I was surprised I actually woke up considering where I slept so it just goes go show it doesn't matter where you are, if you're tired enough, you'll eventually drop off. I was happy that I had no bugs on my face, no bugs in my shoes or in my sleeping bag and because that was all I had unpacked it didn't take me long before I was on the road again. I was disappointed with my first impressions of Croatia because I do know how beautiful it is so I wanted to get the industrial section quickly out of the way so I could enjoy cycling along the Adriatic coastline. It took me about 20 miles to get away from dock ports and oil refineries and I chose to stop after 2 hours in a place called Crikvenica. This was a good decision, holiday season was in full thrust with the beaches packed, the sun beating down, roads lined with tacky seaside shops and bars playing music with the added bonus of free wifi! I sat and soaked it all in for a bit and then cycled along the coast for a few miles just enjoying the scenery. There were lots of inflatable obstacles out in the sea and water flumes ending up in the sea, I'm assuming to make up for the lack of sand and consequent castles being built. It is a real shame that there aren't any sandy beaches because Croatia is beautiful and the sea is so clear. Even though a lot of people do flock to Croatia, even more would if it had sand. Not sure about you, but I wouldn't choose to lie down on a pebble dashed floor. I really enjoyed cycling along the coast, the top was off, gloves were off, helmet stayed on...safety first but the annoying thing is the dead ends that see you cycling back on yourself then up a steep incline to get back on the main road to the next section of coastline. There is a great road, the number 8 I think, nicely tarmacked, nice and level, not too busy and it runs pretty much along the coastline that I took for the whole day. Every now and then a beautiful clear cove would pop out of nowhere with the bluest of blue seas that I could cycle down to. I could've taken 100 pictures today, I took a few anyway and they probably all look the same but today really was an amazing day. I stopped again for some lunch after 4 hours and 40 miles of cycling and sat on a bench and finished of my bread with some Nutella sandwiches. I sat there updating a few things on the Internet and again taking in the surroundings when I saw a couple looking at my bike and chatting something in German. I looked at the lady, "does it work?" she sad, pointing to my solar panel, "yeah sure it's great, it charges my phone, camera and iPod" maybe she was interested in getting one but either way we carried on chatting about my ride and that she was from Nurnberg etc. We said goodbye, well I said "see you later" which I have a habit of doing all the time and she rightly corrected me and said "probably not" and left. Then she came back and offered me an ice cream! So technically I was right, but out of nowhere the lovely lady bought me a strawberry ice cream and it was pretty good! I said "thanks and see you later" and she left. Probably not going to be right the second time but I gave her the blog details so who knows, maybe I will see you again lovely mystery ice cream lady! Danke schon for your German hospitality in Croatia!
I was excited to continue down the 8 for my 3rd and final leg and to take me to my daily target of 60 miles and incidentally an overall total of exactly 1400miles. The sun was going down to my right and I knew I had a large national park ahead of me where there would be very few towns making it easier for me to wild camp. I cycled for around 62 miles and found a little spot around a wall that protected me from the road and it overlooked the Croatian islands Rab and Cres I believe. On the way I was questioning whether I was just going to do the sleeping bag thing like last night as I was sure it was going to be a mild night. Just as I did this I saw a snake shoot out in front of me. Then I saw another one dead on the road, all of a sudden my eyes were honed in on finding snakes that I didn't know about previously. That sort of decided immediately whether I was going to do the tent thing or not! I say snake but it was probably a slow worm but either way I don't want it on my face when I'm asleep so the tent was going up!
I sat and made a little video of my ideal evening of eating pasta and watching the sun setting. A beautiful glow filled the sky and it really was a day that finished a million miles away from how it started and the evening before. Croatia has been kind to me today and hope it continues to do the same for the next few more days.
Wildlife Watch!
