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Moving On: From Delphi to Korinthos
Our next move presents us with some logistical decisions on how to get round to the other side of the Gulf Of Corinth. A ferry once ran from Agios Nikolaus to Agia, but was suspended for “essential repairs” about 10 years ago and has never reappeared. Our next thought was to hire a car in Delphi and drive around the western side of the Gulf but none of the companies in the area are willing to offer a one-way hire. The journey back to Tithorea to pick up the train means an hour long cab ride, its associated cost, and timings which don’t really work. Fortunately one unexpected alternative presents…
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The Evolving History of Side
The storms and cooled nights of Cirali already seem a long way behind us: since arriving in Side we’ve stepped back into summer with unbroken sunshine and temperatures which have tipped 30 a couple of times but are consistently in the upper 20s. The crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean at East Beach are a constant draw. Several weeks ago, back in Selcuk, we commented to one of our new found friends, how much we love the fact that the ancient monuments are so accessible, providing the freedom to wander amongst the history rather than view it from the other side of a fence. His reply was that, with so…
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Destination Dalyan
The 3-hour drive from Pamukkale down to the coast just gets better and better, through spectacular mountain scenery and then over the mountains themselves. Once we leave the D330 at Golcuk and cut through the lanes which take us to the D400, we are deep into pine clad mountains, winding our way first up and then down the spiralling lanes. It’s a terrific drive. After two hotels and a guest house so far on this trip, it’s good to settle into our new riverside apartment knowing we now have our own space for a while. The rocky outcrops across the river are easy on the eye and as we approach…
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The Cotton Castle Of Pamukkale
It’s actually quite hard to leave Selcuk, so we take one last stroll through town to bid farewell to Ali our new friend, Osman the guy at our favourite restaurant and finally Bora our host, and drive out of town with the unshakeable feeling that we have unfinished business here. The 3-hour-plus journey from Selcuk to our next destination Pamukkale turns out to be a rather uninspiring drive through mostly nondescript lands and industrial towns. A very decent kebab lunch stop at Burharkent is the only point of interest until the last few miles before Pamukkale itself, where at last there are cotton fields and fruit farms to decorate the landscape.…
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Split: The Role of Hajduk
Being a big football (soccer) fan, I’ve always been fascinated by the role of a football club in cultural history: there are great histories here which tend to pass unknown to non-football fans, stories which far transcend the game itself. The reason Barcelona became so big, and the part Espanyol played in that story, is a stirring tale on its own. The history of Hajduk Split tells a parallel tale to Barcelona, in as much as, during times of extreme political oppression, the football club became a critical point of identity when such individual nationalism was prohibited. During the long years of communist rule and the enforced unification of Yugoslavia,…
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Croatian Islands: Korčula
It’s only 6.20am in sleepy Stari Grad but there’s drama at the bus station as we await our early morning ride. An irate elderly couple pull up in their car and accost two females waiting for the same bus as us; a row ensues, money changes hands and the couple speed off. We can only conclude that the two females have exited their guest house without settling their debts: how incredibly rude, if we are right. Drama over, it’s breakfast at Hvar Town port and then the early catamaran to our next island destination, Korčula, where we are met by our next host Tonci and taken to our seventh home…
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Croatia Island Hopping: On To Hvar
Our departure from Bol is so cool that we can’t stop smiling. The only boat service from Brac to Hvar is a catamaran which sails in the evening, a bit later than we would like, and with no outside deck to enjoy. But our wonderfully helpful hosts tip us off that one of the excursion boats, the Andrija, is skippered by a guy who lives on Hvar, and so, each afternoon when his excursions for the day are done, he heads home with his boat. If we can catch him, he’ll give us a lift. And so it is that we find the Andrija, cadge a cheap lift on a…
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Island Hopping Croatia: Brač
Some of the inter island ferry services have been scaled back due to an expected drop in visitor numbers during COVID, so to hop from Šolta to Brač we have to go back to Split and on again from there. So it’s an early alarm, the 7:20 bus from Maslinica and the 8am ferry, breakfast in Split harbour and then a second ferry over to Supetar on the island of Brač. Brač a much bigger and more mountainous island than Šolta, in fact the third largest Adriatic island; our next billet means travelling some distance to the south of the island, and we’ve been recommended that the best option for…
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First Taste Of The Islands
Island hopping is going to make up most of the rest of our time here, but the island wanderlust kicks in early, and for our last day at our Šibenik base we take a Jadrolinija ferry to Zlarin, just a 30-minute boat trip away. All we can say is, if the remaining islands on this trip are as good as Zlarin then we are in for a treat. With only an afternoon to enjoy it, we don’t venture beyond the eponymous port town, a pretty collection of old stone houses clustered around a horseshoe harbour with five or so seafront restaurants. Crystal clear water laps the pebble beaches, both the…
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From Plitvice To The Wonders Of Šibenik
The time will soon come when we run out of superlatives for this country, such is its propensity to thrill, surprise and charm. Day 9, and we leave Mukinje, Plitvice and our host Kristina with heavy heart and head westwards towards the Adriatic and the Dalmatian coast. The lush and dramatic Lake District scenery soon gives way to a spectacular mountainside drive as our road perches on a ledge way above the land below, dropping eventually to the outskirts of Zadar. From here the E8 turns south, now hugging the beautiful coastline for a different type of incredible scenery. We pause for lunch at the ridiculously quaint seaside town of…
