Category: Mountain biking/cycling

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27 June: Brač Island: another gem in this beautiful Dalmatian coastline

Author: Mr A

Location: Brač, Croatia

The more we wander around these Dalmatian islands the more we fall in love. The scenery is just outrageously stunning and the people so lovely. Cycling, as always, we think the best way to see it, and Sailing Croatia, our tour company, has done an excellent job of showcasing it for us.

Brač is largest island in the Adriatic and lies just 14 km offshore from the city of Split, so its pretty easy to access with regular car ferries. We motored off early from Viz and watched the coastline unfold as our ship cut through the glassy blue water. The island of Brač appeared on the horizon and its large harbour at Milna, with over 200 moorings catering for maritime tourism, was soon welcoming us into a berth on the main jetty a short walk from centre of town. Unfortunately during our breakfast briefing one of our friends was taken ill and carted off in an ambulance. All very distressing, but the good news is that he was back with us in the evening.

Pretty Milna harbour

We headed off after lunch for another 23km circuit ride taking in a number of small villages scattered around the coast. We are going to miss the camaraderie of these rides, its a big group to manage on the road, but the Sail Croatia team is so professional and safety conscious, the rides have happened without incident. I think it also helps that we have a number of very experienced riders in the group who understand how to ride safely in a peloton, and are setting an example for the rest of us who don’t.

The heat was pretty intense, with mid 30s temperatures making it tough going for the riders without “pedal assist” powering them up.

Fabulous views along our cycle
Wild scented jasmine along our cycle
The harbour at Sutivan where we have a water break

The evening was the the BBQ night, and once again the Sail Croatia crew did an outstanding job of the cooking, serving and management of the ship. What a great bunch of folk, and we will miss them when we move on. I hope we have been an easy group to manage, they work 7 days a week and would I’m sure get some more difficult customers than us on the “party cruises” from what we have seen.

Lovely Rosa, our chef for the week
BBQ food is out…Mr A tucks in…
Tim, Deb. Paul, Glen, Michelle, Tracie and Lisa
Mrs A was also there!
Sun setting
Mr A reads out a poem to the crew
Sun keeps going down
H, our cycle guide with the unpronouncable name, is invited to sing
Much laughter from Sarah-Jane
A bemused Dave
Tom is performing passionately
Much more laughter ensues
And the sun sets on our second to last night on the cruise
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26 June: Blue caves and hills in Vis

Author: Mrs A

Location: Biševo and Vis, Croatia

Another early start for the captain meant we were pulling up at a dock on the island of Biševo to join another boat to tour a cave known as the Blue Cave, or Blue Grotto by 8.30am.

It was first described in 1884, by a baron who had been shown the cave by locals. At that time it was entered only by diving under the cliff, but the baron decided to blow a hole in the cliff to allow boats inside, and therefore tourists like us.

Awaiting our turn on the little boats

The little motor boat left the harbour and whizzed us around to the cliffs. We then ducked as the boat went in through the small hole in the cliff. When we sat back up we were presented with a magical sight.

This natural phenomenon occurs where the edge of the cliff has been worn away, allowing the sunlight to beam down through the water. Coupled with the white limestone of the cave walls the result is a magical blue cave.

Gordy translates what the guide is telling us about the cave
Tim takes a panorama of the spectacle

The edge of the cliff with the sunlight shining through

 

Looking through a natural bridge

 

The next two boats coming in behind us

 

The skipper delivered us back to our boat once the tour was over, and we continued on our way.

The town of Vis on the island of the same name was our next destination.

The island’s two largest settlements are the  Vis on the island’s eastern side (the settlement for which the island was originally named) and Komiža on its western coast. We had time for a look around the town before heading back to the boat for lunch. The island has been inhabited since the Neolithic period, and there is evidence of many of the cultures that followed.

Another day, another beautiful harbour
Elements of Italian architecture shining through on the backstreets
Interesting alleyways to wander down
And of course many cats…most islands have no vet, and it is uncommon to neuter males. Thankfully the local residents tend to leave cat food out for them, particularly when there are kittens involved

After lunch we were off out on the bikes. It was really warm, with temperatures up in the early 30s…and our first 10km of riding was all up hill. It was hard going in the heat, with no shade alongside the road, and out on the road it rose to 42 degrees centigrade (that’s about 108 Fahrenheit for those working in old money!).

