July 14, 2013

Distance: Not Sure miles                  Climbing: 1069.6 ft

The alarm went off bright and early at 6am. We wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to get breakfast and find the ferry terminal. Luckily, everything went really well. There was an open bakery just down the street from the campground with cheese pies. We had time to stop at an open grocery store and pick up a few snacks for the ferry also.

Finding the ferry turned out to be just as easy. We pulled in and were allowed on early to get the bikes situated. Things could not have gone better. We even managed to find a table next to a power source so we could charge up our pile of dead rechargeable AA batteries.

The ferry ride lasted six hours. During that time we drank coffee, ate snacks, read, played cards, wrote a few blog posts and I watched a movie. It was relaxing and productive.

Island view

We got off the ferry in Mali Losinj and it was hot! We found the Lidl and stocked up on groceries. There wasn’t much going on and there wasn’t any traffic so things started out well.

We were pretty tired even though we hadn’t cycled much, so we headed to the closest campground. It turned out to be some sort of deluxe resort campground. With a straight face they said the price was 35€ a night and we could have the pleasure of setting up our tent on rocks behind the maintenance shed. We decided it would be better to go elsewhere.

After a few miles past the campground it was clear that the island was not what we expected. For some reason, we envisioned quiet and relaxing. Instead, we encountered expensive and lots of traffic. We weren’t really inspired by our surroundings and not having the best time. We stopped at a number of locations to check out possible campsites, and there were a few places that would have worked, but none great. There were huge spiders everywhere and drinking water nowhere.

Extra scary

Eventually, we made it to another campground and found it to be quite reasonably priced and not looking much different than the last one. We also managed to find a spot that wasn’t crowded. Apparently, nobody wants to sleep next to the church and graveyard.

Lovely church

Spooky graveyard

We spent the remainder of the evening working on our new travel plan and updating the blog.

July 13, 2013

Distance: 32.7 miles                    Climbing: 1853.7 ft

Our plan for the day was very simple. Publish a few blog posts and drink some espressos at the campground café then ride to a campground on the island Pag. We were able to accomplish our first goal with no problems, however the second part of the plan got screwed up. Big time.

We followed a quiet road along the ocean, passing a number of inviting swimming locations, before joining the main highway.

Once the shoulder ran out, things took a turn for the worst. We were out with the traffic that didn’t seem to be paying attention to us. There were lots of tourists driving cars pulling campers who didn’t seem to realize how wide their loads were and came dangerously close time after time, which caused us to periodically ride in the ditch. After less than a mile of this we realized we needed another plan.

Not loving it

At a roadside convenience store, we stopped for a cold drink, an ice cream and to discuss our options. Chandler pulled out of big paper map of Croatia and we realized we were going to be on the same highway the whole way to Pag and down it’s entire length to reach our destination. That was not going to be any fun, so our plans for today and the next couple days quickly got tossed.

The closest major city was Zadar, where we could potentially take a ferry to one of the islands. The other option was to go back into the mountains. The beach was calling to us, so we chose Zadar and island hopping.

We jumped back on the bikes and pedaled as quickly as we could to reach the secondary road that would lead us to the city. Zadar wasn’t too far, so we had a nice mellow ride. After the highway, the road we were on seemed like a dream and we were enjoying ourselves again.

Figs

Giant donkey thing

Bronze bells

Once in Zadar, we looked for a café or bar or anywhere that might have internet, so we could look up the ferry schedule. Instead, we found the kiosk to buy ferry tickets. That was lucky. So, Chandler went inside to figure were we could go and when while I guarded the bicycles.

It took a little while, but we finally found a ferry that would take us and the bikes the next day to Mali Losinj. This is an island pretty far north, but the ferry system in Croatia is pretty anti-cycling- bikes are officially not allowed on the catamaran ferries which seemed like the most popular way to get around the island. We heard that if you ask the captain nicely sometimes they will let you on, but it seemed like a big hassle to have to cross our fingers every time we tried to get on a ferry.

Chandler found us a campground right in town which at 23 euro plus 7 euro for internet (which we declined) seemed expensive, but there were enough trees for us to put up our hammocks. We went to bed early because we would have to wake up at 6am make it to the ferry terminal on the south side of the city on time. Luckily for us, there was a large group of German teenagers, drinking and yelling in the campground until 1am.

Our vision of having a relaxing time riding along islands in coastal Croatia had been turned upside down. We hoped that Mali Losinj would be more laid back and less heavily trafficked.

July 12, 2013

Miles: 31.7 miles               Climbing: 2050.5 ft

With our tent slightly wet, we took the morning slowly to let it dry out a little before hitting the road. We were still on the dirt road, but it was hard packed and quiet. We love roads that are just bad enough that cars want to avoid them, so we can ride side by side and chat and just let down our guard a little bit.

Quiet dirt road

We were heading to the ocean and a town called Novigrad. I’m sure there was a more direct route, but as usual, we took the quieter roads. We got into a nice rhythm, rode quickly and hard the entire day. Normally, we stop to take lots of photos and breaks, but we both just wanted to get there.

A fun plant to step on

Right before town, we started talking about finding a grocery store when a number of farm stands appeared on the side of the road. We stocked up on fresh veggies and some homemade red wine in another recycled plastic bottle. Now we could go to town and spend the rest of the night relaxing.

We took a turn off the main highway onto another smaller road that went downhill and closer to the ocean. Rounding a corner, we were surprised to see a quaint little seaside village with the ruins of a castle above it.

Novigrad

The campground was at the end of town and we headed in that direction. The campground turned out to be really nice with a beach and free internet. We actually got to listen to a Red Sox game on the computer and Skype with family while relaxing in the tent!

Enjoying some baseball

After a quick swim in the ocean and a cold shower, Chandler rode to town and picked up a pizza for dinner. The homemade wine went to our heads pretty quickly and we ended up in bed by 9pm.