I said I would mention a bit about the wildlife as its been over three weeks now and you've only just heard about Croatian crickets and "snakes"
As you may tell i'm not very clued up when it comes to wildlife so i haven't the foggiest idea what the names of the animals are. I know your standard issue ones so here are my views on the standard issue animals that we can all find in our home countries.
France provided me with the most distressing of wildlife sights as on a regular basis I had to avoid a dead hedgehog. I'm talking on average 4-5 a day. I'm not a vegetarian but I still found this very sad as I like hedgehogs and they became more of a threat to myself and Nigel's tyres dead on the road as they would be alive and tucked up in a hedge somewhere. I did think the farmers with farms near the roads should get rid of their bushes and put fences up. This would not only vastly reduce the amount of dead hedgehogs or "sleeping puncturers" but also help the farmers utilise their farm space potential more efficiently. Maybe i will email France with that little suggestion. I saw lots of birds of prey in France also but every time I stopped to get my camera out and take an award winning Nat Geo picture of a hawk or kestrel sitting on a post it decided to fly away, so you'll just have to take my word for it.
Switzerland provided me with more annoying wildlife. I call it wildlife but its easier just to call it slugs. Yes slugs. I woke up many times with a trail of slime over my shoes, my gloves and one time there were four big shadows over my head where 4 slugs had decided it would be a good idea to climb my tent. The cycle paths were riddled with them aswell and not only do they ruin vegetable patches but they cause a slipping hazard for Nigel when he's tearing it around corners. I think France and Switzerland should do some sort of hedgehog import/export agreement because I know how much hedgehogs like slugs and they would seriously have a field day in Switzerland. I also saw a strange mountain beaver looking thing in the alps, it wasn't a beaver because it was too high up and there were no rivers but it looked like one. He also ran away before I could capture him.
Italy provided me with the most annoying of all, barking dogs! I didn't see any regular dogs noooo, everyone I saw barked. They didn't just bark at me they barked at their owners, kids, black people, white people and each other. They say dogs look like their owners and I know that Italians are renowned for being temperamental but honestly, Italian dogs are unbearable. To add to the unbearable dogs by day I will give you midgies and mozzies by night. At the first camp site with Serge, I went to wash my socks and came back looking like I had chicken pox. They were unstoppable, I tried covering myself with soap at one point but it seems they like the taste of that too. I absolutely hate flies, wasps and midgies etc and on this trip due to my personal hygiene I've had to endure all of them landing on me not just for a feed. I had two flies just sit on me whilst I cycled up the Alps! In McDonald's whilst I've been on wifi or whenever i've been eating come to think of it, they've preferred my body than a Big Mac or sausage pasta! I guess this is more training for Africa and I've tried to see how long I can sit still with multiple flies on me. I've pretty much conquered the flies as they got bored eventually but i'm still working on wasps as they are seriously pushing my boundaries.
Slovenia had the odd scary dog that I encountered during my bright idea of letting the sun be my GPS but they were chained up so I dodged past them with no troubles at all. I like dogs and dogs like me I think it's Nigel and his constant high pitched whining they have the problem with.
And that brings us to Croatia which I've already touched upon and I'm sure last night they touched upon me but like I said, as long as I don't wake up with a moth in my mouth I'm happy. Speaking of moths and the like, I do encounter a lot of butterflies. Throughout the day and throughout all the countries Ive seen many different species that like to fly alongside me. In Croatia however, the majority are dead or struggling on the tarmac beneath me. I'm guessing this is the heat and if it isn't the heat that gets them its normally a car or Nigel. You can judge how fast the drivers go in the countries by the type of road kill also. In France, Germany, Liechtenstein and Switzerland it was your average hedgehog maybe the odd rat or field mouse. In Italy and Croatia its been cats, lizards and roadrunners. I take cats to be quite sharp but I've only been in Croatia one and a half days and already seen 3 dead!
So there you have it. My take on the wildlife spotted so far. Sorry to the vegetarians but its bad enough for me seeing them dead on the road, it's even worse when they're alive before I ride past them!
That's a joke by the way...
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