Looking down at Komiza from the peak of our climb

Fortunately there were plenty of rewarding views. We rode across the island to Komiza, where we enjoyed the exhilarating ride down the hill before stopping for a refreshing sorbet and some cold water, before climbing up again and heading out, continuing our 32km circuit.

A little chapel high up on the cliff along our route
Komiza – a very pretty little town

Of course the road went up and up as well as we left, with a few water break stops along the way.

Beautiful views down over Komiza as we climb out
Komiza as we climbed out
Magnificent views along the island

Before long we were high up above Vis, looking at our final winding road descending below us.

Tim looking out over Vis
Me photographing Vis
Vis, our home for the night

Mr A and I headed straight off for a swim and probably increased the salt percentage of the already very salty Mediterranean in doing so, before showers and heading out to dinner.

It was just Owen, Tom, Mark and I for the night, and we headed first of all for drinks down by the water, before finding a local restaurant for food. Vis has a lovely atmosphere, particularly after our night in crazy Hvar.

Lovely sunset
Owen, Tom, Mr A and I…yes I even had a local Vis wine!
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25 June: Hvar a lovely time in Croatia

Author: Mr A

Location: Hvar, Croatia

Tuesday: A 6am start saw our ship cruising over to the town of Stari Grad on the island of Hvar. A quick explore round this ancient town just whet our appetite.

Gordy briefs cruisers on the history of the town

Entering Tvrdalj Castle, built in the 1500s

This was the summer residence of Croatian poet, Petar Hektorović, which he fortified to create a safe haven for Stari Grad residents from invasions by the Ottomans (Turkish)

Looking across the castle grounds, seen as a haven for people, animals, fish and birds

Rich in history, with evidence of Neolithic people living here from 3,500 BC. The ancient Greeks record a battle fought here with one of the many Illyrian tribes populating the Balkans in the first century BC. Then the Romans came along and Hvar fell to their empire. Every street corner oozed history, what tales these walls could tell.

Sleepy streets holding so many secrets…this street revealed an old Roman mosaic floor when some of the cobbles were replaced in recent times. It is believed to be from a Roman villa once located here

Sleepy cats here too!

Sleepy cat woke up as soon as she realised there might be strokes nearby

Splashes of colour on every street corner

Stari Grad’s peaceful harbour

All too quickly it was time to jump on the bikes for our first ride with a fair bit of climbing to be done in the early afternoon heat. One of the team measured a road temperature of 44 degrees!

Our e-bikes powered us up thank goodness, as it would have not been a pleasant ride for either of us on purely manual bikes. As it was were we able top admire the stone terraces laid out by the ancient Greeks, and pause to smell the lavender. Mrs A even spotted a snake as it slithered across her pathway – later found out to be one of Croatia’s three poisonous varieties (the Poskok or horned viper). Fortunately it was quite young (only about half a metre long) and slithered away to hide in some rocks.

Already climbed up a fair way by our first water stop

Fabulous views

Plenty of butterflies attracted to the lavender

Fluttering colour is everywhere

Owen with a chest infection opted for an electric bike also on this ride

The views keep on coming as we climb up to the highest point

The first manual cyclists, Glen and Paul (not necessarily in that order!) to reach the top

Looking across the other side of the island at the ancient terraces

An old stone lime kiln at the side of the road

Every hill has a fun decent to follow, and this was no exception and were soon back at Hvar town itself, rewarding ourselves with cocktails as we awaited arrival of our boat.

Drinks time

Strawberry daiquiri for Tim P, Margheritas for the Andersons

Hvar town is definitely on the smart set’s cruising circuit, not somewhere we would have any urge to come back to. But as usual it took so little effort to dodge the tourists a block back from the waterfront and its strutting loud crowds.

Exploring Hvar old town

The Fortica – an ancient fortress – built on an Illyrian settlement dating from before 500 BC

Fabulous views from the 15th century Chapel of St Nicholas

Plenty of steps meant our leg muscles didn’t cool down too quickly after our ride

Hydrangeas offer a splash of colour in the laneways

Looking across Hvar harbour from the other side of town

Down below is where we are to spend our night

The castle on the left overlooking the town. Like many fortifications in Croatia it would have saved the lives of many a resident when the Ottomans (Turkish) raiders came to town

A beautiful young cat – we hear from a local shop keeper that she is a stray, but looked after by everyone who works around there

Dinner was a very plush affair, good food, and for us our first bottle of wine we have enjoyed since arriving in Croatia….it was an Argentinian Malbec. Oh Croatia we love you so, the scenery, the people, the clear waters of the Adriatic…but your wine….well…not to our taste I’m afraid.

