Croatia day 2

I booked yesterday for a tour to the Blue Grotto so, thinking I was safely sorted, I ate breakfast in bed then sauntered round bay getting a couple of pics and paddling a little, until 9 when Mario at Navigator said to arrive... only to be told no-one else wanted to go so it was cancelled. Argh! By now it was too late to go round other operators (they leave Vis Town at 9) my only option was to hire transport to get to Komiza under my own steam and book from there with Altera Natura whose tour picks up strays in my position by leaving half an hour later than everyone else. The island's only bus coincides with the arrival (twice daily) of the ferry, so (since i've never driven a scooter before) I was offered a convertible for the whole day for what'd normally buy you 3 hours. Either Mario likes me or it's the end of the season. Probably a bit of both.

Even though it sent my budget spinning wildly off kilter, I couldn't pass up the chance to see the Blue Grotto as it's one of the reasons I wanted to go to Croatia, and if I didn't go I'd've effectively wasted time and money coming to vis. It was my first time a)driving abroad b)driving a right hand drive c)driving a convertible, but other than having to sprint back into the office to discover the trick of putting the thing into reverse (VERY embarrassing) everything went swimmingly. Time being of the essence first thing, I headed straight on over the top of the island - planning to meander along the south coast's beaches later on. 

I arrived in enough time explore Komiza - it's much smaller and more chilled than Vis, which feels (by comparison) like a show town. Exploring doesn't take long - walking round the bay from the tower (where I parked) took all of ten minutes, and I found Alter Natura right at the other end of it. The lady told me where to catch the boat ("You'll know captain - he has beard.") and I set out to fill the time with a more in depth look at the town... taking all of twenty minutes, including stops to buy and write postcards.

On the boat I met Lucy and Darren, a couple about my age from Manchester, as well as group of three middle aged Croats who didn't speak any English. The ride from Vis to Bisevo took about 45 minutes. Under the thrum of the engine and the slap and hiss of waves in the wake, was a noise faintly resembling the sound of the TARDIS landing... certainly the sea was a deep, clear time-travel blue. On Bisevo, we tied up to another boat, got off to buy tickets and transfer to a dinghy to get into the Grotto itself. Five minutes later, bypassing some perilous looking rocks and some cliffs I was aching to boulder across, we reached the Blue Grotto. The entrance is intimidatingly tiny - it barely looks like a boat will get through, never mind the heads of passengers, and is guarded by a bored looking man bobbing about in a boat attatched to a line. 

Inside it was magical; fully and completely worth the time, effort and expense of getting to see it - I just wish I'd been able to swim in there, that would've been special. Two things prevented me - the expressed orders of my surgeon five days previously being at the forefront of my mind, and the captain's obvious desire to get us round and out. I think they're all sick of tourists by this point of the year. 



Back to Bisevo for a Fanta and, chatting with Lucy and Darren, I made a quick change to my plan of action. They'd stayed the night in Komiza, having caught the morning ferry the day before and were heading back on that afternoon's car ferry. I decided to do the same, having done the only thing I really wanted to do on Vis. I offered them a lift in my car; they offered my their bus fare. 


I packed up at my guesthouse, got my refund and ate a picnic lunch in the shade of palm trees by the harbour until the Jadrolinijia ferry office opened again after siesta. I scoured the Lonely Planet for inspiration whilst doing so to try and get my budget back on the straight and narrow, and regretfully decided that Zadar is going to have to wait for another trip, as I want to do Plitvice National Park almost more than life itself, and that's not going to be the cheapest of daytrips. We caught the car ferry back to Split, I said goodbye to Lucy and Darren before installing myself at Hostel Split (80HRK/night). I made tortellini for dinner, to save eating out and had a beer whilst wandering to the bus/train station to investigate prices to Zagreb. 114HRK was the cheapest bus I found, and as the overnight train was only 10HRK cheaper for a seat (not a berth) I decided to go for that.

Decision made, I made the most of my evening in Split by sitting and listening to an accoustic guitar set in main square of Diocletian's Palace then wandering round to soak up the ambience and to see the place at night. Back at the hostel I took advantage of the in-dorm computer to assure Mother I was alive, then collapsed into bed.