Day 9-Day 10 Zadar and back to London

On Sundays, Zadar becomes very quiet. It is what we needed, we visit the old part of town. It is quite touristy, with some nice fashion shops and numerous monuments.

Close to the lovely promenade, a panel states that Zadar's seafront is the nicest in the world, and that Hitchcock once said that it had the most beautiful sunset in the world. Mmmh, would not go that far. But it is true that both are impressive.

On the new parts of the waterfront, a wave organ has been installed, and the sounds produces by the waves are quite interesting (as long as you do not live in the area!)



In the evening, after the sunset, we have a very hard time finding a restaurant and finish up queuing to fetch a pizza. Another one. We make ourselves the promise to have a proper meal the next day.

We indeed go to "The two fishermen" the next day, after a morning of sunbathing, and order an outrageous platter of seafood: an massive fish (which I could not recognise), two entire squids, 4 and a bunch of mussels. The sauce was very tasted, and this, under the sun, was undoubtedly the best meal we'd had.

A few hours later and we are cycling towards the airport. The 10K go very quickly and the bikes, once dismantled and in their unpadded bag, were accepted without any problem by Ryan Air. We had already paid the extra bike ticket. They arrived, like us, unharmed in Stanstead a few hours later.

Day 8 Zadar-Plitvice

The place is not the cleanest of places but very spacious and comfy. In the morning we decide to go to Plitvice National Park, a 3h bus ride from Zadar.

Then everything gets a bit complicated because of a women whose stupidity is as great as her incompetence. She tells us the only bus back from the park is at 1445. This would only leave us 2 hours in the park! We run back to pack the bikes (in order not to be stuck all night in the park), put them in the bus, after we arrive we do 3/4 of the park running. The information at the park has no clue about the buses. Most of private buses packed with retired German tourists. Then we learn from a hotel that actually there is a bus at 1700, but it only leaves at one of the entrances.

We do not have much time, so we run hysterically about 6K back to the other entrance to put our bikes together and cycle to the first entrance, where we catch the bus. All this stress has wasted our visit a bit, as we would have done the entire park (and would not have brought the bikes) if we had known we could go back at 1700. When you are not in the high tourist season, noone seems to be able to help you!

The park is gorgeous and very well kept. The park comprises some forests but the center is a series of lakes, separated by natural locks. Yellow to orange calcareous concretions submerged in cyan water are lovely. The waterfalls are impressive and crossed by wooden bridges (not sure about H&S!).

Sibenik-Krka-Zadar

The next day, we avoid Sibenik to be as early as possible in Krka. We go through two tunnels and the road is pretty busy. This park has two main entrances. The woman at the till won't keep our stuff...and suggests we cycle the 10K to the other entrance, Skradin, and then take a small cycle route that leads to the waterfalls.

We can seem some large karsts on the way. These are cavities created by dissolution of the CaCO3 (such as in limestone) and common in the cretaceous chalk in Kent.

Though park is very nice. The falls are all in witdth. The water is transparent, and you go round the falls on small wooden platforms. After a sardine/sweetcorn/peas lunch, we cross a film/documentary scene, full of people dressed in typical clothes, probably from the period the watermills were built.




To avoid going back the same way, we decide to try to cycle to Zadar through the inland. The road is allegedly pretty flat. We cross Skradin, Barnacac. The weather is nice, and the road very quiet. People are very different from the coast. There are many abandoned/wild dogs and abandoned houses. Their roof has been bombed and their facades are full of bullet impacts.

We are very close to Knin, which was the centre of the Krajina Serbian rebellion during the 1991-1995 Croatian independance war. After Croatia declared its independance, the Yougoslav People's Army (JNA), primarily composed of Serbians and Montenegrins, severely bombarded major towns (Zagreb, Zadar, Dubrovnik, Split). After massacres in Bosnia, the NATO helped the Croatian army, which conquered Krajina...but this caused the exile of many Serbians.

Everywhere in Croatia, we saw many limping people. Cruel reminder of these dark years, obviously still very present in most minds.

We cycle really well, the landscape is desolate. People tend to build houses rather than trying to repair the bombed ones. Some villages are almost empty. The countryside is nice though.


We arrive in Zadar pretty early, cross the airport where we ask confirmation for the flight.
After dismissing a hotel suggested in the Lonely Planet, we take a very nice studio right in the centre of Zadar, recommended by the tourist info. There is a massive balcony and we loved the place.

Split-Sibenik

The next day, we have a final glimpse of the town, and we leave under the rain towards Trogir. Although they seem rather secure, the suburbs are not very appealing. We cycle on a national road but the dreadful weather and the speed of the vehicles makes us quickly stop at a gas station.

