The Wobblin' Sprocket

We pretty much cruised the final 90k in to Ljubljana.  David and Barbara were caught in a downpour, but they were the only ones.  It actually cleared up before anyone made it all the way back and it was a nice day overall.

We packed our bikes up and everyone some seemed none the worse for having biked up some steep Croatian hills.  Wendy, however, ironically pulled something in her calf while walking at the hilltop Castle in LJU after having packed her bike away.  She was limping a little.

Not everyone was heading back home after the tour.  David and Barbara were staying on a few days and planned on visiting Trieste, Italy.  Charles, was heading over to Zagreb and then Dubrovnik.  Graeme was going to Paris for a few days and then Munich.  Frank was headed to Dublin.

The next tour is India October 31.  Graeme will be there.  Graeme is also headed to Laos afterwards.  Alexandra is coming to Corsica in the Spring.

I didn’t take many pics the last day so I’ll make do with a self portrait which I took while waiting around for people on Cres:

Best,  Bob

Today is the hardest day of the tour.  We start by riding our bikes from Vrbnik to Silo.  We have to be in Silo at 9am to catch the “Superfast Croatian Speedboat”.  It’s a small hrydrofoil that take us over to the mainland.   It’s not that big so it had to make a couple trips to take 9 of us and all of our bikes.  This year it is sporting a new paint job.  It’s still Superfast though.  The paint job leaves no doubt that it is Croatian.

Before we left Vrbnik, Chantal and I walked down to the beach where the sun was just rising over the mainland:

I almost forgot, we had a memorable meal in Vrbnik at the Hotel Argentum.  I think the Chef must have played with a lot of tinker toys when he was young.  Apparently, he/she is still in the construction business.  We were impressed with the 3 dimensional nature of the presentation.  It reminded me just a little bit of U2’s concert stage.  We were hungry, so it didn’t last long.

We ran into these Austrian guys on the way up to Brod na Kupi.  We gave them a map.  They were doing day-rides from a town South of Crikvenica on the mainland.  We convinced them that our route was better than what they had planned so they followed us.   One wanted to pass me on the way up so I had to lay down the law.  They had a beer, but it wasn’t a get there first celebration.  We told them about the Superfast Croatian Speedboat and I think they planned on taking it over to Krk the next day.  The captain of the Superfast is probably wandering what is going on with all the bikers.

Everyone made it to Brod na Kupi eventually.  Actually, we stayed in a couple towns.  Hotel Mance in Brod na Kupi was full so we had to split up.  Some stayed in Delnice up the road.  We all ate together though.  I had my favorite…stuffed grilled calamari.  If you get anywere near Hotel Mance, stay there.  Great food and a nice place.  Fly fishermen come here from all over the world.

Last nite we wandered around Beli.  Beli turned out to be a pretty enchanting place.  It’s tiny.  The Lonely Planet says there are 40 year round residents.  That figure is out of date.  We learned that it is actually 27.  As we wandered around town after dinner, I was able to spot 2 people.  I think there are more endangered Griffon’s Vultures than there are people in Beli.  No complaints though.  I really liked it.  Kind of spooky though.

Graeme and Chantal on the Beach in Beli.  Not much sand…rocks…but the water was great:

This is Beli on the way in.  It looks like there should be more than 27 people living here.

We stopped in the Eko Centar which was right next to our place in Beli.  It was very interesting.  These huge birds migrate away from Beli for 5 years before returning and choosing a mate for life.  The reason that they are endangered is they get spooked on the ledges (by people primarily), they drop into the sea where they drown.  The Centar gets called when this happens and they take a boat out and rescue the birds.  They are released after they learn how to fly.

Coffee break on our way to the ferry crossing for Vrbnik on the island of Krk:

Graeme and Gordon.  Wear the Croatai jerseys and guess what?….you get some pictures in the blog!

Charles grabbing a cup of Joe.

Barbara and David relaxing….

This is the Ferry that will take us to the Isle of Krk:

Alexandra on the ferry:

Wendy, Charles and Graeme on the ferry.

This is Pansion Tramontona in Beli.  We loved it here.  It reminded me a little of Chez Maddy’s place in Corsica.  The power went out just as I was leaving, so…no credit cards.  I paid in cash with Croatian Kuna, til my Kuna ran out…..then Euros, til my Euro’s ran out….then US dollars, which I had enough of.

I also learned in the Eko Centar where then currency name “Kuna” came from.  When this land first became part of the Roman Empire, taxes were first assessed…in Kuna.  Kunas are Martens…part of the weasel family.  The tax was 15 Kuna skins.  The name was simply transferred to the currency later.   See what you can learn on these tours??!!