To Trogir

September 2, 2018

The yachting life

For dinner last night, Rachael and I biked the short distance to the far side of the harbor to a restaurant I spotted and liked the looks of earlier in the day. We enjoyed our meal, but I think I enjoyed the show just in front of our noses even more. We were seated at about six, at the peak time for arrival of yachts harboring the night in Milna. There was a steady parade of huge pleasure boats rounding the bend, entering the harbor, and joining the queue waiting to pull into their berth.

On the shore, harbor workers wheeled back and forth controlling traffic and shouting instructions and commands to the arriving crews. At one point there was an extended exchange with one of these ships, which according to the port authorities apparently was not on the reservation list. Eventually, after a few phone calls to verify their claim, they were granted access.

We discussed this madhouse scene with our waiter. He explained that Saturdays are always like this in season. Most of these boats are rented out a week at a time and take a loop through the islands beginning and ending in nearby Split. Milna is the final stop on the normal circuit, so they all congregate here on Saturday night, the last night out.

The yachts arrive, under the watchful oversight of the port monitor straddling her scooter.

For just a brief moment, the yachts on the opposite shore glowed in the golden sunset.

Our restaurant, our hostess, and the remaining half of tonight’s featured tuna.

Milna to Supetar

Today’s ride to Trogir is a journey in stages. It begins with a ride to Supetar, the port on the north shore of the island with the ferry to Split. From Split, we have an option - we can bike up the coast, or we can catch a second ferry across a narrow channel to Slatine, and bike from there. There are arguments pro and con on this option - the ride through Split and along the coast is apt to be busy and unpleasant, but there are scheduling issues with the Slatine ferry, assuming it even allows bikes - it only runs four times per day, and the times don’t coordinate that well with the arrival times of the ferry from Supetar. We decide to wait until we arrive in Split and decide then.

We first begin the day back where it ended last night - at the restaurant across the harbor from our room. It’s the only one we’ve seen here that offers an actual breakfast, and we confirmed last night that it opens at eight.

The entire bay looks like this this morning - an unbroken line of yachts. There must be two hundred of them here in this small harbor. Walking past them, they all look the same - a half dozen folks sitting around the table in the stern, eating breakfast, sipping their drinks, and looking sharp and classy in their boater duds. Everyone looks bronzed, blond, and like a million bucks.

The ride to Supetar begins with the same five miles to Lozisca that we rode yesterday morning. It’s a pleasant morning, and the climb feels easier than it did yesterday. I’m glad to pass this way again anyway, because I can stop for a photo of the plum-budded prickly pears that line the roadside near the village. I stop for a photo, and Rachael and I agree to meet at the junction a ways ahead.

At the junction is the stoplight to control the traffic through the narrow one way street. Also there is a crowd of bikers waiting for the light to change, but it doesn’t include Rachael. She got caught up chatting with them and didn’t even notice it was a junction, so she didn’t wait. Worse, she didn’t watch her GPS and went off in the wrong direction. Fortunately one of the bikers told me which way she’d gone, or we might have been a long time reconnecting. I biked along after her for about a mile, but finally stopped to call her on the phone. Just then, she shows up around the bend, having finally looked down at her map and discovered her oversight.

Pretty great looking cactus, don’t you think! Look at those thorns!

We don’t mind adding a few miles to detour through Razisca again. It’s pretty enough to merit a second pass through.

The remainder of the ride to Supetar is very pretty. After several miles following the ridge eastward we drop steeply to the north shore, enjoying dramatic views of the mountains south of Split on the mainland across the channel. We arrive at the terminal at noon, which is perfect. The ferry leaves in a half hour so there’s plenty of time to get tickets and stop in at a bakery to pick up pastries and drinks for lunch.

Another look at the stone walls that characterize this part of Dalmatia. One source I found describes thes as dry stone (hand stacked, morterless) construction that dates back to about the fourth century BC.

Even after our two mile detour, we caught up with the bikers. They look speedy here, going downhill. They wilt on the hills though, and often get off and push. They’re on a commercial tour, island hopping on a boat and taking day rides.

One of the marble quarries Brač is famous for. Marble from Brač was used to build Diocletian’s Palace in Split, and allegedly the US White House.

Looking across to the mainland from the north shore of Brač. Split is just a few miles off the frame to the west (left). Thunderclouds are building. We stayed dry today, but a big light show is coming to Trogir tonight.

Split to Trogir

We arrive in Split just before 1:30. The next ferry to Slatine (which we’ve learned from tonight’s hosts does in fact take bikes) won’t leave until four, so we decide to bike it rather than sitting at the port for a couple of hours. First though, it seems best to fix the flat tire I didn’t realize I had until biking off the ferry. As best I can tell, I did this to myself with that stupid cactus photo - I find several spines sticking to my tire, one of which finally worked its way through to the inside.

The ride from Split to Trogir is no worse than we expected, but it’s certainly no better either. A few miles are on the busy coast highway, and there are a few dicey spots where you need to look for gaps in the traffic and then jump fast to get across an exit ramp. Not really recommended. Take the ferry instead.

Remember that nice cactus photo we saw earlier? It really wasn’t worth it.

Bridge crossing, on the ride from Split to Trogir

We arrive in Trogir about four, unharmed but ready for a room and a shower. First though, we have to find our room. No mean feat, even though old Trogir is a very tiny place. It’s embedded in the pedestrian/historic zone just a block or so from the cathedral, but even though we have the address we can’t locate it. Finally we call, and are instructed to wait in the square until our hostess comes to collect us.

Trogir is tiny, but wonderful to wander through. You’ll have to wait for the next post to see any of it though, because I’m tired and it’s late. At least though I can show you this fine dinner, perhaps the best of the tour thus far.

In Trogir, hoping someone will arrive to claim us.

The entryway to our apartment building, Trogir

Many of Trogir’s streets look like this. This one is special though, because it includes our restaurant.

It’s about time we had a food photo in here! Rachael: monkfish with boiled potatoes and capers. Scott: homemade gnocchi, Dalmatian style - with a piece of beef infused with carrots and bacon, covered with a mole-like sauce of ground vegetables and plums.

The first half of today’s ride: Milna to Supetar

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The second half of the ride, split by the ferry to Split

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Ride stats today: 40 miles, 3,000’; for the tour: 191 miles, 16,100’

Today's ride: 40 miles (64 km)
Total: 191 miles (307 km)

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