Šibenik, Dalmatia

A typical day on the campsite. His Lordship appears at the caravan door, looking decidedly sheepish. ‘I think I might need your help’. ‘Oh God. What have you been up to?’ says Herself. Filled with trepidation, she leaps out of the caravan to investigate.

It turns out that His Lordship, probably after seeing so many other guys on the campsite tinkering around with boats or setting up satellite dishes, has lost the run of himself completely. He decided to try to change the blown bulb in the car headlight. All by himself.

Big mistake.

In the process, he has removed the wrong bulb, can’t get it back in, and still has no idea how to get to the bulb that actually needs replacing.

Within seconds, Her Ladyship has swung into action and, like a surgeon in an operating theatre, is barking out orders: ‘Torch!’ ‘Screwdriver!’ ‘Bulb!’ His Lordship makes a good theatre nurse, I have to say. In two shakes of a seagull’s tail, the car is shipshape and roadworthy again.

‘Now love,’ says Her Ladyship gently, ‘next time, you just stick to the cooking and leave the technical stuff to me.’

What a team!

With the campsite chores taken care of (and His Lordship put firmly in his place), it’s time to do some more exploring. This time, Šibenik is on the agenda. Now, I’ve seen many a town in many a lovely location, but Šibenik has got to be one of the most blessed. You couldn’t ask for a more perfect spot to stick a town in. On the mouth of the Krka river, built on a hill sweeping down to the waterside, with the breath-taking vista of the Sv. Ante channel leading out to the open sea and the Šibenik archipelago beyond, it can’t get much better than this. No wonder the town has been in existence for almost a thousand years, and the area inhabited since prehistoric times.

Ancient history oozes out of the stonework in the old town centre. The narrow cobbled streets, wobbly stone steps, leaning facades with intricately carved features… It’s not difficult to imagine what daily life might have been like in ancient times. But modern life has its challenges too. Parking a car is difficult enough in this part of town. Parking a boat is a special skill altogether.

The pièce de resistance is Katedrala Sv. Jakova, St. James’ Cathedral. And I am not the only one of this opinion. It has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2000. We seagulls love a good rock face at the best of times, so I can appreciate good quality masonry when I see it. It is stunning. Incredibly, the barrelled roof and the huge cupola were constructed from interlocking stone slabs, without the use of bonding agents. Construction started back in the 15^th century and took, not surprisingly, over a hundred years to complete. All that alone is mind-blowing, but it gets even better when you look at the detailed stone carvings.  Beautiful.

I love the frieze of 71 stone heads of ordinary people around the outside of the cathedral. A refreshing change to the usual sculptures of saints, aristocrats and the rich and famous, it’s great to get a glimpse of the normal folk of the time. Antique selfies, as it were.

The views from St. Michael’s Fortress are amazing. Dating back to the 11^th century, the fortress has been recently repurposed in the most modern of fashions. It has been converted into a concert venue. What a brilliant idea! Just imagine sitting on the roof of this ancient building, listening to live music with that incredible vista as a backdrop.

I’m delighted that our tickets for St. Michael’s Fortress also included entry to the Barone Fortress further up the hill. I reckon that the Oldies might have balked at venturing up there otherwise. But even they admitted that for the views alone it was well worth the climb. Once they had caught their breaths again.

The Dynamic Duo were able to ease their aching muscles afterwards by taking a walk on the flat. A pleasant stroll all along the waterfront, out to the marina and the Plaža Banj (the local beach) beyond, giving us yet another perspective of the town. Glorious!

We’ve been on the Dalmatian coast for a good few days now, but I still haven’t seen a … Ah, at last! I’ve finally found one.

Now, I wonder where the other hundred are.