We decided to leave the car behind, get a taxi to Split Ferry Port and, for the first time, be foot passengers . We would take the Ferry to Stari Grad, walk around the Stari Grad Plain and Roman Ruins. We’ve read that art treasures, a mild climate, good beaches and fields of scented lavender make this island one of the jewels of the Adriatic. Sounds good to us!

Josef drove us to Split to take the 08:30 ferry to Hvar.  Josef, born and bred in Split and fiercely proud of his heritage, gave us a guided tour along the way.  Having a Croatian driver Steve was able to ask Josef about driving protocol, who has right of way here or there and on roundabouts.  Josep was so full of telling us about Split I think we got half the answers.  He was certainly an ambassador for Croatia telling us about its history and geography. He apologised for his bad English – it was perfect!

I check off the landmarks on the way and realise I missed one out from the other day, the supermarket, Plondine.  On the short journey Josef explains that in Season, without Covid and lack of tourists, our 15 minute journey usually takes up to an hour and a half.  This is because Split is a centre which accommodates the Train Station, Ferry Terminal, Bus Station, Airport Transfers and Cruise Ships.  I notice on the way, not having to concentrate on being co-pilot for Steve, how many high rise blocks of flats there are; most with their washing out on the balconies, most in need of a lick of paint.  When we arrive at the Port he also tells us that in the Season the harbour is absolutely full of sea vessels and people. No-one has ever seen it so empty. What a world wide echo.

We purchase our tickets from the Jadrolinija Ticket Desk (again when I say ‘we’ I mean Steve) without problem and board the 08:30 ferry.  Can you believe our tickets were only 39,00 Kunars each (equivalent to £4.40) one way for the hour and a half crossing? The crossing is as calm as milk pond.  We wonder if the route will take us between the two islands Šolta and Brač and it does.  I didn’t check the ferry route above, until I started writing this post. I would say that the garage was about two thirds full and there were quite a few passengers, probably because the next ferry to Hvar wasn’t until 2:30pm.

Arriving around 10:15 we decide to walk from the Ferry Port to the centre of Stari Grad.  We began walking along the main road until Steve thought he spotted a path parallel to the coastline.  We left the road and joined the track which went from tarmac, to concrete, to pebbles, to rubble until we met a tractor with its driver beyond no entry barriers which we had ignored.  Negotiating the uneven track we were eventually lead to a regular path and then into the Harbour.  Once long the regular path here and there were random concrete platforms with steps into the water.  The views, as per usual, were spectacular. 

We walked along the pedestrianised area towards bars passing a couple of wine merchants, resisting the urge to stop – it was too early, even for us. The shape of the harbour, not quite a marina, was a sharp ‘V’.  We started at one point and walked round to the Apex. 

Making our way to the Albatros Bistro, passing quite a few bars which didn’t serve food, we stopped for an early lunch.  Steve had Brisket marinated and cooked with red wine, served with gnocchi sprinkled with parmesan.  I decided to have scampi in ‘Buzara’ sauce which turned out to be white wine, garlic, tomatoes and basil. Yum!

We walked through some of the back streets before we realised all the bars, restaurants and any shops were on the front row.  With full tummies and the sun shining through the clouds we made our way to the fields.

The weather was perfect for walking. Slightly cloudy with the sun only peeping out now and then or it would have been too hot.

The importance of the fields is that they are the biggest and most fertile of all the plains found on the Adriatic Islands. They go back to 4th century BC, are the best preserved form of ancient allotments in the world and are in the UNESCO world heritage list. We knew there was a Roman Ruin nearby and went in search.  It turned out it wasn’t sign posted, but Steve said he had seen a pile of rubble, watched many programmes of Time Team and he recognised Roman Ruins when he saw them. 

Turning into a narrow path, with absolutely no signage, we passed the pile of Roman Rubble and found the ruins.

After enjoying having ‘the find’ to ourselves and having a few hours to spare before the 17:30 ferry departure, we decided to walk back to Stari Glad and get a taxi to Hvar town about 17 km away.  We had heard and read in tourist guides that Hvar Town was first choice to visit with Stari Glad a close second.  The local Information Office called a taxi for us and twenty minutes later we were in Hvar with the taxi driver telling us the front was only a five minute walk away.  This driver loved his island as much as Josef and tried to tell us all about it, but unfortunately although he spoke English, not enough for us to understand him well enough or for him to understand us.  Anyway we got there and arranged for him to collect us at 4:30 to return us to the ferry terminal.  We needed some cash and that’s when I realised I haven’t told you how many ATM’s there are. They are absolutely everywhere!  You really don’t have to look for one, they are literally on every corner.

Hvar is much bigger than Stari Glad which made it sadder for us that it was an absolute Ghost Town. Covid makes all the difference in comparison, for example Stari Glad is small so the cafe society makes it look alive. Hvar is much larger, but with a similar number of locals, it appears emptier especially with more restaurants, bars and shops closed. Our recommendation for first choice would always be Stari Glad, especially with the Plains and Roman Ruins within walking distance. A quick chat and after our tour of the harbour we chose a bar from which we could people watch and tell each other what a wonderful day we’d had and exchange views on the pictures we’d taken.  Steve used our state of the art Nikon camera and I used my Samsung phone.  A couple of years ago, I demanded taking photos on a regular camera, never thinking in a million years I would prefer to take snaps on my mobile.

Our taxi driver collected us and was full of more history and geography, stopping at beauty spots for us to see them and take pictures.  You know those days, where they just get better and betterer?  Well, this was certainly another one of those.

Arriving back at Split, Josef was there to collect us.  Apparently he’d been on Google a lot of the day researching information for us on how we can explore Croatia, get to Dubrovnik, and which islands to visit on the way.  He told us about Goran Ivanisevic, a son of Split, where his parents lived, where he trained for the tennis, the tennis club, some of Splits best beaches and chatted away with Steve, with both of us taking notes, until we got back to base camp.

We walked through the campsite, counting the number of units as we usually do, to be met with the sun setting on the mountains behind us.  We’d seen them white with a sprinkling a snow a couple of weeks ago, but tonight they were  flaming red as the sun was setting.