Month One - Split, Croatia!
Hey everyone! Ok, so firstly it's been waaaaaaaay too long since I last posted. To be very honest, the transition has effected me more than I expected and I lost a lot of momentum professionally. Apparently a heavy diet of carbs (pizza and burgers) and drinking nearly every day isn't conducive for productivity.
That said, I'm back and want to fill you in on Split, Croatia (where I spent 5 weeks and was the first stop of my 12-month around the world trip).
So the entire month of June was spent in Split, Croatia which is on the Adriatic Sea.
If you recall from a previous post, I'm traveling the world in a group of 50 people organized by a company called RemoteYear.com. Here's a pic of the whole crew on the Croatian beach.
Here's a cool video recap of the area (drone footage courtesy of my mate, Rachel)
So Split, Croatia is really beautiful. The sea is cold and refreshing and old town is beautifully romantic and rustic. Check out some of the pictures of Diocletian's Palace below.
Diocletian's Palace
From Wiki: "is an ancient palace built for the Roman Emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century AD, that today forms about half the old town of Split, Croatia. While it is referred to as a "palace" because of its intended use as the retirement residence of Diocletian, the term can be misleading as the structure is massive and more resembles a large fortress: about half of it was for Diocletian's personal use, and the rest housed the military garrison."
We started a serious dance party in the middle of this square. For some reason the locals gather here to hang out, but never dance. Live music is playing nearly every night, so we didn't let a good opportunity go to waste. I snuck away from the dance party to snap this pic.
These small alleyway create a maze throughout Old Town with cute bars, restaurants and discos around every corner.
And let's not forget about the crazy bell tower and gigantic wizard out from. Don't those birds give this picture a Harry Potter feel??
And here's a view from inside old city. Sometimes you get large, open plazas and other times small bars tucked in to small corners. Just an amazing place.
The Adriatic Sea
Ok, so Old Town is amazing, but the sea bring just as much beauty and energy. If you watched the video above, you can see that much of the time is spend on, in or near the water. Here's a view from the porch at my apartment.
And here's an image of Split from the sea with the incredible mountains in the background.
I can't even explain the peaceful energy the sea provided everyday.
Visiting the Island of Hvar
If you are ever in Croatia, you HAVE to visit the islands. It's said that there are >10,000 islands. One of the most beautiful is the Island of Hvar. There's quite a few restaurants and bars, but also and incredible castle at the top. Here's a map pic to keep you geographically aligned.
Lemme show you what it's like to enter the Port of Hvar.
Surreal, right?? And what about a hidden beach between two ginormous rock cliffs only accessible by boat? Yeah, we swam in.
And here's a picture from the top. Secluded, right? (pic thx to Google images)
We also visited the Blue Cave. It's definitely on the top of the tourists "must-do" list and it doesn't disappoint. Basically it's a cave large enough for boats to enter and the very top has decayed away to let a single beam of light in. Since the water is very clean, the entire cave lights up with a blue tint.
You know I have more video for ya...courtesy of my buddy Kyle Phelps. You'll see the blue cave starting around the 60sec mark.
Cliff Diving and Puppies
Ok, I'll leave you with some randomness. We went to a dog shelter and also went cliff jumping. I'll say that after a few weeks of hanging out every day with random people, missing home and wondering if this trip was the right decision...it was nice to pet a few puppies and jump off a 10 meter cliff.
Here we goooooooo!! (yeah, this is me)
Aaaaaaaaaand another video for you. (thx again Kyle!)
That's it for now!
Alright, I hope this was a good read for ya. I've tried to include plenty of images and videos to help you feel what it was like to live in Split, Croatia for a 5 weeks.
Stay tuned for updates on Dubrovnik, Croatia and Kotor, Montenegro!
Until next time, keep building your own freedom and live life as a Liberty Entrepreneur.
-Ashe