At about 5pm on Sunday, our bus dropped us off at the promenade in Split right in front of our ship, Motor Yacht Barbara. This was the start of a truly special journey. The ship was fantastic. A link that has some info about the ship is https://www.barbara-cruising.com/my-barbara/.
Our group of 22 participants, our group leader and a crew of six were the only people on the ship. It was really nice to be able to unpack for seven straight nights. We had a welcome dinner on board the ship. The next morning, we spent a few hours at the Ethnographic Museum in Split that was just about five-minute walk from the ship. We then boarded the ship and headed for our first stop. What an awesome way to see Croatia!
Our first stop was a town I was already familiar with—Trogir. This time it was fun to have a tour guide who explained the history and culture. On my first stop there, I had intentionally not visited a few sites that I knew were on our agenda a few days later.
After a quick overnight at Trogir, we set sail for our first island. We stopped overnight at the town of Stari Grad on the island of Hvar. Stari Grad is one of the oldest known preserved settlements in this part of the world—there is evidence of a few things from when the Greeks established a town here in the 300s. Most of the buildings that are still standing came from the time of Venetian rule that started around the year 1400.
That evening (a Tuesday), our group leader made an announcement. The trip literature and detailed trip packets included pretty clear warnings that the itinerary was subject to change, as weather and water conditions may not allow a ship to dock or that it may not be safe to be on the water. While we had experienced very pleasant weather to date, high wind conditions were in the forecast starting Thursday. That was going to make for some very rough seas. So, we had to drop one of the islands from the plan, move up one stop from an overnight stop to a day stop, and add one new stop on the mainland just a bit north of our final stop in Dubrovnik. Then we would take a bus from that town’s harbor to some alternative destinations, while the crew would manage to get the boat to Dubrovnik. We would meet up again with our ship later that day via bus transport. I think the travel company did a great job of coming up with this Plan B. We will still stay overnight each night on the ship, but we should not be on the ship during the rough seas.
The other change in the program was more interesting. Since we are no longer going to Miljet Island, we are instead going by bus to Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The only dilemma for me is that I was planning to go to Mostar during my two days after the group tour ends and before my flight from Dubrovnik. I had already purchased bus tickets, had a hotel reservation and a group walking tour reservation. So now I am back to researching if I should instead go somewhere else in my extra two days at the end.
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