July 15 Split Croatia

 July 15, Friday- Split, Croatia 

Today marks our return to Croatia and our first time visit to Split. Oosterdam docked right downtown. This placed us close enough to walk to many major attractions. This always appeals to us so we donned our walking shoes and hats, put water into my bag and set out. 

Boy it sure was hot. Our first target, Diocletian’s Place was just 15 minutes away. That was not to be for us. Did we get lost? No, we just did our thing and chose an off the beaten path route through a neighborhood. 

First we toured a local food market. Then we found a charming park. In the process we passed well kept but very old apartment buildings. Every inch of ground is developed with the buildings right next to one another. We did not se any green until we arrived at the park. 

The park was small so our walk was short. It took us to what we call the back door of this palace. This was fine as the area was less crowded. The primary entrance faces the sea and that is where we found the crowds. The palace is vast with hallways running in every direction. These ruins are well maintained. We visited the exterior of the church and a performance stage used for concerts before we got lost. We thought we had found the way out to the sea. Suddenly we were at a dead end with apartments lining our path. Some backtracking led us toward the sound of voices. 

Goody for us. We were in another neighborhood within the palace grounds. We passed several doors with buzzers and mailboxes before finding the source of the voices. There was a restaurant back here but no apparent way out of the grounds. We turned another corner and met two men carrying cases of beer up to  the restaurant. Surely they came from outside. A few twists later we found their truck in a narrow alley with a way out just beyond it. 

We returned to the waterfront. We had meandered rather far from the cruise port. That was OK because we were almost at our next target. It was an old church near the sea. After our visit we walked back toward the port following the waterfront. This walkway is lined with trees, planters, and benches. It was extremely hot and humid so we enjoyed the shade and sitting on a bench for a while. 

Near the pier was a tourist information office. They gave us a map. We still wanted to see the remains of the cathedral inside the palace. We headed toward the front entrance and discovered a maze of shops on the lower level of the palace. A fascinating walk past these got us inside and following the flow of the crowd we were soon at the performance stage we had visited earlier. And the church steeple we had photographed before was the cathedral. 

Done with the palace we left by a different side gate. We passed restaurants and a hotel before peering down a side street that looked promising. It sure was. This took us winding and climbing past apartments, hostels and hotels. Finally we joined a Main Street. Ahead of us was a hairpin turn in the road with a traffic backup caused by vehicles coming up from the ferries having to crawl around the turn. 

We crossed the road in between crawling vehicles and looked down on the other side. There were people swimming. But this was not a beach as we know it. The “shore” was a concrete wall with only a few ladders. It was like the wall of a swimming pool. Still, many people were enjoying a swim. 

We were swimming in perspiration. The temperature was in the mid 90’s. We returned to Oosterdam worn out from our endeavor and exhilarated by our accomplishments. 

Showers followed by lunch in the Lido made a splendid end to a very nice day. 

Our approach to Split 

Park leading to the back door of Diocletian’s Palace 

Inside the palace 

The performance area 

Lost inside the palace 

Found our way out 

Concrete beach 

More concrete beach 

Gotta love the sun to bathe on concrete 

The bridge over this causes the backup at the hairpin 

Hairpin backup 

As we are leaving they scurry out of our way 

See you in 2 days 

A hot but excellent day

July 14 Sea Day

July 14, Thursday - Sea Day

Today is a welcomed sea day. I hope to use it to update you on our non-port activities. 

We have been told that the ship’s capacity is 2,100 guests. She carries about 1,100 passengers on this voyage. Some of the reduced number is due to COVID limitations. The rest stems from the slow return to cruising. Many people are still discouraged by having to fly to embarkation points. To a lesser degree some worry about proximity to others on the ship and on tours. 

100 of us will be staying on for the next cruise. 1200 new passengers will board in Trieste for a total of around 1300. 

As you might expect with the reduced occupancy, service has been outstanding. The dining room is at about half capacity. From our perspective that is a good thing because the waiters are now performing extra duties. They now serve as wine stewards and bar men.  They do the best they can but they do hustle in order to provide timely food service. 

