another day in the life

The day began at the crack of dawn in a hot and crowded youth hostel. Everyone was ready to make the journey from Zagreb to Split and to reach our final destination, Baska Voda. The cargo area of the bus was packed to the limit with just enough room to fit the last bag. As we traveled out of the city of Zagreb I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to catch up on some sleep. Our first stop was at a roadside rest stop/gas station for breakfast. As I stepped off the bus it became clear that Croatia has a lot more to offer than Zagreb’s urban wonderland. Mountains stretched off into the distance and the ground cover was an interesting mix of cracked stone and lavender bushes. Under a clear blue sky we ate our breakfast and jumped back on the bus.

We arrived in Split, Croatia’s second largest city, about six hours after leaving Zagreb. Immediately, we set out to explore the ancient ruins of Roman Emperor Diocletian’s retirement fortress. The narrow streets and alleys were lined with vendors of all types selling a wide variety of goods. After exploring the fortress I decided to grab a beer and watch the promenading people as they enjoyed the beautiful seaside views.



After meeting at the bus for the last leg of our trip to Baska Voda, the landscape began to change rapidly. As we climbed the mountains out of Split we could see vast plots of terraced land. The people of the region used to plant a variety of crops from olives to vegetables but have since abandoned the labor intensive practice. The resulting green steps up the sides of the mountains are like a sceen from a movie. One hour later we arrived at a scenic vista which was the site of an ancient fortress and stepped out of the bus to take a few pictures. The view was incredible and it was clear that the location of the fortress was perfectly planned to prevent attack in all directions.

As we approached the city of Baska Voda Boris told a story about his grandfather who was from this region. In the 40’s and 50’s he was a bus driver on unpaved and unprotected mountain roads. The cliffs on the sides of the 1.5 lane roads drop about 100 meters to the sea. As Grandpa Jukic was rounding a corner, the steering column on his bus broke. The bus eventually came to a stop hanging over the edge of the cliff. He had to hold the foot brake while his passengers made an emergency evacuation. After the last person got off the bus Grandpa Jukic said a prayer, pulled the hand brake, and jumped for his life. Thankfully he made it out and no one was injured.

Upon arriving at our hotel in Baska Voda we were pleasantly surprised by the high quality of the rooms and the premium beachfront location. The lobby of the hotel has a very nice bar and restaurant with a nice beachside patio. We settled into our rooms and headed out for dinner. After dinner we took a stroll down the pier and watched the full moon from the sea wall. It was the perfect end to an amazing day.