My trip to Croatia

I vacationed on the Island of Hvar, which is in the Dalmatian islands, along the Adriatic coast of Croatia. This island has some of the cleanest waters in the Mediterranean because it doesn't have that many tourists, and the pollution they bring. The above picture was taken in the beach if Island Palmazina. The beaches there are as great as any in the French Riviera except they don't have all those tourists. Swimming out in almost 20 meters of water I could still see the bottom the water is so clean. Though it's a good thing the water is so clean as you have to watch out for the sea urchins. I took a wrong step and got six spines in my foot. It could have been much worse if I had stepped on the whole animal. I just limped to shore, pulled the spines out and was back in the water.

Croatia is one of the countries that make up the former Yugoslavia. Back in the Eighties this eastern European country decided that they could make a car just as good as any western country, but for less. The resulting Yugo is widely considered one of the worst cars ever manufactured. They were last manufactured around 1990. They are everywhere in Croatia and still running. If this really was one of the worst cars ever built, why do so many still run? They also don't seem that rusty or load as they drive by. These cars are bare minimum 16 years old and run better than most more expensive 16 year old cars.

This is the remains of Dioclacision's palace in Split. (The wall running through the middle of this pic) He was the emperor of Rome around AD 300. Most things in this picture are ancient but the wall is what is left of his palace. You can see that it makes up the fourth wall of a few houses. People dry their laundry on it's 1700 year old ramparts. People attach their satellite dishes to it.

This is part of the harbor of the City of Hvar. Notice the castle in the back on the hill.

This pic was taken from that castle.

An artsy pic of a village that was abandoned 40 years ago. (I'm too lazy to edit this photo and rotate it. )

Another pic of the ghost town. The buildings are still in great shape.

These stone walls cover hundreds of acres of the interior. They contain no binding material. They were built for growing lavender. An industry that went away when the communists came.

The view from my hotel window. My hotel must have been magnificent when it was built in the 30's. Now it is really run down but the marble halls and staircases, and the wood ballroom floor looks like some of the most magnificent craftsmanship I have seen in a hotel, despite their deep scratches.

More stuff from this trip to come later if I feel like it.