7-10
Split, Croatia
Mar 31-Apr 4, 2014
Dear Dad,
Sorry for not writing sooner, but it has been a complete mess here. It was great to hear about home and I hope the snow continues. It would really be great is we could get a few runs in when I get back.
The reason that things have been such a mess recently is midterms. When the professors know we have a break, they feel that any other form of escape is unnecessary such as free afternoons, lunch breaks, and the four hours in the middle of the night that we used to get for sleep.
When you study abroad and have free time, certain things are expected of you like traveling even further abroad. So when my friend Oat mentioned Croatia, I got excited. Croatia has two points of interest for a climber, the big walls on the interior and the deep water soloing at the edges. I don't have a partner or the gear to do a big wall this semester, so the edges are where I'm headed.
I'll keep you posted as this adventure develops, Dad.
Sorry for not writing sooner, but it has been a complete mess here. It was great to hear about home and I hope the snow continues. It would really be great is we could get a few runs in when I get back.
The reason that things have been such a mess recently is midterms. When the professors know we have a break, they feel that any other form of escape is unnecessary such as free afternoons, lunch breaks, and the four hours in the middle of the night that we used to get for sleep.
When you study abroad and have free time, certain things are expected of you like traveling even further abroad. So when my friend Oat mentioned Croatia, I got excited. Croatia has two points of interest for a climber, the big walls on the interior and the deep water soloing at the edges. I don't have a partner or the gear to do a big wall this semester, so the edges are where I'm headed.
I'll keep you posted as this adventure develops, Dad.
Well I’m on a very large boat now, Dad. It is called the Marko Polo and is currently full of yelling Italians. One gentleman was apparently angry that I am sitting in the seat assigned to me and this caused a riff in the group. The captain, or at least a very well decorated man, came in into the scuffle and seemed to soothe the tensions. There is very little to do on the boat though. I think I’ll go explore the deck, but first let me tell you about Ancona.
I arrived to Ancona on the train from Rome a full nine hours early. As you know, Dad, I really enjoy getting places early and making sure I don’t miss anything at all. Well that is great when you are making sure you don’t miss an airplane or getting to class before the professor takes attendance, but when you are close to broke and in a European city which you have no prior knowledge of, nine hours is quite a while. It all started with me trying to find the ticket office to get my ferry pass. Now wouldn’t you think that the ferry terminal and the ticket office would be in the same location? Well those in power obviously don’t think so. I walked the few kilometers from the train station to the terminal, but I was soon informed by a port police officer that I had to go all the way back. Luckily he also told me there was a free bus that could take me there. Well this begins what I like to call the saga of empty benches. It started with a deserted port bus stop, then a completely empty bus, then the ferry ticket office which didn’t open for a few hours, but conveniently had ten empty benches outside. It even extended onto the ferry when I was the first aboard, but back to Ancona. After getting my tickets, I started exploring. From town I decided there is no better place to go than up, and oh boy that was a good decision. At the top of the hill is the Cathedral of San Ciriaco. There is the option to go back down or follow the cliffs on the North side of the peninsula which are lined with magnificent parks. I would like to give a moment specifically to one experience though, Dad. At the edge of one of these cliffs, I got hit with a stunning sea breeze. As you know, we don’t have many seas back home and those few that I have experienced are often on the edge of a city where you can feel how grimey the air is. But this one was different. This breeze was, all pun intended, a breathe of fresh air. Well Dad, I’m off to see if it is any better on deck than here with the angry Italians. I’ll make sure to let you know how I fare in the sea wind. |
Well, it’s Thursday here, Dad, and that means I start my voyage back to Rome tonight. Split is an absolutely amazing place, unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. Oat already left on his flight. I’m not sure how much I’ve told you about Oat so I’ll give you the sparknotes. Oat is another architecture student studying at Cornell. He really loves sailing and the sea in general which is one reason we decided on Split. He also was one of the students in the first climbing class I taught. All this aligned nicely for us to plan on Deep Water Soloing.
