The Via Crucis Underwater Museum isn’t just a tourist activity.
It’s an experience that shook me — without warning.
Something called me to this town.
Not a monument, not a guide…
But a place that saw me before I even arrived.
Trogir is a vibration. A memory.
An emotional jolt the moment I stepped ashore.
Like that day in 2008, facing Tian Tan — the Giant Buddha on Lantau Island.
One of those rare places where it feels like the unseen is watching you.
A journey between sacred art, intimate memory, and invisible signs – and why this dive shifted something deep within me.
Article published on 19.07.2025
How I was called to the Via Crucis Underwater Museum in Trogir
The Via Crucis Underwater Museum called me before I even saw it.
I wandered over to the excursion stands, without any clear plan.
But in truth, I only saw one stand. Tina’s.
As if everything else just faded away.
There were other agencies, other options — but no.
It was her. It was that dive.
A sunken Via Crucis.
A silent message: “Come. Leave me what you no longer wish to carry alone.”
From that moment on, it stayed with me.
While I was visiting Šibenik, then Krka, the thought kept returning – like an obsession.
I knew it would be a powerful moment.
And that I had to dive in – literally, and not.
If you feel the same call, you can book the experience here → Boat tour
(For the full tour starting from Trogir, contact Tina directly: kristina.aller [at] gmail.com or WhatsApp: +385 91 720 3539)
Booking from Split
The same company offers the full excursion that I took, but departing from Split, aboard a beautiful wooden pirate ship. I had the opportunity to see it when we were at the underwater museum.
Duje’s calming presence, the guardian before the dive
As soon as I stepped on board the Marela, it was Duje who welcomed me.
I was the first to speak to him.
A light moment — I fumbled the payment, we laughed immediately.
There was something about his steady calm, his quiet presence, that held the moment together.
Not a word too many, just the right energy.
A perfect balance for this suspended day — contemplative, fluid, almost meditative.
With him, I quickly forgot to take pictures or videos.
The rest of the group slowly gathered as Duje shared the practical info and offered drinks.
No noise, no unnecessary talk — just his invisible presence holding the space, setting the tone for that deep, quiet flow I didn’t even know I needed.
The Marela belongs to Matija Sekula, and the underwater museum – created by Alen Kunac – is a unique project at the crossroads of art, memory, and ecology.
A journey where even silence has something to say.
If this atmosphere resonates with you, you can book your dive to Trogir’s Via Crucis here → Boat tour
Sailing to Blue Lagoon Croatia from Trogir
«You can jump, dive, fly — do whatever you want. But please, don’t die!»
These are the slightly offbeat instructions Duje gives us, with a quiet air that reassures as much as it amuses.
We sail slowly across a turquoise sea — almost unreal.
We breathe.
First snorkelling stop.
Thoughts settle, like sand drifting to the bottom.
Duje watches over us.
His voice is a calm anchor.
He knows the sea like a secret garden, something intimate.
Then comes lunch, on another quiet cove.
Since I was the only solo traveller, I could sit wherever I wanted.
I thought of sitting near Duje – curious about his work, his bond with the sea.
But I didn’t dare.
In Asia, it would have happened naturally, silently, effortlessly.
Here, something blocked me.
An invisible space, something that doesn’t exist where I feel most at home.
So I joined a big table full of Norwegians – fifteen people, four generations together.
They asked about France, where I live.
We talked about the little boy turning one that day.
We laughed at how differently we travel: me, solo – them, fifteen strong.
It was a suspended moment, soft and light, surrounded by rocks and silence.
Later, I slipped away to the stones near the boat.
Away from the noise of the beach.
Back into that ancient stillness that lives beneath the surface.
The Underwater Via Crucis of the Submarine Museum
We arrive. The underwater museum of Trogir…
A place where sacred art, ecology, and contemplation meet.
– Fifteen stations beneath the sea.
– Life-sized statues.
– A sunken airplane, stripped of all toxic parts.
– The silence of the sea — vast, reverent.
I had set a clear intention for the day: To leave all my sorrows, all my traumas, on the seabed.
Especially that burning, endless grief after Jahan’s death.
I hoped to let my mourning sink there, between sand and seaweed, in this submerged sanctuary.
A crushing failure…
My Own Via Crucis
Each station. A burden released. A memory transformed.
An invisible loyalty I surrender to the sea…
- Jesus is condemned to death.
➡️ I am born into an incestuous family.- Jesus carries his cross.
➡️ I become my mother’s mother.- Jesus falls for the first time.
➡️ I lay down the weight of a narcissistic mother.- Jesus meets his mother.
➡️ I meet Jacques — a good man, like a father, a confidant, a steady friend.- Simon helps Jesus.
➡️I adopt Jahan, my soul’s ally.- Veronica wipes his face.
➡️I accept the helping hands.- Jesus falls the second time.
➡️I lay down the weight of an incestuous father.- Jesus consoles the women.
➡️ My sister and I finally become true sisters.- Jesus falls the third time.
➡️ My little companion, my Buddha — my Jahan — dies suddenly.- Jesus is stripped.
➡️ I return what never belonged to me.- Jesus is nailed to the cross.
➡️ I face my wounds — all of them.- Jesus dies.
➡️ The old Me dies.- Jesus is given to his mother.
➡️ I surrender to myself.- Jesus is laid in the tomb.
➡️ I let old stories die.- Jesus rises.
➡️ I open to life. With faith.
I came back changed.
Lighter.
More present.
Freer.
The invisible link – what happened beyond the tangible
I haven’t been able to mourn Jahan.
I haven’t yet.
Perhaps because that mourning is still too alive.
Too burning.
But my childhood traumas were ready. Ready for a long time.
And that day, in that sea, with that presence… I was finally able to release them.
There was this guide.
Duje.
Silent. Watchful. Never intrusive.
Just there, at the exact distance, like an invisible brother.
A discreet but real support. As if his very presence allowed things to settle down.
Maybe I’ll have to come back one day.
When I’m ready.
To drop Jahan in the sea.
And stop seeing men as unconscious threats to be kept at a distance.
Because there’s still this blockage, I can feel it:
In Asia, I feel free. I feel whole.
I can talk to anyone. I can sit next to a man without projecting, without fear.
But here… it’s something else.
It’s as if Europe still bears the imprint of my wounds.
And fear reclaims its space.
And yet…
Something vibrated that day.
A shared trouble, barely sketched.
A look that said nothing… but said everything.
So I ask myself:
Was it him? Was it me? Was it the Universe beckoning?
I don’t know.
What I do know is that the Universe responds.
But only when you’re really there. Present. Whole.
And that day, for the first time in a long time, I was.
One dive, a thousand rebirths
And you?
Have you ever experienced something like that?
A place, a moment, a presence…
And the certainty it wasn’t just “nothing”?
That something was guiding you – even if you couldn’t name it?
I’m no longer the same.
Not after that face-to-face encounter.
And what if you, too, let it all sink to the bottom of the sea, at the Via Crucis Underwater Museum?
Not to escape.
But to be reborn.
🌀 You can live this experience too (underwater museum only) → Boat tour from Trogir
Or on a large wooden pirate ship departing from Split (full tour) here
📍 Curious about my full slow-travel itinerary in Croatia?
➡️ I’m preparing a detailed article with every stop, local transports, and my best tips to travel Croatia differently — slowly, car-free, and closer to what really matters.
Stay tuned — or follow me on LinkedIn / Facebook.
Notes and References.
My articles about Croatia – Ethno Travels
Tour selection for Croatia – Get Your Guide
Blue Lagoon video – YouTube
