Kastela

I thought the time had come for another holiday tale. This time it is about Kaštela, where we had one of our most interesting trips.

It started with a trip to the botanical gardens. These gardens are quite amazing. In 1976 a new primary school was opened in Kaštel Lukšić.  The modern concrete building was surrounded by a large area of wasteland, not particularly nice.  The headmistress of the school was a trained botanist & she soon got all the children involved in changing this wasteland into a fabulous garden, teaching them about plants, geography, design, agriculture etc along the way. Now, nearly 50 years on, the garden is a recognised botanical garden with much of interest, surrounding the school buildings. The children are still allowed to play in the grounds.

Now the school has its own olive grove, where the children press & sell their own olive oil. There is a stone theatre for the children to put on outdoor productions.

We went round the southern garden, filled with palms, eucalyptus, camellias, to name but a few. There was also a small pond with papyrus & lotus lilies growing, & a medicinal garden.

The pond

 

We were fortunate to be shown around the garden by the school agronomist. He was made the trip so special. He not only told what each plant was, he encouraged us to smell leaves, taste fruit, leaves & seeds. For the first time ever I tried a mulberry, something I only associate with the nursery rhyme “Here we go round the mulberry bush”. We tried the fruit of one palm tree which had a somewhat apricot taste.

The agronomist on the left

 

We could have spent all morning, if not day in the garden. However our tour guide took us on down to one of the 7 castles of Kaštela.  She related the tragic love story of rival families in different castles, a real life Romeo & Juliet story. This part of the coastline was magical, quiet & unspoilt. We had a gentle sit in a café, while the others went around the castle itself – needless to say that wasn’t wheelchair accessible.

The castle we visited

The courtyard inside

We couldn’t help thinking how much better a holiday we would have had if our hotel had been in Kaštela rather than Solin. There were plenty of pleasant flat walks along the promenade which would have been enjoyable to explore.

I suppose though even this brought home to us how much we don’t like organised, guided trips. Yes, it saves the driving. It gives you the information. But it also means going at the pace they want rather than you want. We would have happily spent all day here, instead we had to rush back to the hotel in time for lunch. We’re too much the individualist to appreciate being herded around like a flock of sheep.