Thursday, 13 June to Sunday, 16 June 2019
On Thursday morning we were awoken at 6.30 as the Andela Lora set sail for the island of Pag. After a leisurely breakfast we set off on our bikes from Novalja, cycling 20kms along the island to the small port of Lun where our ship was waiting.
Not as much wind today but a lot of dead snakes on the road. This is quite bleak countryside as the Bora winds have blown away the topsoil leaving rocks exposed. These rocks have been used to build walls in the fields to protect the olive trees and sheep from the winds which can reach 200 km/hr.
After boarding our ship we have a short motor across to the island of Rab. We anchored in a small bay for anyone who wanted to swim and then moored in town for the night. The fortified town of Pag was built in the Middle Ages on a wedge shaped headland and is easily recognised by its 4 bell towers.
We had a tour around the city in the afternoon and then a demonstration and taste of Rab cake. This cake was first served in 1177 to Pope Alexander III when he consecrated the Cathedral in Rab. It is usually shaped into a spiral and lasts up to 2 months.
On Friday morning we rode our bikes 21kms to one of the few sand (coarse) beaches we have seen in the Adriatic.
This is the home island for our guide Petra whose family has lived on the island for over 200 years. We cycled along the promenade most of the way and enjoyed our swim.
Back on the boat it was across to the mainland again so we could visit Zavratnica fjord. This involved a 4km hike in HOT conditions but it was a beautiful spot.
Swimming off the back of the boat afterwards cooled everyone down.
Lastly we motored across to the town of Krk on the island of (you guessed it) Krk.
Our last bike ride was 44km across the island to our starting point for this tour, Omisalj. It had 650m of climbing and was again a hot day. The e-bikes have been great as I have had a cold all week and wouldn’t have been able to ride without them.
We saw some sheep being sheared and had lunch in a small cafe en route in the small village of Dobrinj. We decided against the mud baths unlike some of our intrepid friends.
Our final night dinner was an opportunity to say goodbye to friends and thank our crew for looking after us for the last week. Our week’s riding covered 179km with over 2300m of climbing.
We arrived at Omisalj to find the Andela Lora and our guides Petra and Vili there to greet us. As we had some time until we could board, we wandered along the foreshore admiring the crystal clear water of the Adriatic Sea.
At 2pm we cast off and motored to the town of Cres on the island of Cres. To make it easy, the capital of each island has the same name as the island.
Before dinner, Vili took us for a town walk and pointed out the medieval and Venetian landmarks. We have a multicultural group with cyclists from Germany, Canada, Switzerland, Mexico, Australia, England and a lone American. All briefings and talks are in both German and English.
On Monday morning, we motored to the town of Martinscica where our bikes were off loaded and we cycled 23 kms to the town of Osor. We have e-bikes for this trip as it is quite hilly around here. I was glad for the help as I had a cold and I enjoyed cruising up the hills as if it was flat!
Unfortunately it was very hot and several people suffered from heat exhaustion. We were glad to arrive back at the boat and go for a swim off the back.
We then motored to the island of Losinj where we anchored for another swim before tying up in the town of Mali Losinj.
On Tuesday morning, we did a loop ride of 17km to Veli Losinj.
After lunch we motored to the small island of Molat where we cycled the length of the island (14km) before rejoining the ship at Brgulje. There were the remains of a concentration work camp here from WW2.
Once we were all back on board we sailed to the large city of Zadar on the mainland. We stopped for a couple of hours in the bay for those who wanted to swim before tying up in the centre of town. We had a city walk with a local guide who showed us the Roman, Medieval and Venetian gates, columns and walls. Zadar also has a Sea Organ in the seawall where waves create music in the pipes.
