Well – you have already seen the headline: 32 kms and 486m of climb. It was a looooong ride.

We essentially left the boat then criss-crossed the island going up and over at least 4 small mountains. It was the ride that just kept giving. Every time we thought we had made it over the last hill, another one appeared.

Rick was fabulous on his person-powered bike. There are times I am confident I would have just sat at the side of the road and wept if it had not been for the e-bike. The last downhill to the port was glorious, except that it was followed by another short hill climb to get to the boat docked somewhere just west of the town of Brbinj. (We will be much more studious reading the map tomorrow morning.)

The ride was beautiful and we had amazing views to the water in almost all directions. The route was dotted with tiny towns. We saw some deer and in one area, a little donkey farm.

Fish is farmed in Croatia, but so differently from what we are used to. The fish are captured in the wild, then raised and bred in holding pens in the ocean. Only native fish are permitted. There is a local fish called Hama which was almost fished out until some were captured and bred and their offspring released to the sea. Hama has regained a foothold. It is commercially fished for only two short periods each year.

We did have one incident on our ride. The son of the family of 4 from the UK fell off his bike and into the roadway. An oncoming vehicle stopped just in the nick of time. He was balancing and riding with no hands when his front tire made a hard flip to the left, perpendicular to the bike, and he literally flew over the handlebars.

We only saw the aftermath – major road rash all down the back of his right shoulder. His hands were also pretty banged up. Luckily there were no serious injuries. Cathy was on hand with her first aid kit and one of the guests, a doctor from Scotland, had a good look at him. His front brake snapped during the crash, so he swapped bikes with Sina. She ended up riding uphill and down on a hybrid with only one brake, having sacrificed her e-bike to David.

Arriving at the boat, the bikes were quickly loaded and the boat pulled away so we could swim off the back. There have been several mixups about the timing of the non-cycling events so I unfortunately missed this one entirely. Here is the rest of the gang having fun.

Back on board we had lunch and a short trip to Zadar on the mainland.

I had read quite a bit about Zadar when preparing for the trip. Once we were ashore (boat number 2 of 3 abreast), we headed towards old town to see, and hear, a couple of the more famous sites, both the only ones in the world:

1. “The Sea Organ” is an audible art installation that plays music with the motion of the waves through tubes connected between a large set of marble steps. The sound is quite eerie and changes with the cadence and intensity of the waves. I have some video but it would be too large to send in this file. If you are interested, check this out on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n86pF-wQKrw

2. “Greeting to the Sun” is not terribly impressive during the day; it shows best at night. This large art installation consists of a bunch of solar panels collected in circular groups, organized like the solar system. The panels store light during the day which is used to power small LED lights of different colours. The lights respond to steps as people walk across the surface. The locals say the sun never sets in Zadar. We came back at sunset as part of our short city tour. It was pretty cool to see the lights in action.

Wandering about town we stopped for gelato and relaxed under an umbrella outside one of the many churches to eat it. This particular place may have offered the best gelato so far.

Our city tour began at 6:00 p.m. It was too long, too serious, and too detailed, though our guide was clearly very knowledgeable. Most of the descriptions and sites were focused on the time of the Roman empire, which was interesting but did not touch the full scope of Zadar’s history. It has been owned and ruled by so many countries and empires, often as a result of war. Roman, Hungarian, Austro-Hungarian, Venetian (it was sold by the ruler for the bargain price 100,000 ducats). The Italian influence is evident everywhere – the food and the language in particular.

Zadar was invaded by the Germans in World War II and had a substantial naval base that was frequently bombed by the allies creating worsening conditions for the locals. It became part of Yugoslavia until the war of independence in 1991 (not that long ago at all) and then an independent country in 1995. (Roughest sketch of a history lesson you will ever receive about this part of the world.) The Serbs were essentially the enemy during this war, and with that information so much of the political dynamics of this area became more clear.

There are tons of roman ruins, at least partially intact. Many of the newer churches were actually built using repurposed stones from the original roman ruins, which makes for some very interesting foundations when walking through the city.

Tonight we had dinner off the boat – Hooray! After a bit of research we settled on a restaurant near the water called Kastel. It promised to be delicious and stable. The restaurant was lovely. They had been trying for a Michelin star for some time before the pandemic hit.

Our waiter was a super chatty and friendly fellow who spoke excellent English and shared tons of info about the area, the history and his world today. The ‘affordable’ Croatian wine that we have been enjoying so much is too expensive for most of them to drink @ $27.00 or so a bottle. Much of the total cost is due to taxes. The average family earns only $600 a month – which is why everything else seems so affordable to us. We took his recommendations on wine (2 bottle of local white, he threw in 1/2 of a 3rd), and a Dalmatian platter to start – prosciutto and local cheese that was frankly wonderful – very like Manchego though I do not recall the name.

Five us shared two local sea bass or our main (Tommy is pictured here preparing it for us at the table) and Ken had the wild tuna steak. Delicious! Exceptional. Fresh and simply grilled.

One thing I must mention is the Bura, the north wind that has been blowing off and on during our time in Croatia. The wind can be quite strong, 100 miles/hour is common, and it has been one of the primary factors driving our daily schedule on this trip. The timing and intensity of the Bura determines where we can dock, how long we can sail, and when we leave and arrive. Although we have had calmer sails when protected between the island and the mainland, the Bura determines the choppiness of the sea and in my specific case, the probability of sea sickness. Its simple for me, I just take Gravol all the time, unless we are in a very calm port.

I am becoming weary of the drug cocktail inside my body: Gravol for seasickness, cough medicine for the cough (now used up), Tylenol for sore muscles (thanks to the biking and the coughing) and the most recent addition of Robaxicet for my sore back which seems to be the result of a too long reach required on the bike. I have my EA health exam when I return from the trip, and even with a significant reduction in alcohol consumption, I worry about the state of my liver….. Thankfully the cough only appears during the first 30 minutes or so of our ride and seems nonexistent at other times.

And that is exactly how I look each cycling day – like a child on a loaned bike. :0)