CROATIA

After visiting Croatia last summer, there were a few things on our to-do list that we missed. On top of the list was Plitvice National Park. We rolled into a campground late morning and got ourselves set up before heading off to the lakes. We were all a little ignorant in regards to how many people would be there and how touristy it would be. Nevertheless, we payed our money and walked around for the next few hours and it didn't disappoint. After spending time inland, it was time for the coast! We picked a random spot and ended up in Biograd. It provided much relief with a dip in the ocean after riding a couple of hours in 35 degrees with all our gear on. Split was next on the agenda. We treated ourselves and stayed in an apartment right in the centre of town. So far, wherever we went in Croatia there were a lot of people, so by day 3 we were pretty keen to escape the rat race. We decided to put the bikes on the ferry and head to Hvar to a campground that looked fairly isolated and spent a well earned rest day there. We set up the hammocks on the shoreline, loaded a pannier box full of beers on ice and watched the water waiting for the first fishing boat to roll in, which we accosted for some fresh fish for dinner. We rode the island of Hvar and caught a ferry back to the mainland and headed to Dubrovnik. Being a little unorganised, we didn't have any accomodation booked. After spending a full day on the bikes in the high 30's, we pretty keen to find an apartment and not deal with out tents. We rode into the bus stop hoping to be harassed by someone offering us a bed. Sure enough, within 30 seconds, Boris made his approach and after some wheeling and dealing, we had ourselves a sweet apartment with a panoramic view of the Adriatic over the Dubrovnik Old Town. After a much needed comfortable sleep, we hiked to the top of the mountains behind Dubrovnik for a pretty spectacular view of the town. Hot and sweaty, we found our way to Buza Bar which is a bar embedded in the outer wall of the old town right on the water. We spent the afternoon drinking cold beers and jumping off the rocks. Sadly, this was our last stop with Rob, Mills and the Purple T'Rain. They are making their way to Italy whilst we're off to Montenegro. Thanks for such a great couple of weeks guys, we had an absolute blast with you both- your cooking and company will be missed!