This summer I spent three months in Split sandwiching a two-month trip around eastern Europe (Belgrade, Kiev, Odessa, Krakow, Warsaw, Minsk, Latvia). But before that, in June, my vacationing sister and her family met me in Cavtat (where I spent a month back in 2015) and Dubrovnik before returning to Split.
In June I visited one of the islands off of the Croatian, Dalmatian coast, Vis. A small island only a few miles across with two towns. I rented a scooter and explored it for a day. Surprisingly, even though Vis is one of the most photogenic destinations I have visited, it was almost vacant of foreign tourists.
In September, when I returned from my eastern European sojourn, I was happy to have a respite from changing destinations each week, and focused on work, yoga, swimming and fitness for the month. I made new local friends and it became our habit to congregate on Saturday nights for homemade thai cuisine, gin and tonics, and a marathon of competitive cooking shows and American television. One weekend I hosted a meal and cooked macaroni and cheese, orange chicken (my favorite recipe) and even a chocolate cake for my friend Dado who had recently finished his dissertation for university. The highlight of the evening though, was toasting champagne after dinner to have impromptu beach fireworks simultaneously erupt a kilometer away. Another signal that life was being well-lived and in proper syncopation.
In October I was fortunate enough to make a new friend from my yoga class. Ivana and I made it a habit to have morning coffees together each week so that she could practice her English. She is an inspiring artist and her work can be seen here.
I’ve found that Pomalo, a local, Croatian word roughly akin to Swahili’s hakuna-matata (“no worries”), suits my barefoot, unkempt summer disposition. As such Split has entered my regular travel repertoire along with Bogotá, Colombia. I have a few other places that are vying for ascension into this exclusive destination club in the hope of eventually curating a list of regular rotations (while keeping space for continued new explorations, of course). Each international destination I reside in feeds an aspect of my personality. The freedom of swimming in the open sea, walking barefoot, absolved from underwear… Split really hits the mark for my need of freedom. And also introspection.
I’ve experienced the transition between summer and autumn for the past three years in Croatia and it’s a fix-it shop for my psyche. People often lament the loss of summer while disregarding the gift of autumn where cooler weather allows a downshift from a frenetic, sun-drenched all-day pace. Swimming through the sea as it cools week-to-week gives tactile sense to the seasonal transition and keys my body to initiate a similar change within itself. My mind and life are always transitional and I love to catch Croatia when it is too.
