The last day cycling

In the morning I packed and spent a few hours in the medieval town of Trogir before heading on to my final destination of Split.

It was comforting that the weather was assisting to make my final day of cycling a pleasant one, as it was a gorgeous sunny day.  I enjoyed a cappuccino in a waterfront café, and added my name to the graffitied walls inside the café.  Walking around the island I took a look at the outside of a number of impressive and interesting old buildings.
Convent of St Nikolas.
And from another angle.
Kamerlengo Fortress.  15th century.
The streets of Trogir were the highlight though, narrow and winding, with arches over the streets, and washing hung from the windows.  It was difficult, well impossible, to get a photo to capture the feeling of the streets, but here’s a few attempts.




As I was heading back to my bike on the waterfront a couple of American tourists approached me.  They had seen my bike and were curious.  I can only guess that they recognised my handlebar bag that I was carrying as a bike accessory.  They had just arrived in Trogir that day and were heading on to their next destination in the afternoon.  They had been on a pilgrimage to a town to the south just across the border, the name of which I forget, but apparently it is very famous for religious pilgrims.  They had also been on a tour through Croatia and were now on their way to Rome.  We had a nice little chat in the sun, and then I headed south to Split.

In the warm sunshine I stripped down to shorts and a T-shirt, and enjoyed a relaxed ride.  I had only 30km or so to go and plenty of time to get there, so I savoured my last day of cycling, taking it slowly.  The road was mostly along the coastline again, and went past the Split airport which is actually closer to Trogir than Split.  I could see the mountains becoming clearer as I got closer to Split.  This far south the mountain range that runs down the coast of Croatia is very close to the sea.  The route I chose was a relatively quiet road paralleling the main road from Trogir to Split.  It took me through a string of towns that sort of blended together in an urban strip along the coast.  I stopped in one of these towns on the waterfront to eat my lunch in the sun, and then carried on.
Good spot for lunch in the town of Kastel Sucurac.
A view of Split in the distance.
Eventually I reached the fringe of Split and felt the need to put on my visi vest for the road through the industrial area.  While not pleasant, it was at least a short stretch of busy urban road, and very shortly I was in the medieval old town, the heart of the tourist district. 

I had booked accommodation in an apartment in Split to give myself a few days rest and a chance to unpack, clean and dry my gear and re-pack the selected things I planned to take back to England.  Due to a combination of it being the off-season and the prices in Croatia being fairly reasonable, I was able to get a one bedroom apartment with a fully equipped kitchen (and oddly enough two bathrooms) for 800kn rather than 3,000kn.  That’s about the same price as a dorm bed in London.  Score!  I waited for the agent in the last rays of the afternoon sun on the riva and sampled a traditional Croatia snack that turned out to be pretty much just a deep fried pancake.  Good, but oh so bad!
Spacious apartment.
View from the apartment towards the waterfront.

Comments

Popular Posts