Croatia Part III

Friday, July 6, 2007
I skipped a day writing in my journal and I’m already having trouble remembering yesterday. The days seem so long on this vacation. We do so much and each day feels like two days.

Yesterday we did two different bike tours. The first was on the mainland from Zadar. We were going to skip this tour, but I’m so glad we didn’t. It turned out to be really nice. After lunch we sailed to the island of Rab and cycled into the town of Rab. Seems like every day keeps getting better. Everything is so spectacularly beautiful. We had our gelati breaks and waddling in the sea. And the best news is that the plumbing is finally fixed so we have our own bathroom again. Yeah!

After dinner we took a guided walking tour through the city. I think Rab is now my favorite village. It was gorgeous.

Today we did all our cycling in the morning. We started and ended in Rab and covered just about the whole island. How many times can I talk about the views and the incredible water? I can just go on forever about it. We cycled for several miles on a bike path right along the ocean’s edge, on such narrow paths that I thought bikes shouldn’t be allowed . . . and then I saw a car driving down the path right for us. The car looked small enough for Karlo to pick up, but I still didn’t want to get run over. Oh well, good excuse to get off and walk up the rest of the very steep hill.

Tonight we had pasta for dinner. Well, I guess it was supposed to be the appetizer, but I loved it and made it my dinner. Which was a good thing because I wasn’t too thrilled about the entire fish they served next. Now why can’t they remove the head and tail before they serve it? Ick.

The town of Krk is beautiful, but then again, they all are. Our guide took us for a walk and explained some Croatian history and showed up some really neat buildings. Sleeping should be awesome tonight because we finally got the better side of the dock. All we can hear tonight is the awesome sound of waves crashing up on the rocks. There’s a steady breeze and the boat is rocking just enough to lull me to sleep . . . good night.

Saturday, July 7, 2007
Today was our last day of cycling and I’m sad to see it come to an end. Despite the fact that the days seemed so long, the week just flew by. I could get used to this life and I’m already dreaming about the next tour that we will do.

Today was probably one of my least favorite days of cycling. Well, nothing was worse than the first day, but the sun was very strong and the route took us over the very hilly interior of the island. Interior means no view.

After our terrific lunch we had a very unusual stop. We went to part of the sea where there is a lot of much or mud. This is a famous spot to take a mud bath. Isn’t that an oxymoron? Mud-bath. I never dreamed that I would willingly slather mud over most of my body. Shouldn’t that cost big bucks at a spa? Well, I tried it and I have to say, it’s an experience that I don’t feel a great need to repeat. It stunk like mud and was hard to wash off. Whatever moisture the mud was supposed to provide, the sea water sucked out of my skin. But I did it and I’m proud of myself.

From there we went to see a cave. I lost my desire to see the cave because we had to pedal a few extra miles on black top and it was so hot. Then it was really cold in the cave so it felt even hotter when we got out. The cave was pretty neat though. I never saw anything like that before so I’m glad I went.

When we got back to the ship I was so hot that I tried to swim again. This time I made it up to my waist. Every day I got a little more submerged than the day before. I’m still determined to get in before we go home.

Tonight will be a special farwell dinner and then, no doubt, the rowdy party afterwards. I still can’t believe our tour is over. Nearly three years of anticipation and it goes so quickly. It was definitely worth the long wait!

To see pictures from this segment of our trip, please visit http://picasaweb.google.com/paulasworld/CroatiaPart3