a beautiful view.

Just as we had to pass through a small bit of Slovenia to get to Croatia from Italy, we traveled through about ten miles of Bosnia and Herzegovina on today's route.  Every piece of the former Yugoslavia wants to hold on to a bit of heavenly coastline, and we can't blame them; it's just gorgeous!

We found our Dubrovnik apartment easily and, after settling in, we walked down to the old walled city for a walk along the main drag, the Stradum, and a brief look around before climbing up the hill and stopping in a local market for supplies.  

Dinner tonight was on our balcony, looking down on the Old Town, its tile roofs, walls, fortifications, and seafront setting.  Toss in a few small islands nearby, the dramatically-lit city walls and towers, and the moon high above as I write, and you'd have to go far to beat this!  Sigh...