The town really comes to life at night

At midnight the dance music pounding from the waterfront bars was still going strong

A rather disturbed night was inevitable given we were moored alongside five other boats! Ah well…we are here to explore 🙂

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24 June: Exploring coastal Croatia

Author: Mrs A

Location: Korčula, Croatia

First of all, sorry for the multiple emails coming through, those of you who are email subscribers. We are continuing to try and pinpoint the issue and will try to resolve it as soon as possible.

Monday: Our cycle for the day commenced at the wharf where we had docked, and had us riding off at 8.30am.

Before long we arrived at the town of Korčula, where we parked up our bikes and Gordy, our local host, gave us a run down of the town’s history.

The old town of Korčula – building outside of the walls was not permitted until the 1800s

Team photo in the square down by the water

Gordy explains the town’s history. In the background, H, our cycle guide

Starting our visit beside the old town walls

The town sits out on a peninsular, with the mainland a short boat ride away. Apparently it is subject to strong winds in the winter, often up to 200km/hr so the old town has been built in a herringbone pattern – allowing a breeze to filter down to all homes, but without the damaging winds.

The old town is walled, and all streets are stepped, with the exception of one road which rings the town known as ‘the street of thoughts’, where residents could walk and think without the need to watch their feet.

As we entered the town of Korčula through the gate, Gordy explained the symbolism of the lion with the book carved on a stone. The book is open, showing the town was founded in peaceful times. Had it been closed, it would have been during a time of war.

The town coat of arms featuring a lion on the entrance gateway through the walls

The town’s main claim to fame is the birthplace of Marco Polo, with strong evidence to suggest he was born in a house here, something that is hotly contended by the Italians who claim him for themselves. It seems the Marco Polo Wikipedia entry has been written by the Italians rather than the Croatians!

The cathedral of St Mark – complete with working moon clock – built 1301-1806

There are many ‘Marco Polo’ related hotels and restaurants here and in the surrounding countryside.

We had a couple of hours to explore the town, browse the jewellery stores and refresh ourselves ready for the next ride.

Coffee and a snack for some of the gang

Plenty of steps to climb up

Mr A admiring the interesting architecture – a mixture of Greek, Venetian and more

Every street has quirks and unique architecture – and not busy outside of the school holidays

Old cart wheels put to use

Looking out towards the ‘new’ town

Even the pets here are tastefully colour coordinated to fit in with the scenery

A heavily pregnant cat decides to adopt me…

‘Please don’t go!’ – clearly I am emitting ‘I love cats’ vibes!

Our time exploring up, we rode off along the coast to our next destination. While not massively steep, the coastal road was rolling hills, and again I was grateful to be on an electric bike. The way my airway is right now, there is no way I would have enjoyed riding manually without a great deal of coughing and wheezing.

A water break at Kneza

We concluded our 20km ride at Račišće (don’t ask me to pronounce it!) where the boat motored on around and met us. Lunch was soon served and we continued cruising around to the top of the island to the port at Vela Luka, where we were to spend the night.

Vela Luka as the sun sets

Sunset over Vela Luka as we disembark and head off to find dinner

Looking back towards the harbour

The town had been celebrating St Ivan’s Day and was quite lively

Unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore the town by day, but apparently it is famous for having a cave with evidence of human habitation from 20,000 BC – our hunter gatherer ancestors. They had a very pretty home!

We ate and retired to the boat to sleep. We’re setting off early in the morning for our next destination, Stari Grad on the island of Hvar.

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24 June: Exploring coastal Croatia

Author: Mrs A

Location: Korčula, Croatia

First of all, sorry for the multiple emails coming through, those of you who are email subscribers. We are continuing to try and pinpoint the issue and will try to resolve it as soon as possible.

Monday: Our cycle for the day commenced at the wharf where we had docked, and had us riding off at 8.30am.

Before long we arrived at the town of Korčula, where we parked up our bikes and Gordy, our local host, gave us a run down of the town’s history.

The old town of Korčula – building outside of the walls was not permitted until the 1800s

Team photo in the square down by the water

Gordy explains the town’s history. In the background, H, our cycle guide

Starting our visit beside the old town walls

The town sits out on a peninsular, with the mainland a short boat ride away. Apparently it is subject to strong winds in the winter, often up to 200km/hr so the old town has been built in a herringbone pattern – allowing a breeze to filter down to all homes, but without the damaging winds.

