So this is the 5th Port Day in a row – another day off for Peter, but to be honest, we’ve walked so far, and climbed so many steps over the last few days, I feel like we need a few sea days and classes for a rest.
A nice slow lazy start then, with news from home, before getting to the shuttle bus into town at around 10.30. The terminal was more like one you’d find in an airport, and we had to walk for ages to find our way out, and as we did, it all got a bit complicated because passengers coming back. (Yeah, I know, coming back already?)
They told us that there were so many people waiting for the shuttle, it would take an hour before we could get on. And it was an hour walk into town. This caused the ‘frail old dear’ ahead of us to persuade the girl at the tourist info to order an Uber and also persuade us to share it with her. We agreed, but when we got outside, there wasn’t any waiting for the bus as extras had been laid on. So the woman jumped on the bus, and we, feeling guilty, waited for the Uber (despite the fact we could have got on the bus). Shuttle buses left. We waited. The Uber Taxi arrived and the door opened. But it stunk so badly of of really strong cigarette or cigar smoke, we had to walk away. Luckily, we didn’t have to wait long for the next shuttle, but we’ll definitely be thinking twice before helping out any other “helpless’ old ladies.
Zadar though was lovely. Like Dubrovnik and Split, Zadar has an old town within old fort walls. The bus dropped us off at the end of the peninsula and we happily walked, enjoying the sunshine, the pleasant surroundings and just being there.
The first thing we investigated was the sea organ. A little bit of genius to be honest. Somehow, someone engineered the steps in such a way that as the waves of the sea hit the steps, the air inside was pushed around, to be forced out of grills and holes in the steps themselves. Each step section had a different sound and the result was a continuous off beat and random melody. You could sit and listen for ages, and many people did.
From there it was a walk around the old town, investigating the various points of interest. There was an old church building, which I think re-used a previous Roman structure which made it interesting inside.
We found a square of Roman remains, known as The Forum, a little harbour, a botanical garden, the old wall itself that you could walk along and a 3D model of the city (no fotie).
Spotting the Chiff Chaff (at least that’s what I think it is), and the little newts in The Forum greenery just added to it.
We really enjoyed our pleasant few hours in Zadar, made better by trying a couple more Croation meat pastries and then a couple of ice creams.
It was then a shuttle bus back to the ship. I must admit, that we’ve taken to dropping into the ‘Living Room’, the main lounge on Deck 5, when we get back from port visits. Mostly to partake of the very excellent chocolate chip cookies or ice cream, as well as a cool drink, such as a beer for Peter, lemonade for me. Everything is all inclusive, and if we wanted we could eat ourselves sick on the goodies there, but we have to remember we’ll be having dinner later, so we don't.
And that was Zadar. Now we have a couple of sea days before Cagliari.
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