On our third day in Split we decided to (finally) get out on the water, something the weather prevented us from doing in Kotor a couple of weeks earlier. Due to the size of the city and unfamiliarity with kayaking on the open sea, we contacted Red Adventures Croatia who offer a half day tour complete with transportation and all necessary equipment. The price tag? Forty Euro per person, a bit steep for our budget but we fudged the numbers a bit and found the room.
The morning of our kayaking adventure we waited on our apartment front steps placing bets on what kind of vehicle would pull up to greet us, laughing at how silly three people would look piling onto a scooter. The car was unmistakable with a couple kayaks tied to the roof and we quickly realized we were the only tour participants for the day - a private guide for three and a half hours? The "steep" price just became a great deal!
As we paddled around Marjan hill, a protected park offering lovely scenic views, our guide Mario pointed out many of the buildings along the shore including a marine biology research centre and one of many summer homes of previous Yugoslavian president Josip Tito. A wealth of information, Mario shared some fun facts about the tourism industry and the stone quarry utilized to build the White House. After a few hours we got our first glimpse of the Old Town from the harbor; although it was a bit busy with cruise ship passengers being ferried to shore, Mario was patient and waited to guide us across during a lull in the traffic (and after our arms had a little rest).
After three and a half hours of paddling we were happy to spot Drazen and his little car on the shore* - our ride home after a long morning. We took a moment to swim before getting changed into dry clothes and piling into the car as the first inklings set in of how sore we would be the next day.
*We may or may not have paddled past a nude beach of sorts during our trip, or perhaps it was just a coincidence that so many naked men were tanning themselves on the rocky shore. Either way we took in a bit more "scenery" than we paid for...
1 comments:
Australia Kayaks! The two just go together, don’t they? Kayaks for fishing, does a man need anything else?
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