We ask 6 people, some not speaking a word of English, if it is possible to take a quieter road (one was shown on our map)....there is no way we can follow the coast on such a busy road. A kid finally makes us understand there is a tunnel to join a smaller road, closer to the coast, up to Trogir.

We still have to do a portion on the very dangerous road, we decide to take a bus but we are already 10K in the horrible industrial zone of Split. They really have kept the best for all the centre, and all the rest is pushed in this area. A bright looking guy tells us that we only have to do 300m and we will be able to quit the main road, which we do, with a great relief.

We cycle to Trogir. We buy cheese and ham to make a sandwich, visit the town in half an hour, it is nice but quite small. From Trogir, we continue to Sibenik.


The weather and the road improves a lot, and reminds me a bit of my cycling in the Norwegian fjords. I have a puncture, and that's the only small technical problem (with the gear) we had during the trip. I actually change the length of the rear derailleur cable for the day (tighter if it is flat). We cross nice small villages, as large as their marinas! Close to Sibenik, we look for a camping where we could leave our bikes while we visit Krka National Park.



Molaca is closed and full of moskitos, we end up in a big camping in Solaris, a massive hotel complex 7k from Sibenik....the kind of place I would avoid in summer.

The camping has a few German vans, no other real tent. They want to makes us pay 100 kunas, I ask them if they could reduce the price...the woman did not have any clue of the price, as all the grids were for vans....I negociate to 70 kunas. The showers and toilets are very clean.

Vela Luka - Split (boat)

We wake up at 5 am in an amazingly mild weather. The bad surprise is that we need to pay twice what the lonely planet states...the crossing is nice, Marjanne rests on my lap while I observe the sun rise on the hills behind Vela Luka.

After 3h of boat (slower than the catamaran and more expensive, but we had to take the ferry because of our bikes), we arrive directly in the centre of Split.

The town is quite busy, the weather perfect, and the people very trendy. At the "Turistik Biro", the (quite antipathetic) guy offers us a room for 270 kunas (commission included). We meet the landlord, very friendly. The flat is brilliant: central, high ceilings, large. Split is magnificient, even though the Croatian Boat Show takes all the dock south of the old centre. In the old centre, the streets are a bit like Dubrovnik but flatter, and I believe this is more of a town to live in.

In the centre, nearly all the shops are...fashion. We even discovered a Victoria's Secret (there is none in London) but they were short, after their first three days, of Marjanne size. On the coast, appearance is very important for Croatian people! The girls are probably prettier than most guys.

We have a nice meal...fish at last!....at the Fiffe, with locals. The fish soup and grilled fish were delicious, and we climbed up a small hill West of town, called Mount Marjan.

On the way down, a mythoman speaks to us about his wife who is a model and his foreseeing skills....he should have foreseen we would cut short to his monologue! He made us laugh though, finishing by asking us if we wanted to take part into the Roman orgy he was organising!

We continued strolling through the streets and sunbathed on the main beach (which I would not have said was the main one!). Some people were even playing in the sea. We eat loads of Burek, pastries stuffed with cheese or apples or meat, go to a restaurant which seemed nice. There, a guy comes in the restaurant, and before even he says a word I say to Marjanne that he is French!

We end up chatting and going to a bar together, he is a very nice bloke who is setting up his own business in Split. Apparently there are quite a few French people in Split, as well as Australian skippers who make a fortune.

Day 5 Korcula - Vela Luka

The morning is spent in the sun, eating delicious ice creams and not so delicious pastries. At 2 o'clock, we leave under the rain. We get completely soaked and all the beginning is uphill, yet we are happier than if we had stayed all the afternoon in Korcula. The end is a long and steep downhill section (60km/h) under the sun. We are very happy with the ride.


Vela Luka is not very appealing, from the people to the massive industrial halls close to the small harbour. We find some hills to do wild camping, but there are many terrasses with olive trees and abandonned stone houses. I am concerned about the mines, so we pitch the tent close to the road, in the most hidden place we could find. During the night, only one truck will take the gravelly road and we sleep well. It rains during the night, as usual.

Day 4 2009 03 30 Mjlet - Korcula

We wake up at 5 in the morning to catch up the boat....but it is not there....there had been a change in time one day before, without us noticing! We cycled back to Sobra, returned to our bedroom with a view, and rested till 11, when the next boat was leaving.


At last, we arrive to the peninsula. It suddendly stops raining, we are very hungry but we are told that the closest supermarket on our way is 15K away (actually it was in another village at 30K). Luckily the wind is with us, and the road in a flat valley full of wineyards and very low vegetation.

We cycle well, have to go through two very long uphill sections. I am stuck in my 7th rear gear (to much rust in the "gaine") and have to most of the riding standing. Marjanne is blocked on the 2nd front gear (a problem that I settled later in the day). Some views on the sea are very nice.

