Croatia: Leaving The Mainland

Day 14 of this trip is significant, as we say goodbye to both the hire car and the mainland, and head off to indulge in a bit of island hopping for the next few weeks. So it’s our first early start in quite a while, completing the 90-minute drive back to Split before breakfast. Once again we follow the E8 road, hugging the coast alongside pretty coastal towns, sumptuous bays and alluring marinas, but there’s no time to stop and stare this morning, we have a target. 

Consequently it’s only a little after 9am when we pull in to Split harbour, hand back the keys to the Clio, and take breakfast as the ferries come and go in the busy port, the largest heading across the waters to Italy, most setting off to the islands. Our first island destination is Šolta, where a bus ride across the island brings us to the beautiful former fishing village of Maslinica.

Maslinica is a picture postcard island village, clustered around a small natural harbour between headlands clad in pine and tamarisk. Our host Ante meets us off the bus, tells us all about Šolta (the island of golden honey and golden olive oil) and all about Maslinica, home to only 200 inhabitants out of season. There are apparently only three original families here in the village, and when later we walk through the churchyard, it seems as if more than half of the headstones carry Ante’s surname. Before long it also becomes obvious to us that most of the village folk look like Ante too, such is island life, we guess!

Within the first few hours here, we decide Šolta is going to be the chill section of this trip; there is something about Maslinica which is just telling us to slow down and soak up the peaceful feeling, and so we obey, and apart from a few strolls up the hills behind the village, chill is precisely what we do. 

There is a peculiar pageant twice daily though, as the half day boat excursions from Spilt call in here and for an hour or two there’s a couple of hundred extra people here. The bars fill, the craft shops do business, the noise level increases. And then, just as suddenly as it starts, it’s over, and peace returns almost before the boat’s wake has dispersed.

Swallows, swifts and cicadas have dominated the soundtrack throughout this trip so far; the birds swoop and screech morning and evening, but the incessant rasp of the cicadas fills every daylight hour from first to last, everywhere we’ve been so far. It’s a very loud chorus that accompanies every waking hour. Here on Šolta, that familiar soundtrack has been augmented by rumbling thunder as storms roll around without ever breaking, though we have seen a couple of sharp showers and quite a bit of afternoon cloud, an interruption to the endless hot sun seen up till now.

It’s back to normal for our last day though as the hot dawn to dusk sunshine returns. We take the bus to the island’s spiritual centre, the village of Grohote, before an afternoon lazing in the sun and swimming in these deliciously clear waters. Grohote has many deserted and derelict buildings, bringing to life the sad side of Šolta’s history, one of depopulation and emigration.

The population of this island was at its highest way back in 1901, after which first a vine disease which destroyed the vineyards, then the two World Wars, and finally the modern day search for wealth, has brought about something of a steady exodus of islanders. It’s a story we’ve seen before on our travels.

Thanks largely to the generosity of those who left and made money, Šolta’s wine, olive oil and honey industries have recovered – successful emigrees looked after their homeland by paying off the island’s debts to ensure this. The visiting day trippers and the moneyed yacht owners help too, of course.

The food and wine here has been wonderful, especially the fresh fish, but more of that later. Despite being truly enamoured with this place,  our time here is now done. Šolta, and Maslinica, have been another wonderful destination on our Croatia odyssey. 

It’s time for our next island.