Klimno and Trogir, Friday, June 12, 2026
The same lovely young man, Nicola, who had brought us to the island from Zagreb picked us up for the ride south. There was a slight problem, though. Vladimir had ordered a van for eight plus the driver, and the van arrived seating eight all told. This made for a less than comfortable drive to Trogir, just up the coast from Split, for Cindy, Connie, Patti, and Sue. They were packed like sardines in the back seat.
Once off the island, we drove through a series of resort towns on the mainland across from Krk. It really is a gorgeous place, with the turquoise sea, the white limestone mountains, and the muted greens of the semi-arid landscape. Rising up through a mountain pass, we join a freeway that takes us quickly south. This part of Croatia is mountainous: nothing huge, but lots of medium-sized ranges.
We pulled up to our hotel in Trogir around 4 PM. As we stepped out of the van, it was suddenly summer: 85 degrees, with intense sunshine.
The walkers, all experienced an intense sense of disorientation. The transition from the English coast, gorgeous despite its murky weather, to a full on Mediterranean clime was hard to understand!
Patti and David had stayed at the Hotel Pasike on a bike / sail trip through the islands last year.
It is a lovely place, with a great terrace overlooking the water and exceptionally comfortable rooms. The furnishings are very Venetian, and we felt right at home.
We headed right out for a first circumnavigation of the old town of Trogir, which sits on an island surrounded by the modern town.
The entire old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Originally settled by Greeks, the town was successively Roman, a Dalmatian city-state paying tribute to Croatian rulers, Venetian, and Hungarian. It was sacked and largely destroyed by the Saracens in 1123, and rebuilt within a generation. Much of what you see today dates from this period: medieval and renaissance Venetian in style, the entire town glows from the white limestone of which it is built.
We started with a really nice dinner at the hotel: Sue had sea bass with a typical Croatian dish of chard and potatoes; I had a delicious seafood risotto.
After dinner we first strolled along the marina, lined with enormous and enormously expensive yachts.
The island is a honeycomb of narrow lanes; the “through streets” are marked with a line of limestone pavers in the center. We soon arrived at the square in front of the cathedral.
Walking back, we ended up at the Kamerlengo fortress guarding the entrance to the marina.
We all retreated to the hotel for a nightcap; the fellowship thinned gradually until only the football diehards were left: Vladimir and Mike. We watched the first half of the Canada-Bosnia game but it wasn’t a barnburner and we trundled off to bed.
I awoke at 4:00 AM and, on my way to the bathroom, checked on the USA-Paraguay score. 3-0 USA! I was so excited it took me an hour to fall back to sleep!