We are happy to arrive to Orebic, after 68K of pedalling, having started in the afternoon. The town is nice and clean, we are advised by a British guy to cross the detroit to go to Korcula, much nicer. We hop on a boat, and in Korcula we see the main camping which is closed. It is however accessible, and I want to put the tent there for free, and just lock the bikes to a tree while we visit town. Marjanne disagrees, so we finish in a comfy B&B recommended in the Lonely Planet (and where half the tourists on the boat finish!). We visit the town, and it seems so nice that we decide it would be a pity to go directly to Split. Our strategy is finally to take our time the next day, leave in the afternoon for the other end of the island, Vela Luka.

We spend the evening relaxing in this tourist free town. Close to the cathedral, a choir of nuns is rehearsing and this adds a special touch!

Day 3 2009 04 29 Mjlet

We wake up at 0600 to go to the park and be back to catch the 1500 boat to the peninsula. But the weather is pretty bad. At 0730, we are still in the tent, gales and heavy rainfall reduces visibility to about 50m. We leave at 1000, the rain stops quite soon afterwards.

We leave the tent locked, with most our gear inside to cycle more quickly to the National Park. The wind is very powerful. We take a lovely mountainbike trail, not being very sure of where we are going to end, but eventually we arrive to the lakes.



These are separated from the Adriatic Sea by a kind of dam. I am a bit stressed as the path is rocky and I forgot the pump...moreover, many trees fell on the path as the result of the wind. The wet silt sticks to the tyres and these double in volume!

The park must be lovely in summer. A monastery is visible across the lake. We hardly cross anyone and we escape the park fee. The weather is so horrendous that I guess they are not expecting any visitors, especially on bikes.

We try to get back as quickly as possible to catch the afternoon ferry. But the ride is very tough. The wind is blowing against us and sometimes we just have to stop and wait for the gale to pass us. Marjanne is exhausted, the mountainbiking was quite difficult already, and we realize that we will only be able to catch the second and last boat of the day, at 1900.

We eat tuna and sweetcorn, sleep 20 min and leave for the harbour. The way back is amazingly quick, we arrive only 30 min after the boat left. The bad news is that the 1900 boat has been cancelled because of the weather (or more probably, because to few people wanted to make the crossing!). We are gutted, but find a bed in Sobra and spend a relaxing evening, with an enjoyable view of the small harbour.

The restaurant is cooking fish for the staff, we think it is a joke when the waiter says they only serve pizza out of season. But no. Although the pizza is good, we are disappointed.

People are oblivious to the fact we travel by bike. They just gaze at us (well at Marjanne especially) in a moody way, not saying a word. I guess it is cultural, to keep their integrity during busy seasons...

Day 2 2009 03 28 Dubrovnic-Mjlet

In the morning, we have a picnic along the sea. The supermarket is expensive. Many products come from the UK or Germany.

We go to the Jadrolinija ferry terminal to get a ticket to Mjelt later in the afternoon. In that season, the number of crossings is very limited. The bikes are as expensive as a passenger.

Back to the centre, the main street is packed with groups of Japanese, German or Americain retired people, but the maze of steep alleys is tourist free. We are enchanted by the green steps, and the view of the old tiles.


The latter becomes even better when we go round the city walls (50 kunas). The view of the sea and of the entire old centre of town is stunning.


We hop on a taxi, cycle to the harbour, and go on a 2h30 journey on an almost empty ferry. Once arrived, we try to push to be close to the entrance of the Mjlet National Park, at the North East tip of the island. The first camping site is closed and not available for pirate camping, so we cycle a bit more through the hills and we hide the tent behide some olive trees, in an ideal spot.

Day 1 2009 03 27 Dubrovnic

Here we are on the BA flight from London to Dubrovnik. From the plane, islands circled in yellow, green and blue are visible. So are quite steep mountains. I start to realize that the bike trip might be challenging.

After landing, we spend 1h40 to reassemble the bikes. I have to twist the end of my fork back to put my front wheel, as it has been damaged during the transport. The ultralight bike bags bought the previous day have suffered two, multiple holes and a broken zip.

We quickly bike the 20km to join Dubrovnik. The road along the sea is very nice and sunny. But once in town, the campsite is closed. I would be tempted to still sleep there, but we need a place to leave the bikes during our visit...the eternal problem of visiting towns with bikes! After three attempts to rent a private room for the night, we are successful.

I am impressed by the standards of living. Many new cars. The new houses are a bit dull, always square with small windows, but very comfy inside. After a pizza, we walk to the centre. The suburbs are nice, relaxed, well lighten. The 'grad' or old centre is stunning. We stroll through the small green alleys for a couple of hours, the streets are nearly empty, the weather mild and that's enjoyable.