Ciao , Croatia!

I suppose it's tiring  to see the same basic photos of beautiful sea views and charming little walled cities...well, that is coming to an end, as is the trip, so I hope you don't mind seeing  a little more of Croatia. 

We spent our last days in  a series of nice places that we could have easier stayed longer at. Each morning we would say to each other" maybe we should just stay here longer"... Then we decided to move on to see something new. There is always that push/ pull of staying put vs going ahead to see what is around the next corner.  

Maybe it would be helpful if I finally provided a map of the area , for those who are interested in looking at maps. 

We decided to drive up the coast, bypassing the island of Pag, as it looked too desolate. We thought we'd just nip into Paklenica park to take a quick look, and ended up going on a short little hike up the river. It is a popular area for rock climbers, so it was fun to see various groups, from novice to experienced climbers trying their skills.

This would be a non climber. 

And he is more experienced! 

As you can see, this is a beautiful area and it would be nice to have more time for hiking there. 

We had places to see up the road, so just got a small taste of the park and environs before heading back to the coast, and lunch.

Grilled lamb with vegetables

Another good Greek salad. We were under a big yellow umbrella, which gave the food an odd tinge of color. 

Our destination for the day was the Island of Rab, which required a short ferry ride. 

We were tired by the time we arrived in the afternoon, and had not booked a place ahead of time. We decided to drive to one place we saw on booking.com, but when we saw it, it didn't have much of a view, and we were a little spoiled by now, so we looked further. One of the nicer hotels overlooking the water was more than we'd usually spend, but when we saw the room ,we were sold! 

Harbor view

Garden view

This hotel was built in the 1920's and it felt a bit like staying in someone's palace. 

And yes, it was another totally charming small walled town. Very quiet before tourist season, though.

I have seen this plant in Portland, but it looks so much better when growing on the side of a wall.

The other side of the island, at Lopar, it was a totally different landscape, with a wide sandy beach- and no one on it. I'm sure that in the summertime it is a great place for families.

The skies were looking a little cloudy, and we finally decided to take another ferry to Krk, rather than drive. It was just us and the bikers from Austria

And the seas were a little rough and choppy.

No one was there to disturbe Jim's solitude.

The Croatian ferries are wonderful. This one was brand new and very comfortable.,

We arrived around 6:30 and still had to find a place to stay. We decided to drive to the far end of the island( didn't I tell you that we are " end of the road" types? ) and found a room without too much difficulty in Baska,though we had to sacrifice a view for expediency. It was late, we were tired and the wind was still blowing.

The next morning things looked a little better, but the winds were still up.

After a light breakfast of coffee, vitamin and a warm cherry strudel that was delicious, but oozed cherries all over me, we hit the road, driving back toward the town of KRK. Jim said the priests came in the Middle Ages and drove all the vowels out of Croatia!

We stopped along the road to watch over 40 windsurfers skid across the water at lightening speed. 

Of course, I was still pursuing the perfect place, with a perfect view. And finally, we found it, on our last day along the Adriatic ! A two bedroom apartment with terrace for the princely sum of € 45. Plus, the owner brought us some of their delicious nettle honey. 

The perfect little walled town was a 5 minute walk, and around the corner was a fish restaurant, where we decided to let the owner talk us into the mixed seafood plate. Tuna, calamari and some kind of whole fish. I liked the potatoes with spinach and garlic.

Next time we will stay right here for an entire week, and just gaze out at the sea. Maybe we'll even go for a swim.