Idling away time before our bus ride, we passed by a bistro where an old man offered to buy us coffee. His name was Salvo and he owns a hostel, speaks excellent English and makes a hobby of striking up conversations with tourists. He talked of living in Dubrovnik as a child during World War II when Italian soldiers occupied the city and he occasionally snuck into town in the hopes that they would pass him bits of food. He spent 25 years in the shipping industry and from the sounds of it, he has seen as much of the US as I have- Galvaston, Baton Rouge, San Diego, Long Beach, Oakland, Boston, Philadelphia, etc. The 1991 war wasn't a topic he seemed interested in discussing but he spoke casually of the violence and hunger like a man who has seen more than his share of conflict. I couldn't tell if he was being flippant but he suggested that in ten years Croatia could find itself at war again. And yet he seemed to approach each day with verve and enthusiastically pointed us to our bus and offered recommendations of accommodations in Split.
The bus ride offered stirring views of the Croatian coastline and after a brief rainstorm the sun peered out through a net of clouds. Like everywhere else in Croatia, Rhianna, Taylor Swift, Shakira, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson and other American icons provided the soundtrack. But bus rides also tend to traverse the more desperate areas of a country. We saw the parts of Croatia not advertised in the travel brochures- the fifteen story cinder block apartments, town gutted by civil war and the ruins of industry. By the time we arrived in Split at 2:30 the sun was fading fast and we rushed off to see the city before we lost the light.
Diocletian's Palace was built in the 4th century as a retirement home for the Roman emperor Diocletian. Now the 200 some buildings within its fortified walls are home to several thousand people and have been converted to shops and restaurants. Remnants of the imported Italian marble, Greek columns and Egyptian sphinxes are still visible. Although its ironic to see trash heaps, graffiti and clothes lines adorning the once opulent structures. Over the centuries the Temple of Jupiter was converted into a baptistery and a Christian symbol marks the doorway of what was once a pagan site of worship is visible example of religious syncretism at work.
It may be a coincidence or it may be a genuine atmospheric trend but it seems as though a downpour always follows the sunset here and this time we were caught outside. We rushed to the ferry terminal and bided our time in a gritty smoke filled coffee shop. When we finally border the ferry it seemed to have more cargo trucks than passengers. Most of the guests rented cabins so there were only about four people in the room with airplane style seating designed to accommodate closer to 150. After a long night of shivering in the cold and fidgeting to find a comfortable position we woke to the sounds of the engines down shifting to see dawn breaking over Ancona. Now off to Naples for the three P's: pizza, pasta and Pompeii!
The bus ride offered stirring views of the Croatian coastline and after a brief rainstorm the sun peered out through a net of clouds. Like everywhere else in Croatia, Rhianna, Taylor Swift, Shakira, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson and other American icons provided the soundtrack. But bus rides also tend to traverse the more desperate areas of a country. We saw the parts of Croatia not advertised in the travel brochures- the fifteen story cinder block apartments, town gutted by civil war and the ruins of industry. By the time we arrived in Split at 2:30 the sun was fading fast and we rushed off to see the city before we lost the light.
Diocletian's Palace was built in the 4th century as a retirement home for the Roman emperor Diocletian. Now the 200 some buildings within its fortified walls are home to several thousand people and have been converted to shops and restaurants. Remnants of the imported Italian marble, Greek columns and Egyptian sphinxes are still visible. Although its ironic to see trash heaps, graffiti and clothes lines adorning the once opulent structures. Over the centuries the Temple of Jupiter was converted into a baptistery and a Christian symbol marks the doorway of what was once a pagan site of worship is visible example of religious syncretism at work.
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| Sphinxes are known for being treacherous and merciless- not sure what this says about me |
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