Today we want to visit Split, but we’re afraid of the crowds so we pack our stuff before breakfast and are downstairs around seven. It’s warm enough to have breakfast outside, even in the shadow. I have fruit salad and yoghurt, to compensate for all the extensive dinners lately. We drive to split and aim for a secured parking lot just outside the Diocletian Palace. Again Arne guides us based on the old travel book and we walk around the old town. It’s quite busy, but we imagine it will get a lot worse in the afternoon or in the summer. The cathedral is closed (it’s a religious holiday), but we walk around the Peristelium, the Vestibule, visit the temple of Jupiter and the cellars, that are preserved since Roman times. We have lunch on a busy square and manage to slip out just as it’s getting busier. We stop by a Konsum supermarket to get supplies for a picnic for tomorrow.
We aim to take the ferry at 17:00, but since we had to queue for the ferry to Rab we want to be sure the get on this one (the next one leaves at 20:00), so we’re at the terminal 15:30. There’s exactly one car in front of us, waiting for the same ferry. We get installed in the little bar with a book and a coke, unfortunately they don’t stock ice cream.
The ferry is a lot bigger than the one to Rab, when we drive on all the cars together fill about 20% of the available space. The passenger compartment is almost deserted, but the bar is manned and they sell ice creams! The upper deck doesn’t afford any shadow so we stay inside and read during the 45 min transfer to Sobra.
The drive to Saplunara takes another half hour, it’s at the end of the island. There is one road running the length of Mljet and it’s a fun drive with lots of curves and hills, but usually with two lanes so I don’t have to stress about traffic in the other direction. Arne’s new car performs beautifully, using the petrol engine for steep climbs, charging the battery during descents and using the battery anytime not much power is required.
We’ve rented a studio for two days in Saplunara. The village is only ten houses big but we still have trouble locating the right building because it’s really new and they haven’t yet put up the signs. It’s right by the sea, though our promised sea view is actually from the terrace by the pool, instead of from the room itself. Dinner is served on the terrace close to the sea and is very tasty although quite slow and the mosquitos aggressive and poisonous. The hostess is very friendly but frequently forgets to bring us what we requested, be it cutlery or actual food. We use the waiting time to read.
Today’s statistics: 8.373 steps, 5,91 km, 9 floors
Febe writes 