We arranged this part of our trip through a travel agency in Glasgow, but the tour is actually run by a German firm called “Inselhuffen” or “Island Hopping.” This is a pretty good description of what we did today. We started out of on the mainland, rode our bikes on one islands, sailed through an archipelago of over a hundred small islands, and finally docked on one of the largest of the Croatian islands, one we will explore tomorrow by bike.
This morning we had a good ride, and our e-bikes definitely proved their worth. We started in the morning in Vodice and we made our way to the northern point of the island of Murter. I tracked roughly the route we did in ridewithgps.com, and this map give you both the distance and the elevations. As you can see, there were definitely some ups and downs!
But topography aside, the ride had no downs. It was an exhilarating ride through lovely, quiet countryside — well, except for an odd stretch or two along a busy road as we left Vodice. I stopped as we approached the end of the trip with a magnificent view.
I also snapped some pictures of our traveling companions. These are Carsten and Uta from Leipzig. They are really sweet and make a concerted effort to speak to John and me despite the language difference. Uta is one of the most physically fit people I have ever met and she is a grandmother!
We have a family from the far south of Germany around Lake Constance. They are so much fun! The dad and the mom are Jürgen and Heike, and their kids are Tim and Laura.
Representing Austria are Gerhardt and Anita. Their English is more limited, but they are also very friendly. When I mentioned to Gerhardt that we are going to Vienna, he snorted, “Vienna is not Austria!”
On subsequent rides, I’ll be sure to get the other passengers. They have helped me this a really great experience for us.
And, of course, where would we be with Marin to guide and encourage us?
After we finished up this ride, we went back to the ship. As usual, we had a wonderful meal. The crew on this boat cooks enormous and very filling Croatian meals. We typically eat as we pull out of port so we have a wonderful view as we have a great meal. The crew does make up our cabins each day, though we are responsible for our own “laundry service."
Our afternoon was spent leisurely sailing through the Kornati Islands. This area is fascinating. It is the largest chain of islands in the Adriatic. They are all limestone formations and none have any significant source of fresh water. Despite this, there were efforts at various times to develop some kind of agricultural use for the islands, principally grazing sheep. We can see evidence of this in the many stone walls that All the islands are nevertheless still privately owned despite the fact that the islands are a national park. That does not make much sense for us Americans, but I suppose that the establishment of the national park just takes away some of their rights to develop their property in specified ways.
On one of the islands there is the remains of a fake Byzantine fortress constructed for a German movie.
As we were sailing through this area I convinced John to do the Titanic pose. Unfortunately, the captain was not amused and came out and scolded poor John in Croatian.
We continued on the the southern end of the island of Dugi Otok. This name actually just means “Long Island” in Croatian, and, as it is about 25 miles long, I suppose the name is deserved.
Marin took us on a short hike here. He showed us the sheer cliffs.
I teach fourth graders geology every year, and we always discuss how limestone is make of calcium carbonate and how cleavage is a characteristic of calcite. I felt sort of happy to actually understand a geological formation. I felt sort of sorry for the people I felt compelled to explain this to….
There is also a saltwater lake on the island. Unlike the salt lakes in the western United States, formed by fresh water evaporating over centuries until the remaining solution become saline, this is basically caused by salt water leaking through the limestone basin underlying the lake. It is still, however, apparently slightly saltier than the sea. John took a swim in in it, but could not tell much difference.
After we returned to the boat, Lucy gave us a lesson in survival Croatian. That is probably not the best description of it as almost everybody in Croatia speaks some English. They are realistic enough to know that few people in the world will learn to ever speak their language, so to be a part of the larger world community they have to master another language, and for just about everybody that is English. So, you can survive easily in Croatia without speaking a world of Croatian. But just saying “please” and “thank you” in their language wins a lot of good will. We Americans need that. Now more than ever….
As we ate dinner, the boat sailed on to the town of Sali. This is the largest settlement on Dugi Otok. We arrived right as the sun began to set and everything turned golden.
Tonight we will be docked here, and tomorrow we have a big bike ride. I am excited!
