Sunday
Unfortunately Kamy was still feeling poorly today. Our initial plan was to take the boat ferry up to Trogir to explore the city and meet up with another traveling family that was staying nearby. Alas, we opted to stay at home and take it easy. Kamy felt up for eating some zucchini bread, but otherwise she was pretty pitiful all day.
After lunch at home, I took Caden down to the playground for a couple of hours. Caden loves playing in the enclosed soccer cage. He’s getting markedly better at kicking the ball where he wants it to go after some practice. 😉
Caden made a friend too — Ivan, who kindly played with him for a while before other kids wanted to take a turn in the cage. This is the nicest playground we’ve encountered so far in Croatia … and we are glad it is so close to our apartment.
Monday
Today we were finally able to meet up with another Worldschooler family! We’d been trying to meet up with other travelers since we arrived, but today was the first time we were able to work something out. Kamy was back to normal as well, so we were in business!
We met Kristi, Luke, and their kids for lunch at Kantun Paulina. We ate down on the Riva and then picked up ice cream at Bili San. From there we hiked up Marjan Hill together, the kids played at playground, and the adults talked with Luke and Kristi. All the kids got along great and were fast friends. Kamy teamed up with Ever and Caden played with Oz. Haden did his own thing and all kids were happy to have some freedom and a chance to run around.
We enjoyed talking to Kristi and Luke and getting an idea of their lifestyle. They had spent the last 5 years living in South East Asia, before taking a 3 month camper trip through Europe. They are heading to the US next to spend some time with family … and where they’re heading next is still up in the air!
After we were done up the hill we all walked back down to the Riva, where Kamy and Caden shared a crepe with nutella and strawberries. We showed Kristi and Luke around Diocletian’s Palace too. Since it was late in the afternoon, there were not too many tourists in the area. We were even able to be in the round reception space ALL ALONE. We listened to the acapella singers before saying our goodbyes and heading back home.
Tuesday
For lunch today we headed down to Marmontova Street and ate Italian food at Pizzaria Maslina. It was very tasty and by far the best value for our money so far. We ordered prosciutto, two kinds of pasta, and a pizza. The only thing we did not care for was the bruchetta with sardines … just couldn’t get past the fishy flavor. 😉
The forecast called for rain today, but the weather held off and so our friends opted to stay near Split one more day. The kids were asking for another beach day, so Keller headed back to the apartment and we arranged to meet up with our new friends again! We caught the bus from the local station and took it down to Stobrec, about 20 minutes away. This was their camp ground and it had a large gravel beach and a playground.
Kamy and Caden got in the water for a bit, but the water was pretty chilly so they didn’t stay in it too long. I was cold enough to put on my windbreaker and I stayed dry! LOL
Kamy and Caden got dressed again and then we all went over to the little playground at the camp site. Here the friends played for another two hours or so, including a short break for dinner. Kristi and Luke treated us to pizza and chocolate cake! Before leaving, the kids played Duck Duck Goose, or the new iteration: Batman Batman Joker. 😉
We were so glad to meet up with other worldschoolers and give the kids a chance to play with other English speaking children. I think they were feeling a little lonely and it was really nice to have some adult interaction as well!
We (just barely) caught the bus back home and headed to bed because we had big plans for Wednesday!
Wednesday
Today we went river rafting! We picked out an excursion through AirBNB and went rafting on the Cetina River with our guide, Ante. He is one of the few guides who will take younger kids and he offered a lot of different elements during the trip.
We arranged to meet Ante at the bus stop right near our apartment, which saved us from walking into town. There were three other adults on the tour — a couple from the UK and a woman from the US. After about an hour in the car (and some queasy moments from Caden thanks to the windy roads), we arrived at the starting point. Ante had wet suits, helmets, and life jackets for everyone, so we pulled ourselves into the suits and got ready to go!
The Cetina River is a little south of Split, near Omis, Croatia. The water is pretty chilly and usually runs about 15*C even in the summer. We were very glad of the wet suits! We didn’t see many other boats on the river and it wasn’t until half way through that we even saw a glimpse of another raft.
Most of the rapids on the river are class 1 and 2, with one class 3 and one class 4 rapid. Caden now feels like an expert in judging rapid classes, so he makes sure to identify any rapids we see. We did NOT do the class 4 as Ante took the boat down by himself for that one, but we did do the class 3 rapid, named Bomba! Both kids got a full dunking on Bomba but handled it like troopers and thought it was a lot of fun!
After the Bomba, we had a chance to do some cliff jumping into the river. I did not do it, but Keller climbed up and jumped into the river from about 15′ up. It was a trick to climb up safely, so you had to be committed to jumping before heading up the rock face. The kids and I watched and cheered from the bank.