The old town is walled, and all streets are stepped, with the exception of one road which rings the town known as ‘the street of thoughts’, where residents could walk and think without the need to watch their feet.

As we entered the town of Korčula through the gate, Gordy explained the symbolism of the lion with the book carved on a stone. The book is open, showing the town was founded in peaceful times. Had it been closed, it would have been during a time of war.

The town coat of arms featuring a lion on the entrance gateway through the walls

The town’s main claim to fame is the birthplace of Marco Polo, with strong evidence to suggest he was born in a house here, something that is hotly contended by the Italians who claim him for themselves. It seems the Marco Polo Wikipedia entry has been written by the Italians rather than the Croatians!

The cathedral of St Mark – complete with working moon clock – built 1301-1806

There are many ‘Marco Polo’ related hotels and restaurants here and in the surrounding countryside.

We had a couple of hours to explore the town, browse the jewellery stores and refresh ourselves ready for the next ride.

Coffee and a snack for some of the gang

Plenty of steps to climb up

Mr A admiring the interesting architecture – a mixture of Greek, Venetian and more

Every street has quirks and unique architecture – and not busy outside of the school holidays

Old cart wheels put to use

Looking out towards the ‘new’ town

Even the pets here are tastefully colour coordinated to fit in with the scenery

A heavily pregnant cat decides to adopt me…

‘Please don’t go!’ – clearly I am emitting ‘I love cats’ vibes!

Our time exploring up, we rode off along the coast to our next destination. While not massively steep, the coastal road was rolling hills, and again I was grateful to be on an electric bike. The way my airway is right now, there is no way I would have enjoyed riding manually without a great deal of coughing and wheezing.

A water break at Kneza

We concluded our 20km ride at Račišće (don’t ask me to pronounce it!) where the boat motored on around and met us. Lunch was soon served and we continued cruising around to the top of the island to the port at Vela Luka, where we were to spend the night.

Vela Luka as the sun sets

Sunset over Vela Luka as we disembark and head off to find dinner

Looking back towards the harbour

The town had been celebrating St Ivan’s Day and was quite lively

Unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore the town by day, but apparently it is famous for having a cave with evidence of human habitation from 20,000 BC – our hunter gatherer ancestors. They had a very pretty home!

We ate and retired to the boat to sleep. We’re setting off early in the morning for our next destination, Stari Grad on the island of Hvar.

Posted on

24 June: Exploring coastal Croatia

Author: Mrs A

Location: Korčula, Croatia

First of all, sorry for the multiple emails coming through, those of you who are email subscribers. We are continuing to try and pinpoint the issue and will try to resolve it as soon as possible.

Monday: Our cycle for the day commenced at the wharf where we had docked, and had us riding off at 8.30am.

Before long we arrived at the town of Korčula, where we parked up our bikes and Gordy, our local host, gave us a run down of the town’s history.

The old town of Korčula – building outside of the walls was not permitted until the 1800s

Team photo in the square down by the water

Gordy explains the town’s history. In the background, H, our cycle guide

Starting our visit beside the old town walls

The town sits out on a peninsular, with the mainland a short boat ride away. Apparently it is subject to strong winds in the winter, often up to 200km/hr so the old town has been built in a herringbone pattern – allowing a breeze to filter down to all homes, but without the damaging winds.

The old town is walled, and all streets are stepped, with the exception of one road which rings the town known as ‘the street of thoughts’, where residents could walk and think without the need to watch their feet.

As we entered the town of Korčula through the gate, Gordy explained the symbolism of the lion with the book carved on a stone. The book is open, showing the town was founded in peaceful times. Had it been closed, it would have been during a time of war.

The town coat of arms featuring a lion on the entrance gateway through the walls

The town’s main claim to fame is the birthplace of Marco Polo, with strong evidence to suggest he was born in a house here, something that is hotly contended by the Italians who claim him for themselves. It seems the Marco Polo Wikipedia entry has been written by the Italians rather than the Croatians!

The cathedral of St Mark – complete with working moon clock – built 1301-1806

There are many ‘Marco Polo’ related hotels and restaurants here and in the surrounding countryside.

We had a couple of hours to explore the town, browse the jewellery stores and refresh ourselves ready for the next ride.

