From May 9th to 12th we went on a field trip to the Central Dalmatia. During our four-day field trip we visited the Klis Fortress, met the Klis Uskoks and participated in the ‘Klis Uskoks’ program (archery, fencing); visited the family farm in the village of Gata located in the Omiš hinterland where we learnt how to make ‘poljički soparnik’ and listened to the story of Mila Gojsalić; took a sightseeing tour of the town of Omiš and the Mirabella Fortress; took a boat ride through the canyon of the Cetina River and met the pirates of Omiš; visited the Ethno Village ‘Kokorići’ and tasted Vrgorac strawberries; took a half-day tour of the Biokovo Nature Park and visited the cultural-historical sights of the town of Split under the expert guidance.

Our first stop was the beautiful Klis Fortress where we were guided by the Klis Uskoks who explained us why Klis used to be an important defence point in the Croatian history. In the museum we saw a series of arms, armour and traditional uniforms. We explored the filming locations of the Game of thrones and recalled the spirit of the past by practising archery. In the evening we arrived to our hotel in Makarska where we were accommodated.

The second day we visited the family farm in the village of Gata and learnt how to make ‘poljički soparnik’, a unique dish and local speciality from the Omiš hinterland. We all tried it and liked it very much :) On our way to Gata we saw the beautiful viewpoint of the town of Omiš and the Cetina River with the statue of Mila Gojsalić, sculptured by Ivan Meštrović. Upon our arrival to Gata we heard the story of Mila Gojsalić, the heroine of the Republic of Poljica, visited the Poljica Museum and participated in the postcard design workshop.

After that we went to the beautiful town of Omiš where we explored its sights and got a glimpse of the Mirabella Fortress. Then we took a wonderful boat ride through the magnificent canyon of the Cetina River to the Kaštel Slanica where we had lunch. On our way back through the canyon we met Omiš pirates. They ‘attacked’ and chased our ships while recalling the glorious Omiš pirate history.

When we came back to the hotel we organised the rope-pulling contest on the beach, one of the favourite pirate games, had dinner and later a disco night.

May is the season of strawberries, so on the third day we were supposed to go picking strawberries in Vrgorac. Due to the rainy weather we couldn’t go picking, but we definitely tasted them and we are proven that Vrgorac strawberries are famous as being the best in Croatia. Then we visited the Ethno-village “Kokorići”, the traditional Dalmatian settlement with a rich historical and cultural heritage full of traditional stone houses and dry stone walls, but also with two new swimming pools! We had traditional Dalmatian snack and lunch there. In the afternoon we took a half-day tour of the Biokovo Nature Park by mini-bus. We visited the Skywalk Biokovo. On our way up to the Skywalk we enjoyed the stunning views of the coastline, sea and islands, though on the very Skywalk it was too foggy to see the wonderful view. On the other hand it was quite a mystique experience. Our journey continued to the foot of Biokovo where we visited the Kotišina Botanical Garden and Veliki Kaštel Interpretation Centre. Veliki Kaštel impressed us a lot as it was encaved and camouflaged along the cliffs of the Biokovo Mountain and the interior looked like an adaptation of a cave. The Interpretation Centre is spread across several floors and is equipped with interactive facilities that present the cultural and natural heritage of the village of Kotišina and the flora and fauna of the Biokovo Nature Park. We even had an opportunity to use VR headsets to see the most famous parts of the Biokovo Nature Park and the holograms of the plants in the surrounding area. When we came back to the hotel we went for a swim in a pool.

On the last day of our field trip we visited the town of Split. We were sightseeing the old town of Split – the Diocletian's Palace with the four gates, St. Domnius Cathedral, Peristyle, Vestibule, Jupiter's Temple and Gregory of Nin Statue. On our way back we were happy to again see the coastline while we headed to the restaurant in Seget Donji where we had lunch.

This field trip was amazing, we got enchanted with the diverse natural beauty and rich cultural heritage of Croatia, had authentic experiences, met local people and became completely immersed in the local culture.

Mayon (MYP Journalist Group)