Croatia (Days 104 – 110)

Sunday (6/26). Today is day 104 of our trip. That officially makes this our longest trip ever. One day longer than last summer’s AK-Western states trip. I find it surprising that three and a half months can pass by so quickly, and the month we have left seems like such little time.

I mentioned in the last post that we both had been feeling unwell. Given recent history, somehow neither of us considered a certain possibility until suddenly it dawned on me.. Wait a minute! You don’t think…?

Courtesy of Darth Covid – the evil Sick Lord, we now face several days of isolation and enforced rest. Since we don’t feel great anyway, this is no big deal. Pro? Zadar looks like a cool town in which to spend a few days. Con? We are limited to what we can see of Zadar from our bedroom window. Pro? We have a good view. All day long and into the evening people congregate and wander through the square below us. Kids play soccer there, using a church built in 1175ad as a backstop. Quite excellent people watching.

Monday (6/27).

Tuesday (6/28).

Wednesday (6/29).

We’ve done our time! Apart from some residual fatigue, we are now symptom free and free to roam. We used that freedom to hop a ferry and enjoy some fresh air on our faces. We arrived on the island of Krk at the hottest part of the day. Fresh off bed rest, it seemed like a safety issue to avoid hills and heat! So, we prudently found shade next to the water. I sat there with Sharon, we sat there, we two. And I said, ‘I’m so glad we have nothing to do. Too hot to go out and too hot to play ball. We should sit by the beach and do nothing at all.’ And that’s what we did.

Thursday (6/30). To reunite Sharon with her wallet, Anna sent it to Peter, a Warmshower host in Kraljevica, about eighteen miles from our current location. We know Anna sent it Tuesday. We don’t know when it will arrive. Which raises the question posed by The Clash, “Should I stay or should I go?” Should we stay put and wait to hear that it arrived? Should we go with the hope that it will arrive? We decided to go…toward Kraljevik and see the island in baby steps. Next stop? Seven miles to Vrbnik. Good idea. Good because Vrbnik is a beautiful city. Good  because Vrbnik is only seven miles away, and apparently not having symptoms is not the same as being fully recovered. The climb to Vrbnik purt’ near killed us. Also good because we found a shady cave next to the beach where we could enjoy the day, and recover from our massive seven mile ride.

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Friday (July 1). A new month! The Tour de France kicks off! All our Canadian friends get to celebrate Canada Day! And we, well we got to wander far off of Krk’s beaten paths. We wandered past tiny secluded beaches tucked in amongst the rugged shore line. We once again escaped the afternoon’s worst heat at a shady beach. We scored more good pizza. And finally, Sharon found us a gem of a camp site. Our Croatian “Beach Holiday” bike tour continues.

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Saturday (7/2). Word on the street is that the package did not arrive yesterday. That means we need to remain in the area until Monday at least. So, again decision time. Should we stay where we are near Cizici, hang at the beach all day and camp again? Not a bad option. Should we explore some more of Krk, cross to the mainland and see what Kraljevica is all about? Maybe. No easy answers, no bad choices. Finally just to make a decision, we chose to head toward the mainland.

Along the way we met two young south bound cyclists. Like many others we’ve met, they set out on this multi month trip with almost no previous cycle touring experience. Carol and Hannah are heading south to Greece. End of August they will ferry to Italy and continue their ride from there. Ambitious! Always fun expanding our circle of friends and fellow explorers.

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Our crossing from Krk to the mainland was mostly uneventful. Given that we had to negotiate bumper to bumper traffic across a massive bridge, with no shoulder, bike lane or pedestrian walkway – I’d say mostly uneventful is a win. Kraljevica was also mostly uneventful. It is a pleasant enough town. Let’s just say though, it does not seem to be overrun by tourists. 

During his dictatorship of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz “Tito” regularly lived and the traveled the world in luxury aboard the ship “Galeb”. Apparently he was slightly more ‘equal’ than his communist brothers and sisters. This ship is currently berthed at Kraljevica’s shipyard undergoing restoration. When finished, it will be anchored at Rejika and will serve as both museum and hotel. It is quite a sight.

In 2017, local boy Bruno Kurolt died in an automobile accident. In memory of the young man, his family organized what has become a major soccer tournament. It is 5v5 on an enclosed concrete pitch about the size of a basketball court. Intense action, energetic crowds, and some crazy good ball skills were all on display.

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This has been a unique week. It is the first time either of us has been sick in over two and a half years! Given that it was covid that felled us, the fall wasn’t too bad thanks no doubt to vaccines and boosters. It very well may be our lowest mileage week ever, having traveled just over thirty miles. While very different than our norm, it was still an enjoyable week. We watched shows, read, researched and relaxed. Being forced to slow down is not always bad. Having said that we are both excited to learn that this prolonged heat may break this coming week. We are excited to feel better and move on to new and different places. I believe the next week will look very different than this past week. Let’s hope anyway. Until then…STC!