Cycled Dubrovnik to Trebinje and back
5th June 2008
We took a day off from our lazing about in Dubrovnik to make a side trip to nearby Trebinje in Bosnia. Since it was just a day trip we didn't have much weight so it was to be a relatively easy ride. Leaving Dubrovnik wasn't so easy because it was quite a long steep hill, and a very busy road. There was a shoulder which made it, although still a little frightening, at least managable.
About 4km out of Dubrovnik we turned off the main highway onto a small road which led to Trebinje. At first we thought we were lost because the road was completely empty, and we thought it was a major road into a different country and so should be busy. There were a couple of quarries around but little else. We were able to confirm we were on the right track though and continued on our merry way up the winding road. The views back to Croatia and the Adriatic were quite spectacular.
Because of the history of unfriendliness between Croatia and Bosnia I was expecting the border security to be quite tough, but it was the most relaxed I've ever seen. The Croatian border waved us out, then when we got to the Bosnian security I was taking too long to find Millerine's passport, so they sent us through without checking. Obviously two non-slavs on bicycles don't pose much of a threat.
The rest of the trip to Trebinje was uneventful. The road continued winding up to the top of the hill, then it was a gradually graded 15km ride down into Trebinje. In between there was very little other than abandoned and destroyed buildings, road kill, and only about four or five cars. It was very stark. It looked as though it had been hit hard by the war and never recovered. The view of Bosnia was nothing but mountains. If I were to ride to Montenegro I would go via Bosnia though. It's a much more pleasant ride than along the busy coastal road.
Trebinje was a very normal city, not a beautiful town like we were getting used to. There was an old town, but not much of one. It had other things going for it though. We were the only tourists in town, it was very cheap, and everyone we met was helpful and friendly. I got out fifty konvertibilnih maraka after judging it's spending power by looking at cafe beer prices, but it went a very long way. We went to the markets and bought a whole heap of vegetables, then had what for us was a gourmet lunch (the best food for the trip), and still had enough to buy some food and alcohol supplies for a couple of days.
In general there wasn't much to see, but after being in overtouristy, unfriendly Croatia for so long the friendliness of the people of Trebinje was very welcome.
On the way back the border security just waved us through. We enjoyed more of the view of the Adriatic, and were back in time to cook a delicious tea of vegetable soup.
June 5th audio update
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Distance: 25km
Cycled Milna to Stari Grad
Ferry Stari Grad to Dubrovnik
3rd and 4th June 2008
The ride back to the ferry at Stari Grad was fun because once you get through the tunnel at the top of the island it's all downhill, and we knew the road well by now.
Again we shared the ferry with Pat and Ron, although they got off at Korčula and we had decided to go straight through to Dubrovnik. The view of Korčula old town from the ferry was almost enough to cause regret for not stopping off there. The rest of the island didn't look all that exciting as we travelled down it's coastline though, so I settled into reading Kafka's The Castle and drinking beer on deck.
Dubrovnik is a fantastic city. The old town is as beautiful as any I've seen (or more so), is large, and the walls are very well preserved. It also has hundreds of stray cats. The rest of the city outside of the old town has some character and a good vibe as well. The only problem is the hills and the lack of bike shops.
We are staying at Camping Solitudo, which is near the suburb of Lapad, a few kilometres from the city centre. It's a very comfortable place and ideal for settling down for a few days, which is exactly what we intend to do (apart from a day trip tomorrow). Particularly as there is a little market which sells our staple diet these days - bread, vegies, beer and wine.
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Distance: 66km
Cycled Trogir to Split
Ferry Split to Stari Grad
Cycled Stari Grad to Hvar
1st and 2nd June 2008
We got up early to ride to Split in an effort to beat traffic, but we needn't have worried as it was Sunday and even the multilane highway we entered Split on was pretty empty. It was an OK ride and our fastest average speed for any section of the trip. In Split we ran into a Dutch guy who was planning to reach Indonesia sometime before December, and had cycled 4400km in 6 weeks. He was wondering what the roads were like for cycling between Darwin and Sydney, so I told him a little about the difficulties with distances and water.
