Our new group didn’t need to meet until almost midday so we had plenty of time in the morning to do with as we wished. It felt strange knowing that most of our original group was now gone, and these new people we’d not yet been properly introduced to would now be travelling with us. Maybe we’d get to know them just as well in time.

I decided to have a rest day from running, and have a relaxing start to the day. Very different to most Sundays where I’d be up early and out doing a long run. Split would perhaps have been a good place to get in a long run, but I wasn’t yet sure how much walking we’d be doing on this second half of the trip.

We went for a late breakfast after having bought a few bits at the supermarket. With not much else to do this morning we decided we’d take a walk up Marjan Hill. We kept to the shade where we could, and used the knowledge I’d gained from having run around it the morning before in order to take the most efficient route up.

At first I thought we’d only get as far as the first viewpoint, but we carried on until we reached the Church of Saint Nicholas in Split. It’d have been nice to have had the chance to see some of the others on the hill - but we’d already seen so many different styles of building it didn’t really matter.

For the time that remained we relaxed in the hotel until it was time to carry our luggage to the private transfer vehicle. We were now on our way to Zadar. With our previous group the transfer to Ston and eventually Korčula had been a chance to get to know some of the other passengers. This time we sat mostly in silence, watching the world pass by under rain clouds.

After an hour we stopped at some services overlooking the entrance to Krka National Park, and Stipanac. Krka was one of the places we’d been told about earlier in the trip - unlike Plitvice they allowed people to swim there and I think it’d peaked the interest of a few.

In the weather we now had, I wasn’t really thinking about swimming; I was thinking more about trying to get photographs of the small town ahead of us. Whilst waiting for one shot, I hastily started my lunch but found I couldn’t finish it before it was time to move on once more. At least it wouldn’t be a problem to eat my food on the bus to Zadar.

This town looked a little more dishelved than our previous destinations, and our first impressions of it were the industrial buildings and ferry ports that we passed on our way in. This wasn’t what we were there for though - parking up and continuing with our luggage on foot took us into the old town.

When I say old town, there aren’t that many buildings around that are older than about fifty to sixty years due to the area being bombed by the allied forces during the second world war. As a result this area didn’t feel as European as the others - we could see signs of the communist influence.

Vlad led us to the main square - a place which is surrounded by the Roman Forum, the Church of Saint Donat (which conveniently looks a little like a doughnut), and the Cathedral of Saint Anastasia. I’d say it’s pretty convenient to have the majority of sights located together - even more convenient when we found our hostel was next to the cathedral.

This hostel was an interesting place. In many ways it felt more like a hotel due to the rooms, but from what I understood there were the more traditional hostel rooms on the floor below us. We were on the second floor down a corridor with an almost mesmerising striped effect. Our room was opposite the bell tower, and high enough for us to see inside. That’d be why they encourage the use of the blinds - for privacy from tourists.

We were given a little time to settle in, and was then led by Vlad around the town. There wasn’t that much to see really. He shown us the immediate surroundings, told us about a few places on the map, and then took us to the sea organ.

The sea organ is actually quite clever - it’s a series of pipes under the quayside. As the sea water passes across them they cause the sounds that we hear. Changes in weather will cause the style of music it plays to differ, for example a stronger wind will produce a faster tune as the water will be moving faster.

The combination of dark storm clouds, mist, and strange music playing around us created an unusual atmosphere. Unfortunately it started to rain, and gradually got heavier and heavier the closer we got to the forum. Eventually we needed to dash back to the hostel to continue the orientation.

A small group of us headed to the Museum of Ancient Glass as it’d been recommended to us. I didn’t like the sound of it, and I probably wouldn’t have gone if the others hadn’t been going.

Maybe I should have waited outside, but I didn’t want to risk missing anything. As it turned out the entry fee was still full price even though their demonstrations were not running. It was a fairly empty museum, and one I wouldn’t recommend.

It was still a little early for food, but we were all hungry. As a recommended restaurant was nearby we went looking for it and as luck would have it, we actually found it. Sadly, they were fully booked all evening, so we’d need to find somewhere else. We passed many restaurants, but some of the group were looking for a specific place.

Lindsay was growing tired of this, and getting irritated at what seemed to aimless wandering when we were passing plenty of reasonable looking places to eat. Eventually though we found somewhere, and sat out in the cool air of the courtyard to eat.

It was perhaps a little too cool, as we all found the need to keep our coats on whilst sitting outside. For this trip, needing a coat was a novelty - we’d grown used to being too warm no matter what the hour of the day.

There was one awkward moment when the New Zealanders were spouting insults about the German people - not realising that Marion was half German. Even if she wasn’t, it wasn’t right for them to be behaving like that. So far they’d seemed very ‘full of themselves’, and arrogant. It wasn’t a good first impression.

Once we’d eaten we headed back over to the seafront to watch the sunset. I’d hoped to get a photograph of the sunset with the solar panels lit up, but unfortunately there were too many people about. So instead I decided to sleep.