Then we rafted down the river a bit further until we reached the class 4 rapid. The guy from the UK, the kids, and I walked down the road to meet Ante at the bottom of the rapid. Keller and the two other women opted to climb through a Karst cave, across a standing lake in the cave with water at 8*C and across some giant boulders to meet Ante. Keller said the cave was really neat and he was glad he did it!
We watched Ante take the boat down the class 4 rapids and then climbed aboard once again. Kamy took a turn paddling the raft and she’s getting pretty good at it! She definitely found it harder than the kayak since it was all on the same side and her arms got tired quickly. I think we were all sore the next day and our shoulders had plenty to talk about!
Later on in the river we had a chance to do “canyoning” — essentially floating down a rapid without the boat. Kamy said she really wanted to do it, so that meant almost everyone did it. I went first — jumping out into the current, lying on my back with my feet ahead of me and bobbing through and down the rapids. After reaching the calm section of the river, I swam to the shore and got ready to meet Kamy. Ante tossed Kamy into the river (so she would get far enough out from the rock), she got in the perfect position, and down she came! She did great, though was a little spluttery when it was all said and done. She was a trooper!
(These photos are of Keller going through the canyoning rapids. You can just barely see Kamy and me on the far bank in the first photo.)
Then came the other rafters including Keller. Caden at this point is feeling left out and really really wanted to do it. Ante wasn’t sure about how Caden would handle it, but with a life jacket and proper motivation, Caden can handle most anything. So in he went! Ante tossed him in, Caden did exactly what he needed to, and I swam out to get him and pull him to shore. He did awesome! Everyone in the boat was very impressed with both kids and they were certainly troopers!
Keller opted to do one more set of rapids via canyoning, but the rest of us were thoroughly chilled through and ready to get back in the boat. Keller did one more rapid with Ante’s guidance and then we were all back in the boat.
A bit further down river was another opportunity for cliff jumping and both kids said they wanted to do this one. This rock had a ledge about 10′, so Ante helped them get in position and dropped them into the river. Splash! I just watched this time around (again) but Keller jumped once more. Then we all got back in the boat and moved on down the river as there were four other rafting groups arriving behind us.
We finished out the river, dried off and changed clothes, and then headed back to Split. We had a wonderful time and would certainly go with Ante again if we had the chance. What a fun experience! Both kids did awesome and were super brave for the intimidating elements. They’re game for just about anything at this point!
We drove back to Split, were dropped off by our apartment, and spent the rest of the afternoon taking it easy. We did go down to the playground for an hour or so before dark.
Thursday
With two days left in Split, I still wanted to visit Klis Fortress up in the hills above town. We caught the bus from the local station and wound our way up the mountain.
The fortress itself was not busy — there were some people there but not many. The fortress was built and added on and rebuilt so many times over the centuries that it is truly a hodge podge! Everything from 13th century stone work to 21st century additions for a small museum. It comes across fairly confused!
The safety barriers may have been a bit inadequate too, but this is Croatia after all. 😉 We were joking that if you grabbed the rope as you fell over, the stand would come with you and finish you off if you happened to survive the fall.
Regardless, the views were incredible — with sweeping panoramas for 360*! There’s a clear reason why the fortress was built in this strategic place. Not only can you see for miles around, but it also overlooks the easiest passage between the mountains from the east as well.
From the Fortress, we hiked up hill about 1.5 miles to a local restaurant that specializes in lamb. We had a mixed grill and lamb which was pretty good.
Our Fortress ticket also included admission to a new “etno agro park” — Stella Croatica. It is a local Croatian company that produces olive oils, soaps, and sweets in a traditional style. In theory there are also demonstrations for distilling essential oils and how they make soap, but none of that was running while we were there.
Then we caught the bus back down the hill and spent the afternoon at the apartment. I also took the kids down to the playground for a bit and overlapped with two other expat families who happened to be there again.
Friday
This morning Caden woke up feeling poorly, so we took it easy today, finished up laundry, and packed everything! Caden requested zucchini bread, so I made another round. Today was about the most convenient day for him to feel sick, so we took it in stride and made sure he could rest today. I cooked lunch at home and then Kamy and I headed down to Old Town for a last shot at some souvenir shopping. Kamy picked out two spiral bracelets (one for her and one for a friend), a post card, and a folding fan. I picked up a post card for Caden and we all brought home ice cream from Luka. Later that evening Keller and Kamy picked up Thai food from Silk for likely one last opportunity to eat Asian food.
Wow!