Weather Watch - Day Tripper

Last night a couple of people mentioned in passing that the weather was going to be bad today, that the Bura wind was coming. I took the precaution of moving my outdoor furniture and my clothes drying rack so that it wouldn’t be blown around the terrace. In the middle of night the wind started, with the gentle and then more persistent banging of the shutters, and then the rain came. I don’t think that it rained for long, but it all looked pretty desolate when I got up this morning.

So… I slung anchor and decided to take a day trip to Split – this is a north-bound bus trip of 1 ¼ hrs, a spectacular road winding through the lower reaches of the Biokovo Mountains. My logic was that Split is not as bounded by the Biokovo as Makarska is, and so maybe the weather would be better.
Even in wintery clothes (the most wintery of those that I could find in my belongings) it was pretty cold. Listening to the weather forecast on the bus I heard the word snijeg and the temperature for Split predicted to be osam – eight. I was so cold when I got off the bus, it was all that I could do to find the book shop and then the nearest café, and through shivering teeth, order a hot hot coffee. The main purpose for going to Split apart from escapism, was because I knew that it had a wonderful book shop with a large English section. A new book on the history of Croatia kept me company in the warmth of the café for an hour or so.

The main tourist attraction in Split is the Diocletian Palace which is one of the most imposing Roman ruins in existence. Emperor Diocletian, a native of Dalmatia was one of the most important emperors of the Roman Empire, ruling from 284-305 AD. He voluntarily gave up his power, something totally unprecedented in Roman history, and built the Diocletian palace for his retirement. It was built from stone imported from the island of Brac, marble from Italy and columns and sphinxes from Egypt. (The marble paths can be a bit treacherous in the rain – very slippery!)

Diocletian was a ruthless persecutor of Christians, and the irony is that his mausoleum was subsequently converted into what is now one of the oldest intact Christian churches.

The peristil, where Diocletian was once worshipped as divine, is just beautiful – the stairs down from the Peristil lead to a cellar full of tourist shops, but this area was once accessible by sea – the boats were able to come straight into what is now the podrum. The natural stairs around the courtyard are a perfect meeting place for coffee. Unless the wind is blowing, which it was in abundance today. But there is a wee history lesson for you.

The Diocletian Palace, unlike Dubrovnik, is a living city still, being home to upward of 3000 people. In comparison, Dubrovnik has emptied of the local people who have retired to the local villages, as it is more lucrative to rent out the houses to tourists than to live there.

Buses back to Makarska leave on the hour so by 3 o’clock, with a few books, more smokva (figs), some domaci sir (local cheese) and a beautiful piece of pizza, I climbed back onto the bus. The sun was out and the temperature had increased by a few notches – but as we left the city, the Biokovo Mountains were spectacular, with a fresh dusting of snijeg as the weather forecast predicted! I tried to take photos from the bus, but they just don’t do the road, the mountain or the snow justice.

As I write this, the wind has dropped slightly, but from my window I can see the snow in the afternoon sun. Beautiful.