Over the Islands to Zadar, and by bus to Plitvice Lakes

Cycling over some Islands and then by ferry to Zadar, from there a bus trip to the beautiful Plitvice Lakes National Park,

17.11.2008 - 19.11.2008 12 °C
View Cycling south east on luzian's travel map.

From Istria, I continued over the Islands Cres and Lošinj - a total of about 90km over these two long and hilly islands which are connected by a bridge in the middle. This involved a bit of planning, as the ferry from Mali Lošiny at the southern end of the Islands to Zadar only runs twice a week (Monday + Friday at 16:00), so I had to make sure I get there on time. I got on Cres on Sunday afternoon, so I managed to cycle on a bit - making the first steep uphill to 450m. I found a beautiful camping spot for the night on top of the mountain, with views on the sea on both sides - over to Istria in the west, and over Krk Island in the east.

Cres coast

The next day I continued early as I didn't know how many hills to expect, but it all worked out well and I got to Mali Lošinj with 3 hours to spare before the ferry was due to leave. So I went on to have a look at a very small town Veli Lošinj, before going back to the ferry on time. The day was very windy and cloudy, but no rain since I entered Croatia.

Veli Lošinj

After cycling about 370km in the last 4 days from Trieste, with a combined altitude gain of about 4000m (!), I decided to take a rest day doing nothing at all in Zadar. Zadar is a small but nice town with a traffic free centre, a church from the 9th century, and a unique feature at the sea front - the Sea Organ, where the waves blow air into Organ pipes making a continuing soundscape all day, which apparently can get very loud when it's windy and the sea gets rough! However on my rest day in Zadar, it was sunny and almost wind free, so the Organ only created a soft background sound - perfect to relax and enjoy the sun!

Zadar

On the next day I took a bus trip to the beautiful Plitvička Jezera (Plitvice Lakes) National Park - everybody told me it's a must to see it. Well it was worth the trip, the park is truly amazing with its unique cascading waterfalls. In this season it's not as green as on most pictures, but the autumn creates beautiful colours too. I was also lucky with the weather - it was cold but sunny when I visited the park. Back by bus to Zadar, I spent another evening there, before heading on towards Split on the next day...

Plitvička Jezera