Coffee and a snack for some of the gang

Plenty of steps to climb up

Mr A admiring the interesting architecture – a mixture of Greek, Venetian and more

Every street has quirks and unique architecture – and not busy outside of the school holidays

Old cart wheels put to use

Looking out towards the ‘new’ town

Even the pets here are tastefully colour coordinated to fit in with the scenery

A heavily pregnant cat decides to adopt me…

‘Please don’t go!’ – clearly I am emitting ‘I love cats’ vibes!

Our time exploring up, we rode off along the coast to our next destination. While not massively steep, the coastal road was rolling hills, and again I was grateful to be on an electric bike. The way my airway is right now, there is no way I would have enjoyed riding manually without a great deal of coughing and wheezing.

A water break at Kneza

We concluded our 20km ride at Račišće (don’t ask me to pronounce it!) where the boat motored on around and met us. Lunch was soon served and we continued cruising around to the top of the island to the port at Vela Luka, where we were to spend the night.

Vela Luka as the sun sets

Sunset over Vela Luka as we disembark and head off to find dinner

Looking back towards the harbour

The town had been celebrating St Ivan’s Day and was quite lively

Unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore the town by day, but apparently it is famous for having a cave with evidence of human habitation from 20,000 BC – our hunter gatherer ancestors. They had a very pretty home!

We ate and retired to the boat to sleep. We’re setting off early in the morning for our next destination, Stari Grad on the island of Hvar.

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22 – 23 June: Cruising Croatia!

Author: Mr A

Location: Dubrovnik, Mljet and Korčula, Croatia

Saturday: Those of us who had been out late were pretty dusty….some more than others! It was time to go and board the boat that was going to be our next mobile home for 7 days of cruising up the coast of Croatia from Dubrovnik to Split.

Our home for the next week

Someone had to try the Titanic pose…and that someone was Tim

Our top deck ensuite cabin

We settled in to our cabins and met the other passengers who would be our fellow cruisers. We moored up in a lovely bay after and threw ourselves in the azure waters of the Adriatic.

Our swimming location…not bad!

That brightened up a few of us. We then moored up in the harbour at Pomena on the island of Mljet, the largest and most forested in the Adriatic chain. Mentioned in Greek literature since the 4th century BC, it has a lovely laid back feel to it.

Our local harbour

The resident lame ginger kitten…no vets on the island so when it was hit by a car in the winter its broken leg healed crooked. He seems to get around ok on three legs and gets a huge sympathy vote from diners in all the restaurants

Dusk sets across the village

Perfect reflections

Night falling over the harbour

We found a little cafe for dinner right on the water, and the local stray cat soon found us and was suitably rewarded with chicken….happy purrs ensued.

Dave and S-J heading back to the boat for the night

OE is surprised by another birthday cake baked on board by chef Rosa

And the sun sets on our first night’s cruise

Sunday: A lovely breakfast and it was off on our bikes in one large guided group to have a poke around the national park which was a short ride down the road.

Team photo before we set off

The park contains two saltwater lakes joined by a narrow channel, and had the clearest blue water we have seen so far.

Many butterflies in the national park

It was an easy potter around the lake edge, then we had been briefed by our guide to wave a flag to call over a little boat that would ferry us over to a little island….all very cute…so we did. So that’s an island in a lake on an island. Officially this geographical phenomenon is called a “lake island” – how did they think of that?

The monastery within the lake…these days also a cafe

The boat man spots us waving the flag and comes over to collect us

A round of coffees and a quick look round the Benedictine monastery and we were off again on our ride.

Lovely architecture of the monastery

Music of monks singing is playing inside, making it very atmospheric

The monks must have had very narrow shoulders…or entered this door sideways!

A peaceful outlook across the lake from this terrace

Lovely old clematis on the walls of the monastery

We just had to have a swim in that water though before heading back to the boat.

We then motored off to our next island, Korcula, though some pretty choppy water. The crew did an admirable job of serving lunch whilst performing balancing and acrobatic manoeuvres. All very amusing.

We moored up again for another swim off Karcula Island. I’ve never been a great lover of throwing myself in. We live off a fantastic beach in Sydney and can go for a whole summer without swimming in the ocean, but on this trip I’m really enjoying it. The water is just so clear and inviting, plus there’s no nasties lurking underneath like in Australia.

Tom leaps off into the water

Our night was spent in Lumbarda, a small settlement to the south of the island. A fifteen minute amble around the bay brought us to a fabulous little restaurant, Gavuni, serving local dishes and drinks overlooking the water, all very reasonably priced.