There continues to be a priest onboard for daily Mass. We have always appreciated that Holland America provides this. These priests volunteer for the assignment and they come and go. This is not a fixed assignment. Our priest is from Lamont Illinois. He has been a priest for 19 years and he has served as a mariner priest for many years. He is only with us for 7 days. He volunteered for this as part of the windup of his 6 month sabbatical. He is Polish. He spent the first 3 months of sabbatical in Mexico where he worked on improving his Spanish. Then he went to Poland to stay with family and to enjoy the motorcycle he keeps there. Just before joining us he rode his motorcycle from Poland  and did the Camino de Santiago. When he finished that long journey, he rode to Trieste where he left his cycle in storage with friends and boarded Oosterdam. Alice and I had the good experience of having breakfast with him one morning. He is a fascinating man. We will be looking him up when we get back home. 

There is entertainment on the ship. It is not like any shipboard entertainment we have experienced before. Step One Dance are excellent dancers who perform to recorded music with a fantastic automated light show for their set. We really hope to learn more about how all of the effects are coordinated. We have seen them perform 4 times and do not mind the one show that was repeated. In fact we are looking forward to their repeat performances. 

As you can tell we are enjoying ourselves thoroughly and we are very busy in the process. 

This sea day has us on our way back to Croatia. Tomorrow we will visit Split. We have not been there before. Our plan is to do it on our own tomorrow. Our next segment will bring us back to Split in 2 days. For that we will consult with Ivor, our charter skipper, for activity suggestions. 

Stay tuned. 

July 13 Nafplion, Greece

July 13, Wednesday - Nafplion, Greece

This was another tender port. It was an easy ride to the dock. The sea has been cooperating nicely. 

I visited here in 2009 when I had to do a land tour by myself due to Alice’s torn meniscus. She had to miss the tour and 2 weeks on a sailboat charter in the Greek islands with Sean and me. 

Early arrival

I fell in love with Nafplion then and was anxious to share it with her now. To do that we opted to tour independently. The town is small but charming. It is mostly flat with only a couple of gentle hills. Of coarse it is surrounded by some more challenging peaks. They are lovely to look at but the town offers much to satisfy. 

Our walk took us through the square to a nice area with shops offering merchandise of many kinds. We found a beautiful Greek design pendent in opal and silver. I forced Alice to accept it. Neither of us is sorry. 

With the shopping done we returned to walking the waterfront for a while before turning into a neighborhood. This took us to a gentle hill. The easy walk provided many lovely views of the island fort that once guarded the city. Of course Oosterdam was also out there to lend her glorious charm. 

Walking on took us to an overlook with some more beautiful views. And below us was a swimming area. This rock enclosed area provided sheltered swimming but no sandy beach. The concrete shore did not seem to be a deterrent for the swimmers present. 

We turned back toward the tender pier. On the way we visited a church on the square and farther on the remains of an old entry gate. It is now a monument in a small park. 

Another gentle tender ride to the ship. 

Dinner followed. 

The sun set. 

Another day. 

We rested. 

July 12 SeaDay

July 12, Tuesday- Sea Day

This is our first sea day. I was up at 5:30 and walked the deck. Saw another cruise ship heading our way. 

The rest of the day was spent trying to update this blog. I finally made it through the charter. What a lovely time we had with Ivor on Smile. 

THANK YOU SEAN!

July 11 Kotor

 July 11, Monday - Kotor

Kotor is another port we visited 9 years ago. It is just as I remember it. The old city is walled with many shops and restaurants mixed in with museums and churches. We elected to visit independently. 

WeFish farm on the approach to Kotor 

We started down a lane to the cathedral. We had not gone far when we noticed some interesting hanging lamps decorated ornately with colorful glass. After admiring these in several shops we decided to go into one to learn more about the lamps. We did not recall seeing them the last time. The shopkeeper was happy to talk about the history of the lamps. Their presence in Kotor dated back to early trade with Turkey. They had recently become popular with tourists. He noticed me admiring some chess sets and told me of their origins. They were ornate, made of metal and heavy. They were moderately priced and although I love chess sets there was no way I would reasonably get one home. He showed us some jewelry of his creation but we were not buyers today. As we bid farewell a young woman entered the shop. She was the only person to enter during the 20 minutes we were there. 

We made our way to the cathedral and then the maritime museum. We only visited the cathedral this time. Now we did window shopping on our way out of the old city. As we looked at some things in a jewelry shop window the proprietor came out to lead us inside. Their was the lady from the first shop. As we were shown some rings the proprietor of the first shop appeared. We had stumbled on to his second shop. We all got a good giggle out of this as we parted on a friendly note. 

