We're in Korcula, but how did we get here? Read on .....

Korcula, Croatia 24th September 2017
Apartment Jacobus, Old Town (26E)
An extraordinarily lovely 26 degrees

It's been a while since I wrote up our travels, so I'll try and give you a brief synopsis.

We have island-hopped from Split to Korcula, via Hvar and another, large peninsular, the name of which escapes me just now, in order to avoid the treacherous coast road to Dubrovnik.  At 5pm today we find out whether it is in fact possible to take a ferry from Korcula to Dubrovnik, as we have been led to believe.  If not, then we will have to back-track and yes, you've guessed, get on the bloody coast road and ride the road we have been trying to avoid.  Having said that, we cycled 25kms along said road in order to catch a ferry and it really wasn't that bad, although 'hugging the white line' was mandatory.  We even came across an absolutely beautiful place called The Valley of Life.  Judge for yourselves.

Back to Zagreb.  We left the hostel on a very pleasant, sunny day, which turned into the day from hell.  The winds were so ferocious I was down to 8kph at one point.  When you are trying to cover nearly 70kms, that's a loooong day.  Round about the 67 km mark we threw in the towel, got on Booking.com and booked a room close by for £18.  Rooms are cheaper than camping here.  The following two days were equally horrendous in terms of weather.  We tried sticking to the cycle routes but only managed 19kms in 3.5 hours.  The campsite we were heading for was 78 kms away.  So we ended up 'hugging the white line', which sounds like something you do with illegal substances but in Croatia it means hanging on to that very narrow bit at the side of the road which bikes can call their own.  In Croatia that's approx 10 inches of road before you disappear down some precipice!

We (bravely, or is that supidly?) camped, and the thunderstorms swirled around us all night long.  The morning after the rain stopped for long enough so that we could pack the tent up 'damp' rather than take the 'soaking wet' approach, which is to separate the inner from the fly, trying to keep the inner tent as dry as possible, and carrying the fly sheet seperately.  Just before setting off Goran, our campsite host, gave us the information we least wanted to hear, the weather had settled in for the next 4 days.  At which point, a huge thunderclap directly overhead made us both jump out of our boots, but still we soldiered on.  We cycled the 8 kms into town, by which time we were soaked to the skin AND cold, the sky was dark grey and before we even said the words we had already decided, we were not cycling in this for another 4 days.  Off to the train station to book a ticket to Split, directly south, where the weather is forecast as better than Ogulin a town, that is unfortunately, as ugly as it sounds.

Fast forward, the overnight train delivered us to Split, all bright and breezy (not) but the relief of seeing blue sea, Cypress trees and lots of people with shorts and T shirts (at 7am) was palpable.  We immediately removed 2 of our 3 layers and breathed a sigh of relief and breakfasted on pizza (yes, I know .......) From where we trundled up to find our apartment for the next two days, with the lovely Elena and her mum, Neva.  On the way yet another weather condition kicked in (told you we were weather magnets) hailstones the size of gobstoppers.  Honestly, you couldn't make it up, but that has been an oddity.  Apart from the horrific winds we experienced (while camping I hasten to add) on the islands, the weather has been amazing.  We both feel as though this is the beginning of summer.  Except it isn't.  It just should have been like this all along.  Quit moaning, I hear you say.  OK then.

We have camped in some beautiful spots since arriving in Croatia.  Hvar was an experience; we cycled the whole length of the island (almost 60 kms) without finding a supermarket, bar, restaurant or any other kind of eatery.  We could have bought copious amounts of lavender, olive oil, wine and honey, but actually what we wanted was coffee and cake.  The only supermarket we passed (at 1pm) closed between 1200 and 1730, honestly what's the point?  We spotted at least 30 or so cyclists on that road, I'm sure honey cake would have gone down a treat and made someone a small fortune!  We were deposited in Drvenik having caught the ferry from Sucuraj (the far end of Hvar) and as it was late in the day decided to camp there.  A lovely Riviera spot.  Perfect for a few days, but we only stayed one night.

The other 'strangeness' that has happened were the Coyotes howling through the night (really, I'm not kidding) 2 nights ago.  However, the really weird thing about the whole situation was the dogs on the campsite stayed silent.  Scared or what?

On the cycling front, we have covered a fair few kilometres and climbed a few hills since I last wrote.  I'm hoping my legs are creating muscle memory because we've got a lot more climbing to do over the coming months.  BW reckons 8% is preferable, 12% is doable but 15% is hard.  I reckon if it looks like a ski slope or a roller coaster ride it's probably hard.

Farewell for now, update at 5!

Laters

5pm update - we're on the ferry to Dubrovnik tomorrow, yey!


Zagreb
Wallaby House Hostel (270 K)
A very pleasant 23 degrees

And so it came to pass that we found ourselves in Croatia.  The bus from Bratislava was via Vienna, so the reason for the windy ride into Bratislava became plainly obvious.  We could see many wind turbines while cycling but really we had no idea how many.  From the bus it was clear there were hundreds.

It rained all the way to Zagreb, a constant, miserable gush of water running down the windows.  We both suddenly felt like rain-gods, a bit like the King of Thailand who occassionally sends up his personal aircraft and shoots something into the clouds to induce rain. Except we just have to be there and it induces rain, or that's how it seems.

We arrived at The Wallaby House Hostel just after 11pm and the party throng had moved to a bar.  Them's the rules of the house, party till 11 then out.  But of course they all have to come back at some point don't they?  It wasn't that bad actually, except the bathroom door has a nasty squeak and needs some oil.  Today we met Cracker, the owner, an Australian (would you believe) who was telling us that 2 years of partying everyday was taking its toll on his body and he needs to do something else.  Like travel.

I bit the bullet today and had my haircut.  It cost 180K (approx £25) and she did a great job.  She was very fast, quite flamboyant, and finished everything off with a loud 'perfect' while whipping off my gown, just like a magician with his cape, and gave me the one and only smile of the appointment .  I successfully messed up the very straight, sleek look she had given me as soon as I was round the corner.  Oh well, nothing's ever perfect.

Zagreb old town was lovely, albeit quite small.  Narrow streets lined with restaurants and cafes, I imagine it's all rather busy in high summer.  The teracotta roofs reminiscent of Tuscany, it was all quite low key.

I had time to do plenty of research on the bus and the conclusion was that we are going to have to go through Albania.  We need to get to Athens in order to get our Indian visas, which could take up to 3 weeks as they have to get information from the UK.  We are hoping that having a previous Indian visa means it will take less time.  In any case, our passports need to accompany our applications and that means we can't travel outside Greece during that time.  So a little side trip to The Pelopenese, or Crete, looks likely.

Laters