Day 21 (Croatia): Split - olive grove near Gradac

today’s distance: 112km
total distance: 2023km
riding time: 6-7h

Waking up to a crowd of cleaning ladies who were busy smoking, answering cell phones and drinking coffee (loudly) is why I’m not a fan of hostels any longer. Or maybe it was just this hostel. Left the place and checked out Split. After a slight detour I arrived in this ancient city with the Palace of Diocletian as the centerpiece. It has flair I must say and provided for nice strolls in the alleys and alongside the massive stone walls.

 Once I saw the Nike Kids store though I felt I needed to leave. Corporate what - Croatia I guess - had taken over. For some reason I was reluctant to get on the road and the start was a slow one. Dodging heavy city traffic I tried to make some progress towards calmer roads - had lunch in Baska Voda, dangling my feet in the clear turquoise water.

Back on the bike was a bit of a struggle again, the area undulating and sometimes hilly without any flat stretches to speak of. Guess just one of these days. Maybe I need another rest day … guess what? Rest will come after tomorrow. Moved on to Makarska and found out that the website is back up and running again. A big thank you to Simon for setting things straight again. Couldn’t have done it without him. There will be the odds and ends most likely, but it’s looking pretty again. My apologies to everyone for the downtime.

I tried to do some more mileage towards the end of the day and ended up feasting on a concoction of pasta, green pesto, fried slices of zucchini and carrots. It was great … for me at least. Topped things off with a honey laced yoghurt. The silver moon is shining through the branches of the olive tree that I am sitting under … couldn’t wish for anything else.
ed on bulk cranberries, dried banana chips and pistacchios. Life was good. Sooner than I thought I arrived in Trogir after receving an amazed but inspiring look from an old man who just raised his arms and smiled at me, a small picturesque little town surrounded by water and walls. Finally got a hold of an internet connection and found out that none of the couchsurfing people in Split could host me. Too bad. Cycled on, trying to find a good spot or campsite, but soon enought I was in urban territoriy. Not a good place to camp out. Two choices - go past Split and find a place. Not a real option since it was getting dark. Took option two - whipped out the Lonely Planet and found a nice hotel.

Am still not sure I’m German … couldn’t find anything to complain about. Have been ranting for too long.