Just in case you are curious, Dad, Deep Water Soloing is where you climb overhanging rock formations over water deep enough to safely fall into from as high as you desire to climb. It is known as one of the most freeing ways to climb because with all other types, you have ropes, pads, or extreme fear and possibility of death. Sadly when we were finding a guide, the general consensus was that the water was still too cold and that it would be at least a month before it warmed up sufficiently. While we were both disappointed, our guides, Daniel and Anna, were then kind enough to offer a day on the limestone cliffs just next to the city lining the water. This area is known as Marjan and was pioneered in the 80’s, but was further developed later. Currently the gear looks absolutely fantastic and is the cleanest bolting and anchoring I’ve gotten to climb on. Daniel is one of climbers who rebolts and maintains the anchors. This was an amazing experience for both of us- my first time climbing on limestone, and Oat’s first time climbing outdoors. Oat really would not let the idea of sailing in the Adriatic sea go, and its a good thing he didn’t. Oat decided to ask Daniel about it and to our surprise, Daniel had a friend, Mishka, who had a boat. We finished climbing and within an hour were on Mishka’s sailboat. A nine meter long sailboat named ReaA. Dad, we both know that I am not as familiar or as comfortable with water as many others are, but this was one of the finest experiences I have ever had. The air rushing by as you are slicing slicing through the water is like nothing else. The way that the boat responds to every change in the water around it, ever rush of air, every adjustment of the rudder is breathtaking. Talking to Mishka was fantastic, apparently when we called him about the boat, he just had grabbed his climbing gear to head up to Marjan. This was the usual, when he wasn’t sailing he was deep water soloing, and when the weather wasn’t good enough for that, he was up in Marjan. Do you remember when I was little, and I read the book Endurance, the story of Shackleton and his crew sailing to Antarctica and getting trapped in the ice? Remember then how I was obsessed with the idea of these large ships and the adventures they would carry me to? And how many of the model ship kits I asked for and put together to the point of almost being complete? Well that all came back. Except now instead of building models, I am looking for ways of actually getting on that boat to Antarctica. But enough of my waxing on about my childhood dreams and improbable desires. I made sure to take lots of pictures for you to see. Also remind me to invest in a wide-angle lens, I just can’t do justice to these wonderful moments with a cropped 50mm. |
Well Dad, as I sit here on the coast looking through my photos, I can’t help but notice that everything I love to do in my free time, seems to be based on a fear of some nature. I am terrified of heights and am an avid climber. I don’t understand or trust water, and am now dreaming of sailing. I am pretty darn allergic to bees yet earlier today I sat by some flowering trees and decided to get up close and personal with some bees for a few hours. The trees lining the rocky edge to the sea were swarmed by both bees and butterflies eager to enjoy all the nectar. Behind me is the bustling tourist center or Split. It is a street named Riva and it is the only thing that separates Diocletian’s palace from the harbor.
Now would be a good time for me to tell you about a term I have heard quite a bit in the last few months. Palimpsest. When architects study Rome or any other city occupied through the ages, layers build up and as people love to put words on things, they have labelled it. Palimpsest is a written document on a scroll or in a book. Back before printers or presses, the reuse of writing surfaces was extremely common. The old writing would be scraped away leaving a seemingly clean surface. The new writing would cover the page until the process occurred again. After a while though, the older writing resurfaces and the entire history of a writing surface can be seen if one looks close enough. In architecture, this word has been reappropriated to mean the layers of reuse, adaptation, and addition to the built environment. Well Diocletian’s palace is a golden example of this. I won’t go into the history lesson here about the different stages of build, but I’ll give you a few highlights. In the fourth century Diocletian built his palace and in the twenty first century it is being used as a set for Game of Thrones. |
The passport check is starting and I have to fight for a spot in line with this crowd of elderly Italian women, so I should probably split, but I can’t wait to get back home to you and the family,
Your loving son, Hawkeye Pierce, I mean... Max
Your loving son, Hawkeye Pierce, I mean... Max