Time for an update!
It’s now almost two weeks since I crossed into Croatia and made my way down from the mountains to the Adriatic Sea. Reaching the sea really felt like a big checkpoint for me, and the last days of climbing the hills in Slovenia I’d really been looking forward to this new leg of the trip.
This photo is from when I got my first view of the Adriatic, and had nothing but a 700 meter decent between me and the waterfront. Best feeling in the world.
Down on sea level everything was suddenly so lush and green, and I could even spot the first palm trees of the trip. Seems so werid that those, to me really exotic trees, are actually within biking distance from the Swedish forests.
Rolling down the coastal road was sweet! Probably this road is getting very busy during the summer season, so I was really happy to have it all by myself and actually be able to enjoy the scenery instead of having to focus on dodging traffic.
I decided to go for one of the thousands of islands along the Croatian coast – Pag. Getting off the ferry I felt like I had landed on the moon. There was just. Nothing? I got there quite late in the evening and didn’t really get to see anything apart from this rocky landscape before I found a patch of grass where I could set up camp for the night. A night that actually turned into two.
When I woke up the rain was just pouring down, refusing to stop, so I simply decided to stay put and spend the day curled up in my sleeping bag, reading and drinking absurd amounts of tea with way to much sugar in it.
As I finally got to discover the island, it turned out that Pag was a lot more than just rocky roads and rainy weather. I had one really great day of cycling south along the island, watching countless sheep enjoying the warm sun just like me. The crystal clear ocean and still snowcapped mountains really gave the perfect setting for a slow day in the saddle.
Back on the mainland, the amazing scenery just continued for hours and days on end. You really can’t deny the beauty of the Croatian coast, and though the coastal line is pretty hilly, it was simply really nice and easy cycling.
However, after a few days it got a little too nice and easy, and most of all too touristic for me. And after having lunch with three French guys on a roadtrip through Europe, I decided to shake things up a bit.
Or to be honest, they actually decided it for me. After having prestented the pros and cons with my two options, I simply let them have a vote about the continuation of my trip. A vote that led me up the mountains towards Bosnia & Herzegovina, yet again smiling from ear to ear with the feeling of spontaneous adventure rushing through my mind and body.
So, what did I find on the other side of the mountains? Well, a lot. The next days came to be a lot more intense than I was prepared for, not least emotionally.
Why?
In the next post, I’ll tell you all about it.