Quit our jobs, sold our home and everything in it, gone riding...

[Lightcycle]

Sign reads, "Summer working hours: PO-MAaaaa Lo!!!"

This sign made Neda laugh. "Pomalo" literally translated means, "A little bit", but it's slang for "Take it easy. No stress". It's basically the Croatian equivalent of the Jamaican saying "Irie, mon". And it's specifically slang from the coastal regions, like Istria and Dalmatia, where life is more relaxed than the interior. Coastal Croatians are like islanders...

This Pomalo/Irie feeling would not last very long though.

We arrive at a campsite that was advertised online. It looked deserted and the facilities were boarded up. Uh oh. What do we do? We rode back out into town and knocked on a few hotel doors. Holy crap the prices were waaaay expensive. Not pomalo at all...

So we went back to the deserted campsite and set up our tent anyway. Pomalo, pomalo!

Neda catches up on some TV shows while I keep a watchful eye out for anyone that looked like they were going to kick us off the property

We don't really wild-camp much - we prefer having flush toilets and hot running water. But we don't feel like paying high-season hotel prices on the island, so we'll forgo the shower for this one night... I slept with one ear open, worrying that we would be woken up in the middle of the night, reprimanded (or worse) for trespassing and be forced to vacate the premises.

Man, just a month ago we were living like kings in palatial apartments for peanuts in Thailand and now we're balking at the cheapest hotel prices in Europe. What a change!

 

[Lightcycle]

But in the morning, we haven't been discovered and Neda is making breakfast: Peanut butter and pomalo sandwiches!

We packed up our tent as discreetly as possible, and rode off the deserted property as quietly as we could. As we passed the front gate, a man approached us and Neda engaged him in Croatian. Turns out he was the campsite manager! Uh oh!

We found out that because it was still early in the season, the site was only due to open the next week. He said he saw our tent late last night and told us that if he had known earlier, he would have opened up the facilities for us. I was ready to reach for my wallet when he said, "Don't worry, I'm not going to charge you for a patch of grass. Have a nice trip!"

Pomalo!

So we left Stari Grad to find the tourist centre of Hvar island. Which turns out to be the town of Hvar. Duh!

A fortress at the top of a hill greets us as we approach Hvar. The city walls extend all the way up the hillside

Ah, now *this* is the tourist centre!

A lot larger and much more fancier than Stari Grad (Stari Grad means "old town" in Croatian BTW)

 

[Lightcycle]

Another beautiful day! Neda bought some strawberries at the farmer's market
and we ate them while hanging out at the edge of the marina. Pomalo pomalo!

Main square in Hvar

Taking a walk along the harbour

 

[Lightcycle]

The minute I saw the fort up the hill, I knew Neda would make us hike up it... No Pomalo

Along the way, I take a picture of a well from Roman times. Neda yanks me by the shirt, "Stop stalling. We've got a hill to climb!"

As we hike the path up to the fortress, we pass underneath one of the city walls

Along the way, I stop to take picture. Neda taps her foot impatiently...

 

[Lightcycle]

Finally, we reach the top outside the fortress. Great view of the city and harbour below

The fort is called Tvrđava Španjola, which means Spanish Fortress, built by Spanish military engineers in the 16th century. It costs money to go into the fort, so we take a pass on that. I'm sure the view is much nicer from the outside than the inside!

Some nice boats moored at the harbour in Hvar. Sailing the Dalmatian islands is a popular bucketlist item.

Having seen Hvar and Hvar island, we hop on the bikes and double back to the same ferry that took us here. The Dalmatian islands are not that big, Hvar is only about 80kms from end-to-end. Soon, we find ourselves back on the mainland heading south again.

And more twisty, coastal roads!

Just before Ploče , we stop to take a look at the Neretva river flowing into the Adriatic

We have to make a decision, do we catch another ferry at Ploče to get to the next Dalmatian island south of Hvar: Pelješac and Korčula? Or continue on southwards down the Dalmatian coast. Hvar and Brač were pretty similar, so I think we've got the jist of the Dalmatian islands at this point.

So we head south.

 

[Lightcycle]

Oh but first, Neda does some more shopping

Neda has had peanut butter and jam sandwiches for breakfast pretty much every single day on this trip with little exception. So when she saw a roadside stall selling artisanal Croatian jams and marmalades, we had to stop to take a look. Meh, too overpriced! We'll get some at the grocery store instead.

Most people don't know that you can't travel the entire length of the Dalmatian coastline while staying entirely in Croatia. There's a 9-km piece of land belonging to Bosnia and Herzegovina called the Neum Corridor, which interrupts the Croatian coastline:

There's a lot of conflicting information about whether or not you need to purchase Bosnian vehicle insurance if you are crossing the Neum Corridor, especially since Croatia joined the European Union a few years ago and Bosnia & Herzegovina is not in the EU. The minimum coverage period you can purchase for Bosnian insurance is 7 days and it costs $25. That's expensive for a 10-minute ride across the Neum Corridor!

A lot of overlanders play it safe by catching a ferry at Ploče to the peninsula of Pelješac, which bypasses the Neum Corridor and connects back up to the Dalmatian coastline towards Dubrovnik. All the while staying in Croatia. Fortunately the day before, we e-mailed our new German friend, Günter, who had went ahead of us south. He told us they didn't make him purchase Bosnian vehicle insurance at the border...

Which is why we had the option to do this!

The 9-kms we saw of Bosnia & Herzegovina was not very much different from the Dalmatian coast that we had already seen. We will visit Bosnia properly later, but now we're just content to lazily wander around on the Adriatic. We flashed our EU passports again at the Croatian border and continued on our way south.

 

[Lightcycle]

After crossing back into Croatia, we rode a little bit into Pelješac peninsula anyway, stopping into the town of Ston for lunch

To our surprise, Ston also had a fortress up on the hill, like Hvar. It was like that Doctor Who episode, where the Doctor and his companions traveled the entire length of the city only to return to the exact same spot they left! It felt like a loop in the space/time continuum. Thankfully, Neda didn't make me hike up this hill. We're seeing a lot of the same things in Dalmatia.

We had a nice lunch and climbed aboard our bikes again.

Next stop: Dubrovnik!

 

[Len8827]

Oh but first, Neda does some more shopping

Neda has had peanut butter and jam sandwiches for breakfast pretty much every single day on this trip with little exception. So when she saw a roadside stall selling artisanal Croatian jams and marmalades, we had to stop to take a look. Meh, too overpriced! We'll get some at the grocery store instead.

Most people don't know that you can't travel the entire length of the Dalmatian coastline while staying entirely in Croatia. There's a 9-km piece of land belonging to Bosnia and Herzegovina called the Neum Corridor, which interrupts the Croatian coastline:

There's a lot of conflicting information about whether or not you need to purchase Bosnian vehicle insurance if you are crossing the Neum Corridor, especially since Croatia joined the European Union a few years ago and Bosnia & Herzegovina is not in the EU. The minimum coverage period you can purchase for Bosnian insurance is 7 days and it costs $25. That's expensive for a 10-minute ride across the Neum Corridor!

A lot of overlanders play it safe by catching a ferry at Ploče to the peninsula of Pelješac, which bypasses the Neum Corridor and connects back up to the Dalmatian coastline towards Dubrovnik. All the while staying in Croatia. Fortunately the day before, we e-mailed our new German friend, Günter, who had went ahead of us south. He told us they didn't make him purchase Bosnian vehicle insurance at the border...

Which is why we had the option to do this!

The 9-kms we saw of Bosnia & Herzegovina was not very much different from the Dalmatian coast that we had already seen. We will visit Bosnia properly later, but now we're just content to lazily wander around on the Adriatic. We flashed our EU passports again at the Croatian border and continued on our way south.

Locals with Croatian license plates do not need to buy insurance in Bosnia and Herzegovina.their insurance is valid. Tourist with foreign plates must buy insurance.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Lightcycle]

Locals with Croatian license plates do not need to buy insurance in Bosnia and Herzegovina.their insurance is valid. Tourist with foreign plates must buy insurance.

Which proves my point:

There's a lot of conflicting information about whether or not you need to purchase Bosnian vehicle insurance if you are crossing the Neum Corridor

The Neum Corridor is an exception to the vehicle insurance rule. We wouldn't have known that unless our German friend (on a German plated vehicle) tried crossing before us and was told he didn't need insurance for the 9 km stretch.

When we arrived, there were tons of foreign-plated vehicles, German, Italian, UK, etc. All of them rode through with us without having to buy insurance.

If you only go by what the Internet says, you'll be paying for a ferry crossing and riding an extra 70 kms to route around the Neum Corridor unnecessarily.

 

[GateKeeper]

internet is sometimes right....

http://split.gg/neum-corridor/

Neum agreement signed in 1998 between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, guarantees a free passage from the port of Ploce and through the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Practically there is no border control for the foreigners who are transiting without stopping using the green track through the corridor.


At the border, there are two lines, one for travelers into Bosnia and another for travelers in transit to other parts of Croatia. (Dubrovnik County).


In ether lines, the traffic is heavy, particularly in summer period when even bumper to bumper traffic is possible.

Pomaaaalo

 

[Face]

Or you could take the R428/6232 into Slano like we did last year going from Mostar to Dubrovnik (to avoid the Neum corridor - we didn't want the hassle of 3 boarder crossings in 1 day). It was a tiny road and the border crossing building was under construction. There was no border security at all, not even construction workers as it was a weekend. Since there was no one there, we just went through. We were a little concerned because our passport showed us entering Bosnia Herzegovina, but never coming back into Croatia. Fortunately that did not turn into a problem when we flew out.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@42.7832767,17.8747337,12z

Btw, good to see you're alive and well and posting again!

 

[Lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/319.html

We've reached the end of the coastline in Croatia and we've saved the best for last. Dubrovnik is the crown jewel of Dalmatia, the place where most tourists flock to in the country. Of course, all this I've heard and read second-hand. I'm about to find out why in person.

So first things first. Neda corrects me whenever I mispronounce the name of this place. It's not pronounced doo-BROV-nick. The emphasis is on the first syllable: DOO-brov-nick. We were talking to a couple of American tourists the other day and they kept saying doo-BRAHV-nick. I could feel Neda wincing beside me.

We're staying in a little apartment in a suburb in the north end of the city. When we arrived, the host welcomed us with Dalmatian hospitality and Croatian liquor. He sat us down and ran us through all the things to see in DOO-brov-nick. There were quite a lot of sights, but we were really only interested in one: King's Landing. From Game of Thrones.

Take us to the Iron Throne!

Riding into the old walled town of Dubrovnik

The old town is less than 5 kms away from where we're staying, but we ride in anyway. Parking is impossible to find... if you're a car! We stash the bikes against one of the walls surrounding the town and walk to the gates.

Originally the exterior of King's Landing was shot in Malta for Season One, but from Season Two onwards, Dubrovnik is officially the home of the Lannisters. Very exciting!

Upon entering the castle, we pay to climb up onto the city walls

The tickets for the wall-walk are expensive (about $20 each), but it's the best way to see Dubrovnik. The walls encircle the old historic town and by walking along the top, you can get a great bird's eye view of everything.

 

[Lightcycle]

Look inside to the town and you see a sea of terra-cotta rooftops

And on the other side, a steep drop right down to a different kind of sea:
the clear acqua-blue waters of the Adriatic

The walkway on top of the wall does a 2-km loop around the circumference of the town and there are staircases situated in many spots where you can climb up and down to drop into town or to get back up onto the wall.

There are some bistros and restaurants right on the wall if you get hungry or thirsty along the way

In the distance just off the coast of Dubrovnik is Lokrum island. It's a popular spot for hiking and swimming, there are some cool grottos there

 

[Lightcycle]

Minčeta Tower ahead of us, the highest point in Dubrovnik

During Season 2, the interior of Minčeta Tower doubled as the location of the House of the Undying in Qarth where Daenerys was searching for her stolen dragons.

Keeping an eye out for dragons through an embrasure in the tower

The wall was built about the same time as the city was founded, around the 7th century. It was slowly built up over time, the original wall was made of wood, but during the 12th-14th century, it became the impressive stone structure that we are walking on.

Cro-Neda

Some of the other buildings outside the old town. Same theme: white walls, terra-cotta roofs. Mainly resorts and hotels.

 

[Lightcycle]

Lots of vendors sell these kayak tours of the waters around Dubrovnik harbour

From the wall we spy some people who've rented apartments in the old city. Nice. But very expensive... (estimate €300-€400 a night)

Church inside the old town

It's not all tourists in the old town of Dubrovnik though. Here's a high school right in the middle of town

We saw schoolkids in uniform walking around the town after school let out. I remember in high school we used to hang out at the mall during lunchtime and after school. These kids hang out in Kings Landing. How cool is that?!?

 

[Lightcycle]

Us on the wall!

I can't believe the amazing weather we're having. But Neda isn't surprised. She knows her country very well and she's timed our ride down the Adriatic coast to perfection: early enough to avoid the school vacation tourists, but late enough to enjoy clear blue skies and warm sunny weather.

Tower of the Dominican Monastery

Steps leading to the Dominican Monastery

Back on the ground, walking around the old town

 

[Lightcycle]

They say Dubrovnik was a popular tourist destination even before Game of Thrones. I don't believe that...

Neda shakes her head: "A millennia of history and culture and the only reason why people come here is because of a TV show".

I interrupt: "Hey, isn't that the Red Keep?"

We were both walking around town whistling the theme song to the Game of Thrones. And we weren't the only ones. I think we probably could have gotten a flash mob together for a killer YouTube video if we tried!

Hodor! Neda hadn't seen the episode yet, so she didn't know what I was doing... Hodor.

Inside of the Jesuit Church of St Ignatius

 

[Lightcycle]

Game of Thrones fans: Do the Jesuit Steps look familiar?

It was the location for Cercei's Walk of Shame in Season 6

You can see where they inserted the Church of the Faith Militant in the background. There's actually a nice town square back there where the clock was, what a Shame it was CG'ed out. Shame! Shame!

High Sparrow?

The streets of the old town are crowded with tourists... and it's not even high season yet!

 

[Lightcycle]

Inside beautiful Sponza Palace. It's a popular place to hold wedding ceremonies. None of them Red, hopefully...

Street vendor selling traditional Croatian fabrics

Just outside the city's walls is Fort Lovrijenac (or St. Lawrence Fortress) which was the filming location for the Red Keep in Game of Thrones

 

[Lightcycle]

The little bay between the city and Lovrijenac is well known to Game of Thrones fans as Blackwater Bay.

Here's it's a lot more peaceful than when Tyrion unleashed the Green Wildfire on Stannis Baratheon's invading ships in Season 2

Still early enough in the season that the tiny pebble beach at Blackwater Bay is relatively uncrowded. Water is so clear!!!

Wow! King's Landing is such a beautiful place! But enough reminiscing about past Game of Throne episodes! Bring on Season 7 already!

Oh, DOO-brov-nick was nice too. You should totally visit it.