Croatia
Cruising from Split to Dubrovnik
23.06.2006
30 °C
We arrived Heathrow 5:30am and found out on arrival that Australia drew Croatai 2-2 so that was a good start. We changed AU250 for GBP91. 2 x tickets to Gatwick on bus were GBP32.
Checked in at Stansted then grabbed 2 x tickets into Victoria Station 25GNP each. Met up with Sabrina at Googe St tube and went for lunch with her as it's her birthday. Also bought a new backbpack as my Mountani Designs one has finally died. Made it back to Gatwick for a 16:20 flight.
Arrived in Split at 7:30pm to clear skies and 30degC. Quick bus trip into the centre was 15KR each. We were met at the airport by a crazy old lady Ana & her husband Miki. By the time we trekked from bus stop at the port to their guesthouse we were covered in sweat.
Went out for quick meal and beer before hitting the sack.
24.06.2006
Woke about 9am and went for a stroll to get some breakfast. The markets next to Diocletian's palace are full & bustling with a variety of food and stalls. We got our backpacks which seem to get heavier everyday and found our boat "Labrador" at about 11:30am. It is part of the Katarina line. Our room is below decks, witha hole in the roof that pipes through fresh air (and all the noise) from outside and is right near the engine room. It will bea little hot and humid down there but not planning on spending much time
there anyway. We lazed on deck for a few hours before pulling into a tiny harbour just a few hours before Makarska. We waited on the small pebble beach for 1/2 hour as one of the boats had an engine die. I think it was Tammy's boat (she isn't having a lot of luck with travel arrangements) We hopped on a bus and drove up into the mountains and down the other side. Along the way, we nearly hit some marathon runners who had to dodge or die. We started rafting down the river (me, Kitty, Mitch, Lindsay, Andrew & Brian from another boat) at 4pm & 4 hours later we reached the end. It was a pleasant cruise but hard paddling due to a lot of flat water areas and some pretty piss poor rapids. The Croats running the rafts had good fun in their jobs. The river was crystal clear and ranged in depth. At one point, we stopped under a freezing waterfall to fill up the drinking water. By the time we were done we were tired
and hungry but still had 1.5hr trip to get to Makarska. We arrived by 9:30 and went for dinner (Pizza again) with Tammy & Jez, Brendand, Emma & andrew. Caught the end of the Argentina-Mexico game (2-1 Arg) After dinner finished at midnight, we went to the "Deep" night club which is in a cave. A few long island ice teas and some go-go girls not wearing much, finished the night nicely.
Bed @ 1:00am
Posted by aob1 19:48 Archived in Backpacking | Croatia Comments (0)