We met an English couple, Pat and Ron, on the ferry. They were a bit older and doing a similar thing to us. We went together for the ride to Milna where we camped, and they were much more our pace than Matt and Vanessa had been.
Hvar is a long thin island with a 77km road from Hvar at one end to Sucaraj at the other. Stari Grad is less than 20km from Hvar, on the other side of the island. The road to Hvar is good for cycling. You have to ride over a big hill (as with all Croatian islands), but there isn't much traffic. There is a kilometre or so long tunnel at the top which is well lit and worth it for skipping the worst of the hill. It's very steep getting out of Hvar, but only for a short distance.
The town of Hvar itself is very cool. It's very touristy but a nice and lively. There's also an awesome castle with fantastic views of the surrounding islands and of Hvar.
The Milna campground was about 5km from Hvar and wasn't great quality, but was cheap at 100 kune/night. It was in a nice place next to the sea, but the ground was rock hard, resulting in lots of bent pegs and a partially erected tent. There was a very good campground nearer Hvar, but it was more than twice the price.
We still didn't want to ride the mainland coast road, so we opted to ferry out of Stari Grad, leaving us a day to hire a scooter and travel to the other end of the island.
Hvar is probably the most scenic of the islands, with an excellent town and castle. Well worth the visit, but cycling the length of it would be fun.
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Distance: 15km
Bus Zadar to Trogir
Bus Trogir to Split and back
30th and 31st May 2008
We left the campground early as we were obliged to do, and spent a while riding around Zadar. It's a nice town with a bustling lifestyle, and seems to have a life of it's own apart from the tourism. We saw some roman columns and some markets before leaving. It seemed a nice enough town to stay in for a couple of days.
We caught a bus from Zadar to Trogir near Split as we wanted to avoid the coast road. Initially we planned to go to Plitvice National Park, but the bus wouldn't take us. It is up to the driver of each service to decide if they'll take a bike, and they seem generally reluctant to do so. There is a train but it takes a long time with multiple changes and the services are apparently not particularly reliable. The bus drivers are difficult to communicate with, making the process of getting a bike on a bus a pain in the arse, and it's also more expensive than trains. Avoid taking bikes on the bus in Croatia if you can, although I would also be reluctant to ride the coastal road.
Trogir is a lovely small town that we stayed in for two nights. It has a small walled old town with a small fortress, and many, many scooters. We camped a few kilometres away from the old town on an island you could access by bridge. The ground was ridiculously hard and I bent the pegs trying to put them in. There were a few beaches which were recommended to us by the tourist info, but they were uninspiring gravel beaches.
The next day we caught the bus to Split for a day trip. It has a beautiful roman palace in the centre, but apart from that felt like quite a soulless city.
We met an English man doing an England to New Zealand trip who looked set for life. His Burley Nomad trailer was heaped up and was quite colourful with flags from places he'd been to. He claimed to get quite a bit of attention when on the road. Not sure I'd want to pull that weight though. Also he used foot straps not cleats.
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Distance: 37km
Cycled Osor to Mali Lošinj
Ferry Mali Lošinj to Zadar
29th May 2008
We left Osor quite early and the ride was very easy to Mali Lošinj. We stayed in Mali Lošinj for around 6 hours until the ferry, which was a six hour trip to Zadar. It was dark once we started cycling from the ferry terminal to our campground, but it was well lit and not too hard to find our way.
The guy serving us at the campground offered us a 50 kuna deal instead of the normal 140 kuna if he could take our money under the table and we agreed to leave before the office opened in the morning.
In Mali Lošinj we dropped into an internet cafe and booked our plane tickets home. There is a new Estonian Air service from Dubrovnik to Tallinn, which we booked for the 7th. It cuts our trip short a little both in time and distance, but it was the best flight for us to take.
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