We wanted to visit Croatia, again. The clear water of the Adriatic, the rocky coastline and picturesque islands found fond memories for both Ken and I when we remembered our last trip to the country. This trip in late July, we tried to book a week or two in an apartment in Baska, on the island of Krk. To our disappointment, Croatia was booked up and what wasn't booked was way above our price range. Now, in the last month of our trip we said "the heck with it" and headed to the beach.
On our way to the coast we passed through an area which is known for its' storks. We have seen many storks on this trip but what was amazing to us were the wood houses that we saw in this area, not something that is common place. Trying attract tourism, some families have converted old farms into beautiful antique apartments or B and Bs, we were camping but even the restaurant at our campsite was a converted farmhouse, very nice.
After a couple of days camping in the Stock refuge (with no stocks, they had left for the season already) we made a beeline for the coast. We arrived at Baska on the island of Krk, found a great little apartment, and set into a routine of hiking one day (we did 4 hikes totaling over 45 km all together) and beaching it one day. Can you believe we spent 9 days in Baska, it's a busy little tourist town but we think it is lovely just the same.
Warning: the follow pictures contain a lot of rock!
Just another great camp spot, this time in Cigoc, northeast Croatia
Now these are some tall corn stalks!
A little fixer upper we found, built in the late 1800's
The beach at Baska on the island of Krk. We had to come back for another visit after being forced to leave early (bad weather) five years ago
We did several hikes in the area. This one recommended that you not wear sandals but I figured I was safe in my Texas
We made it to the viewpoint on the ridge, which had great views of the islands and the Adriatic
The Island of Krk is covered in drywalls, these fences and pens made of piles of stone. They were and some still are used to contain sheep. These were made hundred of years ago by sheep herders but now they are an added attraction to the view on all the hikes on the island
In the background sits Uvala Vela Draga, the destination of our first hike on Krk
We enjoyed a couple of hours swimming and refusing to think about the long trek back to the apartment
Camp Bunculuka, not quite the quiet cove we are used to at Rattlesnake beach in Baja, not to mention that Bunculuka is also a naturist camp (clothing optional)
A nice little Italian touring bike, Moto Guzzi
Off we go on hike two, it all starts with a climb up a rocky staircase
Standing on the trail which runs between two drywalls, many more larger walled fields are in the background
A small snake we saw along the trail to Vela Luka did not want to leave his lunch behind, no matter how much he want to escape us
On the way back from Vela Luka we took a trail that made its way to the sea via Kanyon Vela Vrzenica, all I can say is how do I get down there?
The beach at Baska is very busy. In high season, on any given day, over 400,000 will visit this island with its small towns and beautiful beaches
Old town Baska with its small streets with wall murals
Krk is the only island in the Adriatic that has fresh running water year around. This water station is used for washing clothes and watering animals (not so much now that this island has electricity) and as a social gathering place. Though this one was made in 1960, they have been used for hundreds of years on the island
On our third hike, along the trail from Batomalj to Baska, up on the ridge, Ken takes a moment to enjoy the view and catch his breath
More rock and more sea and more islands...
Bumming a ride after a hard day at the beach
On the second to last day, on our fourth hike, we got caught in the rain. It was a bit to much deja vu for us, remembering our last visit here, it must be time to head on....9 days is enough.
Wow, would like to be in Croatia too. Will you visit Austria again?
ReplyDeleteGreetz Chris (Innsbruck)