IT'S spLIT - SPLIT, CROATIA - DAY 26
Only three days left!
I can’t believe my trip is nearly finished. We wake up in Zadar this morning to beautiful sunshine and 10C (50F) today! Warmest we’ve had all month! The timing was a bit inconvenient because we were about to leave. But from what we saw, Croatia blossomed and became even more beautiful. It’s tough to travel comfortably here, but the sights are breathtaking, and probably one of Europe’s best kept secrets. We ate traditional apple boric, took in our last moments of looking out at the crystal blue ocean from our balcony, and headed for Split.
All of us literally sardine ourselves into this little, European Toyota, and take off. On our way, we take a detour to the city of Sibenik to go urban exploring to St. Nicholas Fortress. I found this place in the depths of the Internet, and it was at the top of my list. Few people know of this place, and it’s a hidden gem. There’s even a sign that says, “Enter at your own risk”. We had to cross a bridge, walk through a small forest, carefully use rocks to cross from the forest to the fortress (depending on the tide), and climb up to wet, slippery, wooden boards, at a steep angle upward to crawl through a small window until you're inside. There wasn't another way in, or a safer method to get inside.
The history of it is kind of funny, but the building is incredible!! It was off the beaten path, but everyone agreed, this was an excellent adventure!
We all help each other up inside the fortress. Norris is a natural at parkour, even though this has never been his hobby. He climbs up first like a cat and makes it looks easy. Imran goes up next. Alex helps him halfway, and Norris grabs hold of him at the top to pull him up to safety. It's roughly a 15ft - 20ft drop, and would definitely send one of us to the hospital. Personally, I feel it would be disastrous to wind up in a hospital in Croatia, and I begin to feel a heavy guilt for bringing all of us here. I want us to have fun and go on an adventure, but I don't want anyone hospitalized for it. We wouldn't even know where to go for help. I worry about this for the rest of our excursion here. It's my turn, and I snap out of my anxiety. My boots won't grip the wet wooden planks for anything. I take them off along with my camera bag and scale barefoot. Alex helps me halfway, and then hands me off to the other two boys at the top. The whole process is extremely unsteady, and difficult. I make it, retrieve my shoes and bag, and now it's Kay's turn. She's extra nervous. Although she loves climbing like Norris, she's worried her clumsy tendencies will overcome her focus and agility here. She climbs up like me- No problem. Alex is last. With no one to help him at the bottom, he gets on all fours to cat-climb up. He slips a few times, triggering everyone's anxiety, but with our encouragement, he moves up to the boys who grab hold of him and pull him inside. The trick was to move quickly, otherwise you'd slide off for sure. All of safe inside, we gawk in awe at our cool discovery. The boys truly become boys and run around everywhere, like this is our own private little playground. This fortress was built in the 16th century by the Venetians to keep out the invading Turks, and various other maritime attackers. It was so impenetrable, that most enemies decided to never attempt an attack. It was eventually abandoned and left as an urban explorer’s delicacy. Lucky us.
We can’t get enough of it, and the danger of getting inside only made it that much more thrilling and satisfying. Everything is really well intact. We roam and adventure around this fortress / dungeon and I shoot everything. I run inside the dungeon right away- It's spectacular, and like Dr. Who's Tardis, is much bigger on the inside. The boys follow in shortly after. Kay gets spooked when she can't find us inside, and gets a bit upset as her fear of the dungeon overcomes her. We all rendez vous back outside at the roof, and carry on our exploration. We parkour all over the place, and take selfies. Fuck danger, do it for the 'gram! We're running around the top-most part of the fortress for pictures- An elevated wall with a 10ft drop back inside to the roof, and a 60ft drop into shallow, rocky waters on the outside. This was certainly the most dangerous part, but the boys have no trouble, and Kay has no fear of heights. I do. To take pictures, Kay and I have to jump across a broken part of the wall to get to the other side. The gap is only about a 5ft, but with my heavy boots, and a weighted camera bag, this makes me extremely uneasy. I know it's just nerves, so I inhale and exhale sharply with short breathes to suppress my nerves, and go for a running jump. I make it no problem- Just trembling a bit. I walk over to the tower for a photo. I didn't think of until I had to, but I had to make it back. Crap. The wind has picked up now, and my nerves get the best of me. Gripped by locked knees, and a stiff panic, I kneel down and jump to the inside of the fortress 10ft down. The shock to my feet spears my ankles, but I'm relieved to be on safer ground. Kay comes up to the gap above me and asks what happened. I told her truthfully, I let the fear of heights get the better of me. Funny to think about what triggers our fears as individuals. For future, I'll handle the dark dungeons, and she can handle the heights. She jumps the gap with ease, and I meet her back up top by way of a ramp that leads up to the other side. I photograph her and the boys. We keep playing until the rain and rising tide kicks us out. We literally climb / slide down the wooden boards, and cross the rocks on the sea to the forest, until we make our way back to the car.
Somehow, we cram ourselves back into the impossibly small vehicle, and continue our road trip until we reach our Airbnb in Split.
We drop our stuff on the fifth floor where our apartment is. The climb is worth it- We have the Mountain View on one side, and the beach on the other. We relax, watch some cartoons, and head out to see Diocletian's Palace, hit a top lookout point, and grab dinner at a well-known spot next to the overlook.
It rains all afternoon and evening, and we are soaked to the bone. We grab a nightcap with cigars- Kay’s idea, as it’s something she’s always wanted to do. We share a “Montecristo”- My choice as it's one of my favorite novels.
At this place, I see a really inspiring elderly woman, wearing an ankle length, dark brown fur coat, in glasses, a light blue scarf, Golden Doc Martins, drinking a beer, and smoking a cigarette. Her only friend is the bartender, and all I want to do is photograph her. I try to, and my friend Norris asks for me in Bosnian, but she either can’t hear him or ignores him and I can’t capture her. It’s my only regret on this trip. Her image of independence and youth, still clinging to her aging self is cemented in my brain. I only hope to replicate it in my future photography or films. What a phenomenal character.
We shiver back to our apt. and immediately remove all wet clothing to hang dry. We slip into our pajamas, and are now all on the couch under blankets, playing cards in front of the heater. More sightseeing tomorrow, and prepping to head home thereafter.
Love always,
-eM
Xoxox