An evocative war memorial beside the bay

Sunset drinks are going down well

Not game to order the local wine, Mrs A sticks to vodka!

Loving the location!

Palm tree scratching posts for the local cats here!

We returned to the boat for sunset and nightcaps.

Lovely watching the ever changing light across the water

Sun has almost completely set

The final sailing boats coming into harbour

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16-20 June: Arrivederci Italy, Zdravo Croatia!

Author: Mr A

Location: Ancona, Italy & Split and Stobreč, Croatia

Monday: It was time to board our second ferry of the trip from Ancona, on the east coast of Italy, and head over to Split in Croatia. We had absolutely loved Italy. The people, their ready smiles, their amazing food and wine. What would Croatia be like? A first visit for both of us. What adventures awaited us?

Getting our motorhome onto the ferry was the first one. I followed the somewhat ambiguous gesticulations of a rather excitable young man as he guided me on. Not really sure what was happening, he then had me doing a 5 point turn and then reversing down the length of the pitch black hold of the ferry! Thankfully I’m finding that the more of these little challenges I have to tackle, the less stressed I get about them…Catherine likes that as well 🙂

Boarding the ferry…no idea what awaited us at this point…

Reversing all over, Truffy in place for the journey

As it was a 11 hour overnight trip we had booked a cabin. I had read the web site last night and was looking forward to “the luxurious cruise liner” experience they had promised.

Our cell…I mean cabin…

Well the toilet seat wasn’t even attached and promptly fell off. The curtain rail and curtains followed. The mould and peeling paint didn’t exactly call out 5 star. Like so many situations where there is limited competition, with a duoply running on on this route, it was appalling.

Up on deck as we pull away from the Italian coast

The sun sets on Italy

The best sunset this trip (so far)

Anyway, with a beautiful sunset wishing us arrivederci to Italy we went for dinner, and had our first poor meal since out last ferry across from the UK to France. Self-catering has to be the way to go on ferries we have concluded.

Sunrise over Croatia as we pull into port

Tuesday: We arrived at our campsite after a short drive through the uninspiring suburbs of Split, with graffiti covering every wall, and rubbish strewn everywhere. This is a city that swells to a million tourists in the summer season. Where is that revenue going? Certainly not back into cleaning and infrastructure. A little bit jaded after our poor night and disappointing first impression of the city, we walked down through the campsite and got our first glimpse of the setting we were in. Wow!

The beach was stony but the view just spectacular with the barren mountains providing a stark backdrop to the bright blue shimmering of the water. In we dived….well to be honest it was a rather a slower process of adjusting to the “fresh” temperature of the ocean after the 30 degree pool we had been using all last week!

We dug out our inflatable kayaks from the depths of our motorhome, as this would be the first time they had seen the light of day since making the trip over with us from Australia.

Exploring the little harbour on the other side of the bay

Admiring the incredible backdrop which looks all the more grand from the water

Mrs A heads off to disturb a flock of juvenile gulls

With plenty of sea life in these waters, fishing is a popular pastime

We headed off and its hard to describe the exhilaration you feel to be out on the water under your own steam, free to potter about where you want. We headed south round the foreshore, with a flock of sea-birds rather annoyed at our intrusion through their watery paradise. We spent a few hours exploring the coast, and it was a fabulous introduction to Croatia.

Wednesday: The next day was a bit of a repeat button with a swim and a paddle, this time north back towards the city. It’s certainly a very busy part of the world at this time of the year, but out on the water in your own little bubble, it was serene.

Perfect azure waters as we paddle up the coast

Kids spending time snorkelling and jumping off rocks

Mrs A cannot resist a swim in the 25 degree waters

Busy beaches, despite it not yet being the school holidays

We spent the afternoon packing to ready for an early departure tomorrow down on another ferry to Dubrovnik, but then rewarded ourselves with dinner at the restaurant on the campsite.

Waterside table for dinner

Look at this view…and the food was pretty amazing as well. I opted for the local speciality of black cuttlefish risotto, served with bread fired in a pizza oven. Catherine tucked into freshly made gnocchi with fava (broad) beans…a new favourite of hers.

Fine dining

Alas no wine – we are trying to clock up a few AFD’s (Alcohol Free Days) before the next onslaught starting in Dubrovnik!

