Chasing the storm. Friday 13th, Split. HiveFest 2024

Hello, friends!

Today, life reminded me not to forget where and when I live. So, the theme of my post will be somewhat different from what I had in mind yesterday. I’m in the mood for emotions and drama!⚡️

Today, I’ll share a day that was marked in the HiveFest program as a DIY City Trip + Billiards. We didn’t make it to billiards, although it was on the list. Instead, I took a lot of photos of the storm swirling around the city all day. I still don’t know if we were chasing it or it was chasing us. In the end, it doesn’t matter. What matters is the result.

So, view and enjoy. 🙂

Despite the weather forecast, my daughter @nataliabuchynska said she was going to the sea. She’s used to spending every summer by the sea and has loved it since childhood. She missed the sea so much after three years!

My husband and I also went to the beach. I’m not sure what his motives were. For me, it was about the photos.😊

The contrast between the bright sun and the dark storm clouds was spectacular.

According to the forecast, the storm is climbing over Brac Island.

Another cloud caught the mountains south of Split.

We are taking pictures of each other meanwhile.

Now the rain claimed over the island and is coming straight at us. At this moment, the beach became deserted. Only three of us and a few cormorants were watching the storm.

It started to drizzle. My daughter said she would stay, while my husband and I packed our things. I put the camera into the bag and climbed the stairs up the hill. We hadn’t even walked 100 meters when the rain stopped without really starting. At some point, the rain cloud turned to the south.

I couldn't take my eyes off the scene – rain clouds, fluffy, dark and light, mountain ridges, waves, seagulls, and the occasional yachts...

Inspired by these breathtaking views, I didn't feel like visiting museums or doing sightseeing. My hubby came up with the idea of walking in Marjan Park. It's on a hill on the peninsula of Split, not too far from our apartments, I mean not more than 10,000 steps one way. 😁

We did not intend to walk through it up to the most western point, but the weather did not left much choice again.

It was so quiet in the park! No wind, and almost no visitors.

But soon it looked like a calm before the storm. Yet it seemed to be far away.

We met a few people who, like us, were walking deeper into the park and had no intention of cutting their walk short because of the possible downpour. Perhaps we missed the feeling of adrenaline a bit, as we didn’t have raincoats, just one small umbrella for the two of us, which would be useless in strong wind. In short, we decided to keep going.

In the photo you can see the stadium, next to it is the Gusar restaurant where our Gala dinner was held.

The higher we climbed, the more dramatic the clouds became. Now they were approaching the city from the north, while to the east, the sky looked rather optimistic. Or perhaps I’m just not very good at reading clouds.

Here, you can clearly see the streaks of rain.

This is my camera's version of the mobile photo that @bil.prag liked. The rare case when I cannot decide which one is better.

The closer we got to the top of the hill, the stronger and colder the wind became. There was no shelter in sight—no covered pavilions or buildings. I wasn’t as worried about getting soaked to the bone as I was about the camera, which was in a backpack made of regular fabric.

Keep going or turn back? This is the question!

For my husband, after everything he had seen in the war, this was no risk at all. And I was incredibly eager to witness this drama from the top. So, we quickened our pace.

Onward and Upward!

Storm turned around and now approached from the east! He walks around us in a circle.

Here we are! The viewpoint at the top of Marjan Hill. This flag could be seen from the sea during out boat trip. As you see, there are a few more crazy people. It was a fantastic feeling.

Just look at my face in the last photo. It felt like my husband was taking the picture way too slowly, and the rustling of the trees sounded too much like rain. It wasn’t fun anymore.

I took a couple more photos, and we hurried away. Along the way, we tried to find a shorter route on the go. The main goal was to reach the houses, where we could find some shelter. Fortunately, the rain never caught up with us that day.

Phew! It was an incredible day!

Thank you for sharing it with me. 🖤