Cathedral blocking the sun

There is a chapel on the way up the mountain 

Told you so

The Cathedral has an inside too

A few streets later we enter a large shop with a nice assortment of jewelry, glass products and trinkets. The sales girls were all very friendly and low keyed. Alice took their pictures and we thanked them for their kindness. 

We were about to leave when another girl appeared from yet another room. It was full of Venetian masks and glass jewelry. We found a blue glass bead necklace that I finally convinced Alice we should buy. It was not expensive but pretty nonetheless. After getting a picture of this young lady we purchased the necklace and proceeded to the exit in the wall. 

On the way we were “accosted” by another shopkeeper. This led to a rather hard sell attempt to get us to buy what is called silk leather here. This is very soft leather that feels like silky cloth. The jacket he had put on Alice was very nice and “only” 600 euros. We thanked him for showing it to us and made our exit. Around the corner I did a quick Amazon search and found a similar piece for $199. We are not interested at any price. 

Finally outside the wall we walked in the direction I remembered as taking us to a beach. We soon reached a bridge over a stream flowing into the sea. The place was right and confirmed my recollection but the bridge was new. This is one of many changes since we were here 9 years ago. 

Fountain near the bridge 

Looking at the mountain behind the old city we spied the steep trail that led to a little church high up. That had not changed except that the trees were taller. 

Church on the mountain 

About a quarter mile further on we crossed the very busy road to get to the sea. This traffic was new. Once at the seaside we spotted the beach farther down. Telephoto lenses meant we could stop walking and return to the ship. 

The beach was well populated 

Oosterdam at anchor 

This had been a great revisit. We were happy to see so much unchanged while many positive changes have occurred. Oosterdam provided a cool and comfortable haven. 

We have been working with the open seating dining room manager to try to secure a better table that could be ours for the full 43 days. Today she solved the problem. If we would agree to early fixed dining, we could have a table for 2 with a starboard side view for the remaining duration. This was perfect. We always eat at 5:30, the table was very nice and the serving team was outstanding. 

Some parting shots

What a good day!

July 10 Dubrovnik

 July 10, Sunday - Dubrovnik 

Today marks our 3rd visit to this lovely city. The landmark highway bridge that neighbors the port remains unchanged except for a wealth of graffiti. It has been 9 years since our last visit. The focus of activity remains the Old City. We took the shuttle offered by the ship. The cost was $16 each for unlimited trips. The last time the shuttle was free. In 8 minutes we were at the gate to the Old City. Although we are walkers, the hills and distance would have taken their toll in time and energy. 

We walked around this familiar plaza before entering the information center.  The young lady who greeted us was very personable and helpful. When she learned that we had been here before, she told us about a beach just outside the old city where we could get good pictures of the harbor and the wall in addition to the beach. Armed with her map we set out. 

We passed through the gate to enter the old city.  After the obligatory stop at the fresh water fountain in the square we walked toward the harbor. Along the way we visited a church and with discipline walked past all of the shops. 

At the harbor we turned left and went up the hill to the gate. Upon exiting we followed the road ahead. Sure enough, after passing many restaurants and apartments, we arrived at a viewpoint overlooking the beach. Stairs led down to it, but they were steep and many. We stayed up top. The beach was very crowded. It was hot and a Sunday. 

Our vantage point was terrific. There was the beach, the harbor and the wall. We lingered a bit and took too many pictures before returning our the gate and the old city. We walked the rest of the main street visiting the historic sites again and stopping at the market. 

The last time we were here we took a tour that included a gondola ride to the top of the mountain overlooking the city. I had been trying to locate the gondola without success. Now as we were walking to the shuttle stop, I looked up and there it was. We were happy to see that it is still operational as the views are stunning from there and the museum provides good insight to the history of the area. 

We walked back to the shuttle stop. 15 minutes later we got aboard. Soon we were back onboard Oosterdam. After dinner we watched the sun set and enjoyed our sail away. 

Bridge on arrival 

Bridge on departure 

Those are just the outside stairs 

Traffic near us at the harbor entrance 

Church in the old city 

So many choices 

Octopus?

Overlooking the beach. No room for us. 

The Harbor

Harbor from the beach 

Someone is topless I’m told 

Just one more shot 

There is a gondola above the tower 

There It is. 

Moon as we depart