Thursday: The morning dawned once again with clear blue skies, and a 28 degrees by 7am…another warm one. Our taxi arrived and we were off back to the port…and realised we had forgotten our precious mifi device with our generous data SIM in it. I left Catherine at the ferry and thanks to our super great taxi driver managed a dash back to collect it and made the ferry just as it was boarding.

Dubrovnik here we come!

Posted on

16-20 June: Arrivederci Italy, Zdravo Croatia!

Author: Mr A

Location: Ancona, Italy & Split and Stobreč, Croatia

Monday: It was time to board our second ferry of the trip from Ancona, on the east coast of Italy, and head over to Split in Croatia. We had absolutely loved Italy. The people, their ready smiles, their amazing food and wine. What would Croatia be like? A first visit for both of us. What adventures awaited us?

Getting our motorhome onto the ferry was the first one. I followed the somewhat ambiguous gesticulations of a rather excitable young man as he guided me on. Not really sure what was happening, he then had me doing a 5 point turn and then reversing down the length of the pitch black hold of the ferry! Thankfully I’m finding that the more of these little challenges I have to tackle, the less stressed I get about them…Catherine likes that as well 🙂

Boarding the ferry…no idea what awaited us at this point…

Reversing all over, Truffy in place for the journey

As it was a 11 hour overnight trip we had booked a cabin. I had read the web site last night and was looking forward to “the luxurious cruise liner” experience they had promised.

Our cell…I mean cabin…

Well the toilet seat wasn’t even attached and promptly fell off. The curtain rail and curtains followed. The mould and peeling paint didn’t exactly call out 5 star. Like so many situations where there is limited competition, with a duoply running on on this route, it was appalling.

Up on deck as we pull away from the Italian coast

The sun sets on Italy

The best sunset this trip (so far)

Anyway, with a beautiful sunset wishing us arrivederci to Italy we went for dinner, and had our first poor meal since out last ferry across from the UK to France. Self-catering has to be the way to go on ferries we have concluded.

Sunrise over Croatia as we pull into port

Tuesday: We arrived at our campsite after a short drive through the uninspiring suburbs of Split, with graffiti covering every wall, and rubbish strewn everywhere. This is a city that swells to a million tourists in the summer season. Where is that revenue going? Certainly not back into cleaning and infrastructure. A little bit jaded after our poor night and disappointing first impression of the city, we walked down through the campsite and got our first glimpse of the setting we were in. Wow!

The beach was stony but the view just spectacular with the barren mountains providing a stark backdrop to the bright blue shimmering of the water. In we dived….well to be honest it was a rather a slower process of adjusting to the “fresh” temperature of the ocean after the 30 degree pool we had been using all last week!

We dug out our inflatable kayaks from the depths of our motorhome, as this would be the first time they had seen the light of day since making the trip over with us from Australia.

Exploring the little harbour on the other side of the bay

Admiring the incredible backdrop which looks all the more grand from the water

Mrs A heads off to disturb a flock of juvenile gulls

With plenty of sea life in these waters, fishing is a popular pastime

We headed off and its hard to describe the exhilaration you feel to be out on the water under your own steam, free to potter about where you want. We headed south round the foreshore, with a flock of sea-birds rather annoyed at our intrusion through their watery paradise. We spent a few hours exploring the coast, and it was a fabulous introduction to Croatia.

Wednesday: The next day was a bit of a repeat button with a swim and a paddle, this time north back towards the city. It’s certainly a very busy part of the world at this time of the year, but out on the water in your own little bubble, it was serene.

Perfect azure waters as we paddle up the coast

Kids spending time snorkelling and jumping off rocks

Mrs A cannot resist a swim in the 25 degree waters

Busy beaches, despite it not yet being the school holidays

We spent the afternoon packing to ready for an early departure tomorrow down on another ferry to Dubrovnik, but then rewarded ourselves with dinner at the restaurant on the campsite.

Waterside table for dinner

Look at this view…and the food was pretty amazing as well. I opted for the local speciality of black cuttlefish risotto, served with bread fired in a pizza oven. Catherine tucked into freshly made gnocchi with fava (broad) beans…a new favourite of hers.

Fine dining

Alas no wine – we are trying to clock up a few AFD’s (Alcohol Free Days) before the next onslaught starting in Dubrovnik!

Thursday: The morning dawned once again with clear blue skies, and a 28 degrees by 7am…another warm one. Our taxi arrived and we were off back to the port…and realised we had forgotten our precious mifi device with our generous data SIM in it. I left Catherine at the ferry and thanks to our super great taxi driver managed a dash back to collect it and made the ferry just as it was boarding.

