There is a lot of content on this website covering my visits to Split. It’s one of my international homes, and prior to 2020 when governmental Covid-19 restrictions inhibited international movement, I was in Croatia perennially five summers in a row. However, my streak ended in 2020 and that made me mad; so much for being a no-mad. I did manage to break free of the USA in mid January, 2021. Any port in a storm and Split is a most fitting port — having been a port city welcoming foreigners for over two thousand years. It was a great decision and I’m very glad to have returned after over a year away.
The Dalmatian coast is known for the rocky beaches of the Adriatic sea, island life, sunshine and pomalo summers — but even in winter during a pandemic, unable to do my daily swims or beach-basking, Split felt better than the black hole of fear, anxiety, divisive politics and caustic media that has come to define the United States of America. In previous visits when asking Croatian friends what winter was like in Split, I was led to believe “very windy, very cold, but sunny.” Maybe I lucked out, but the more than five weeks were comfortable in terms of weather: sunny and typically 50s during the day, not too windy. This really isn’t considered winter according to most of us I let everyone know. In truth, a Dalmatian winter, and the cozy comforts therein, seems to me to be a low-key secret. Walking around an empty Diocletian’s palace at night in cold weather magnified the romance and mystery of every dark alley, ancient doorway and aged sphinx scattered about, stolen from Egypt more than two thousand years ago.
Though I was fleeing from the burning ship called the USA, my main reason for choosing Split was to visit my friends David and Tamara. David is from New York, and his partner Tamara, is Croatian and from Split. I was somewhat responsible that they met each other back in 2017. I had been in Bogotá and met up with David, who was passing through, and convinced him to spend the summer in Split with me. We both had a great time in Split that summer. Tamara and David ended up together and their son, Samuel Reid Arvan, was born this past spring. My second reason for returning to Split this time was to meet little Sammy for the first time. The timing was ideal for a playful, curious and interactive ten-month boy who is fun to toss into the air and tickle.
Three days after arriving into Split I contracted Covid. That entailed 5 days of feeling like an 80 year old man (presumably) — compared to what I was expecting from the media coverage, it wasn’t very bad. I slept 12 hours at night (with a nap each afternoon), felt weak with body and headaches. However it never prevented me from working. After those five days, the symptoms progressively lessened for another week and a half. My senses of smell and taste took much longer to return, and maybe they still have not; though now I feel as they better support my Spartan, nutrient-forward diet inclusive of such staples as sardine and raw carrot breakfasts and three ingredient dinners eaten over the sink. Beyond this benefit, Covid has granted me immunity from subsequent infection for a few months, greatly facilitating international travel, greatly simplifying logistical considerations should I become sick during transit. Covid: what a blessing.
A fun memory from this visit to Split was spent doing photo journalism with my friend, Helena. We collaborated on an interview of a group of ladies me met by happenstance — she wrote the article and I took the photos. It was recently published in Croatia, making me a real photographer! You can read more about the experience and find the published article here.
In Split I was able to practice drone photography for the first time using a new, tiny drone I had purchased to travel with. The images and videos from different vantage points, angles and perspectives has been a fun complement to my traditional photography and offers plenty of opportunities to practice and experiment while on the road. Until I figure out the best way to incorporate the videos I capture with the drone onto this website, you can view samplings scattered throughout my instagram. Here are some static photos I took with the drone around Split and the surrounding regions:
