Ride #2

For the second ride, we were given the option to ride or stay with the ship.  Six of the group decided to skip the ride and stay on the ship.  As soon as we were on the dock getting ready to ride, the Colombo departed for Hvar.

As everyone who reads any of my trip stories involving biking knows… I HATE riding up hills.  Yesterday had elevation, but at least it was gradual.  Well, today’s route said “Hold my beer”:  The first six and 1/2 miles were going to be 100% uphill on a narrow winding road to the highest point on the island.  (Mike says it ended up being closer to eight miles). This is why we opted for the E-bikes on this trip!  The good news was that the last part of the ride would be 100% downhill.  (Maybe 3-ish miles?)

Up we go!

On the way up the scenery was pretty.  There was a gorgeous view off to the right that I kept trying to snap, but only this one turned out.  After a few tries, I decided I should concentrate on keeping both hands “on the wheel”.

After a few miles of climbing, we took a break at an informational “turn out” for cars (and bikes!).

I finally was able to take my hands off the handlebars to get a picture of the view!

Later that day, Lucija shared this picture.

Our rest stop had some informational signs about the fields and the lime kiln that was there.

We rode by the lime kiln just before turning into the rest stop, so I was glad I could get a picture of it.  The sign next to it said it was a lime kiln built just before WW1.  These kilns were used to produce lime.  It would take 3-4 days and temperatures up to 2,000 degrees to finish.  Lime was used in various ways – it helps bind mortar, can be put in wells to help freshen the water and is the base ingredient for whitewash.

Lucija also talked about the stone walls that we could see here (and pretty much everywhere we’ve ridden so far).  The walls are used to mark property lines.  And also -The islands aren’t exactly flat, so the walls help create terraces for planting as well as protection from the winds.

Hvar is known as the Lavender Island.  At one time 8% of all lavender came from Hvar.  We were riding through lavender central on today’s route -except we were too early to see it in bloom.  Lucija said that in June/July this entire hillside would be purple.

In the 1980/90’s various economic situations and some devastating fires greatly reduced the lavender production.  Lavender is still very popular and is now mostly produced by smaller farms.

We got back on the bikes for a short distance and stopped again at a little roadside farm stand and a restaurant (not open).  The woman manning the stand explained about the lavender and other essential oils, her soaps, olive oil, and beeswax lotions -saying they were all produced by her using their own crops. 

There was a swing with a view behind the restaurant.

Another short ride away we stopped again in a small village at a wonderfully wacky roadside healthy smoothie drink “bar”.  Miranda swears by the royal jelly (produced by bees) and red juice drink.  Several riders tried that one.  The owner mentioned that he is a beekeeper.  They also had a small sales table with some locally produced products -predictably focused on lavender and beeswax.  I think that the guides make a point of stopping at places like that to help the locals out -and to give their guests a chance to connect to the people of Croatia.  I think that’s great.

At that point, we got to the reward part of the route – the 3-ish miles downhill.  Unlike yesterday, the road wasn’t good for letting it rip down the hill.  It was narrow and often quite bumpy, so the group rode accordingly.  Unfortunately, the view wasn’t very picturesque.  

At the bottom, we were on the edge of Hvar.  When we entered the harbor area, we had to walk our bikes.  When we arrived at the pre-arranged area of the dockside, the Colombo pulled up to the dockside and our job was to get ourselves and the bikes ready to be loaded as fast as possible.

Mike: Quit taking pictures and get on the boat!

The ship didn’t have a dock assignment yet – so once loaded, we had to leave the dock and wait it out on the water until assigned a docking space.  When we could dock – it was another situation of boats tying up together -only this time we were the sixth!! ship in the lineup.  When we went to shore to find dinner, we had to cross 5 ships before stepping onto the quay.  

From this angle you can’t see all six -but they’re there!

But first, we floated around the harbor for a bit.

Hvar from afar.

Hvar was an important naval base for the Venetians between 1200s to 1700s.  At the top of the picture you can see the old fortress- Fortica -built in 1579 after the old fort was blown up by a gunpowder accident.  The town walls date to the 1200s, with additions and renovations over the years. Hvar was sacked in 1571 by the Turks.  Houses from the 1400s to 1600s still in use.

Once the Colombo was able to tie up, Mike and I went to town and walked around before we had dinner.  I would have liked to walk up to the old fort, but we figured we’d be coming back down it in the dark and didn’t like that idea.

I’m a fan of doors in Europe, but so far I’m getting the impression that Croatia doesn’t “do” doors.

Of the islands/cities listed on this tour’s itinerary, Hvar was one I was looking forward to.  And perhaps that’s why I felt a bit disappointed after finally seeing it.  It is a big tourist destination and often one of the first “places to see” that is named when you research the Split area of Croatia… but it wasn’t for me.  I just felt “meh” about our walk around.  **Mike disagrees.  He liked Hvar.

Back on the Colombo, I got a couple more photos….

Miles:  12.3     Ascent/Decent:  1, 457 feet     Average Speed:  9.8

Elevation:

Categories: Part 3: Hvar (continued)