It was worth the 5 am start.

The stars were still in the sky when Mr Dupchec(or something like that) came and picked us up from our beautiful flat in Slatine. We somehow got all the troops moving and we arrived at the ferry in lots of time for the 6:30 start. This was quite a big boat and we were able to find a comfortable place to rest up a bit and by afternoon we went out on the deck and watched the many islands drift by and see the interesting ports of call that we visited on the way. The trip was about 8 hours and very pleasant.

The fellow who rented us our place here picked us up and drove us over to just outside the Old Town gates. We had to carry our stuff through the pedestrianised streets and up a lot of steps to our flat inside the ancient city walls.
Before we left Slatine, we took the bus north to a city called Seibenik about an hour to the north. It is a Croatian city because it wasn't built by the Romans or Venicians, they didn't settle in this little area. It was built on the side of a hill and there were alot of steps! It is also the home of St James cathedral, one of the great cathedrals of Europe.

The day before that, the day we had originally set aside for going to Sibenik, was a holiday here, Corpus Christi Day and the buses didn't run when we expected. Instead we walked to Slatine and unexpectedly came just as the church service ended and the procession began through the village. The singing was beautiful. We continued walking up over the spine of the island to the other side where a tiny church had been built in 1472 where the wives of the fishermen went to pray for their husband's safe return. It clings to the cliffs and is a lovely spot to sit and gaze.