Dubrovnik here we come!

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16-20 June: Arrivederci Italy, Zdravo Croatia!

Author: Mr A

Location: Ancona, Italy & Split and Stobreč, Croatia

Monday: It was time to board our second ferry of the trip from Ancona, on the east coast of Italy, and head over to Split in Croatia. We had absolutely loved Italy. The people, their ready smiles, their amazing food and wine. What would Croatia be like? A first visit for both of us. What adventures awaited us?

Getting our motorhome onto the ferry was the first one. I followed the somewhat ambiguous gesticulations of a rather excitable young man as he guided me on. Not really sure what was happening, he then had me doing a 5 point turn and then reversing down the length of the pitch black hold of the ferry! Thankfully I’m finding that the more of these little challenges I have to tackle, the less stressed I get about them…Catherine likes that as well 🙂

Boarding the ferry…no idea what awaited us at this point…

Reversing all over, Truffy in place for the journey

As it was a 11 hour overnight trip we had booked a cabin. I had read the web site last night and was looking forward to “the luxurious cruise liner” experience they had promised.

Our cell…I mean cabin…

Well the toilet seat wasn’t even attached and promptly fell off. The curtain rail and curtains followed. The mould and peeling paint didn’t exactly call out 5 star. Like so many situations where there is limited competition, with a duoply running on on this route, it was appalling.

Up on deck as we pull away from the Italian coast

The sun sets on Italy

The best sunset this trip (so far)

Anyway, with a beautiful sunset wishing us arrivederci to Italy we went for dinner, and had our first poor meal since out last ferry across from the UK to France. Self-catering has to be the way to go on ferries we have concluded.

Sunrise over Croatia as we pull into port

Tuesday: We arrived at our campsite after a short drive through the uninspiring suburbs of Split, with graffiti covering every wall, and rubbish strewn everywhere. This is a city that swells to a million tourists in the summer season. Where is that revenue going? Certainly not back into cleaning and infrastructure. A little bit jaded after our poor night and disappointing first impression of the city, we walked down through the campsite and got our first glimpse of the setting we were in. Wow!

The beach was stony but the view just spectacular with the barren mountains providing a stark backdrop to the bright blue shimmering of the water. In we dived….well to be honest it was a rather a slower process of adjusting to the “fresh” temperature of the ocean after the 30 degree pool we had been using all last week!

We dug out our inflatable kayaks from the depths of our motorhome, as this would be the first time they had seen the light of day since making the trip over with us from Australia.

Exploring the little harbour on the other side of the bay

Admiring the incredible backdrop which looks all the more grand from the water

Mrs A heads off to disturb a flock of juvenile gulls

With plenty of sea life in these waters, fishing is a popular pastime

We headed off and its hard to describe the exhilaration you feel to be out on the water under your own steam, free to potter about where you want. We headed south round the foreshore, with a flock of sea-birds rather annoyed at our intrusion through their watery paradise. We spent a few hours exploring the coast, and it was a fabulous introduction to Croatia.

Wednesday: The next day was a bit of a repeat button with a swim and a paddle, this time north back towards the city. It’s certainly a very busy part of the world at this time of the year, but out on the water in your own little bubble, it was serene.

Perfect azure waters as we paddle up the coast

Kids spending time snorkelling and jumping off rocks

Mrs A cannot resist a swim in the 25 degree waters

Busy beaches, despite it not yet being the school holidays

We spent the afternoon packing to ready for an early departure tomorrow down on another ferry to Dubrovnik, but then rewarded ourselves with dinner at the restaurant on the campsite.

Waterside table for dinner

Look at this view…and the food was pretty amazing as well. I opted for the local speciality of black cuttlefish risotto, served with bread fired in a pizza oven. Catherine tucked into freshly made gnocchi with fava (broad) beans…a new favourite of hers.

Fine dining

Alas no wine – we are trying to clock up a few AFD’s (Alcohol Free Days) before the next onslaught starting in Dubrovnik!

Thursday: The morning dawned once again with clear blue skies, and a 28 degrees by 7am…another warm one. Our taxi arrived and we were off back to the port…and realised we had forgotten our precious mifi device with our generous data SIM in it. I left Catherine at the ferry and thanks to our super great taxi driver managed a dash back to collect it and made the ferry just as it was boarding.

Dubrovnik here we come!

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