Overview of our Croatia trip 9/17-9/24
Saturday Split to Milna on the boat
Sunday Bike Milna to Bol (47km) AM. Boat Bol to Jelsa PM.
Monday Boat Jelsa to Stari Grad AM. Bike Stari Grad to Jelsa to Stari Grad (17km.)
Tuesday Bike Racisce to Korcula (20 km.) Boat to Korcula long way to avoid impending weather.
Spend night Korcula.Wednesday Boat Korcula to Mijet Island (Port of Pomena.) Bike in Mijet National Forest (20+km.) PM in
Pomena.
Thursday Boat Peljesac Penninsula to Orebic. Bike Orebic to Lovista (300m climb, 30km.) Board boat
Lovista and go to Markarska for the night.
Friday Boat Markarska to Omis. Bike Omis to Split (35km.) Board boat in Split to spend night.
Saturday Breakfast on board, goodbyes!
(Corrections to the above schedule are welcome as I may not have all the facts completely accurate.)
(Corrections to the above schedule are welcome as I may not have all the facts completely accurate.)
We took a late evening flight from Zagreb to Split. After taking taxis (had to take two since there were six of us,) we arrived at the Apartments Fortezza (near Diocletian's Palace and the front windows overlooked the People's Square) where we spent the night. Even late at night the Square was full of lights and people. The apartment had three bedrooms, each with it's own bathroom. As you can see, our bathroom was quite interesting as it was built into what resembled a catacomb and the walls were left as was. We, especially Jenny, were peering at the crack behind the shower with a flashlight to discover that there was a tunnel that kept going somewhere (who knows what was back there!) Just a little creepy!
As we explored the next morning we found the city to be very charming with it's shiny limestone streets and many evidences of Venetian, Italian, and Roman influence. After breakfast we gathered up our luggage and headed to the pier to find our boat. After boarding the Petrina we were escorted by Vinko our cabins under the deck. I think I will let the pictures give you the details. I guess you could say it was a little (a lot?) like camping (of which I'm not a great fan!) When Greg was in the bedroom then I would have to knock before coming from the bathroom so he could get on the bed in order for me to get out. It was definitely small!
As we explored the next morning we found the city to be very charming with it's shiny limestone streets and many evidences of Venetian, Italian, and Roman influence. After breakfast we gathered up our luggage and headed to the pier to find our boat. After boarding the Petrina we were escorted by Vinko our cabins under the deck. I think I will let the pictures give you the details. I guess you could say it was a little (a lot?) like camping (of which I'm not a great fan!) When Greg was in the bedroom then I would have to knock before coming from the bathroom so he could get on the bed in order for me to get out. It was definitely small!
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| You could brush your teeth and shower all at the same time. |
We were served well by our six crew. There was a nice feeling of intimacy on board with only 27 people from Norway, New Zealand, Scotland, Canada, Croatia, Austria, and; Germany. We made many new friends.
Shortly after we boarded, the lunch bell rang and we all sat down to lentil soup, bread, pork, mashed potatoes, green beans, and salad. We ate breakfast and lunch on the boat, which left time to experience the Croatian food of each region in the evenings. One of our favorites was grilled sea bass.
A before and after picture of the sea bass
The water in the sea was the most clear and beautiful blue/green I've ever seen. The large amount of salt made it easy to float. After several of our hot rides we were able to cool off with a swim. It was heavenly!
On about the 4th day we discovered that not all boats were nice, quiet biker boats, but some were actually "party" boats. The loud music and yelling was not pleasant, so we were happy to discover that the midnight curfew was strictly enforced.
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| And this guy added a little noise of his own. Thank goodness he had an early bedtime! |
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| One evening we arrived later than we previously had to discover that six other boats were already docked, so we fell in line to be #7. We had to enter and exit each of the boats in order to plant our feet on land. |
AND AWAY WE GO.......
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| Each bike had to unloaded from the boat and then loaded back on at the end of the day. |
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| Come on, you girls can make it up that hill! There was also lots of lush green. |
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| Coming into a town for a coffee break after a long ride, with more riding to go., |
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| Alan, our fearless leader. He lives in Croatia and definitely knows the area inside and out. He certainly exhibited a lot of patience! |
One day we had lunch out in the middle of nowhere where there was a smokehouse and lots of long tables and benches in a beautiful country setting. Other bikers were present also. I wasn't really all that hungry after the several hour climb, but after eating we could look forward to some downhill riding.
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| The Smokehouse |
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| Chowing down! |
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| Quite a lot of food-sausage, pork, potatoes.......... |
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| My friend, Kari, from Norway. There always seemed to be a cat who needed attention. |
