All good things come to an end…

It was sunnier today when we left for the ride, but still quite chilly.  Our route followed a good part of our previous ride in Milna -but backwards.

Nothing looked too familiar until we cycled past the overlook for Ložišća.  We didn’t stop again since we’d been there before.  Last time, we rode down the hill toward the town, but turned right at the famous stop-light.  This time we went through Ložišća.  I am surprised I didn’t get a picture at the stop-light because it was red again when we got there!  

I tried to get a picture of the church tower from my bike -trust me, it isn’t the “Leaning Tower of Ložišća”.

After Ložišća we had some fun ups and downs -but that means not as many pictures.  I finally got a picture of an olive grove as we were climbing up a long hill.

The pocket I usually keep my camera in for road pictures was buried under a pair of tights and a pair of pants.  The pants had a good pocket for the camera, but it was awkward.  Right after I took the olive tree pictures, I took this one as we approached a big downhill.

I didn’t have time to put my camera away, so once again I was holding onto it while trying to use both brakes going down the hill.  (So I didn’t flip!).  I got a couple more amazing photos during that downhill -but will just share the best one:

Our destination was a cute village named Sutivan on the coast looking toward the mainland. Sutivan has roots going back to the Roman Empire, but was officially founded in the 1400’s and is named after St. John the Baptist. Originally a fishing village, it has segued into tourism and is also a place where people have summer homes.

The plan was to park the bikes on the far side of the marina.  I took a picture of the view….then someone came and told Miranda that they needed that area clear. so we moved to the town side. 

We passed this cute statue while moving the bikes.

She sits on a bench with a cat on her lap at the land end of the harbor.  She is pointing across the way to the bell tower of the church.  There is a strange story from 1949 about a cat getting into the bell tower after chasing after an octopus that had escaped from the priest’s dinner pot.  However the story actually got started, it is now a cherished local legend.  Apparently there is a cat statue on the bell tower.  I missed seeing that!

Once we were on the other side, most of the group went to take their break at the only open cafe.  I walked a bit past it wanting to see if I could get a better picture of the church.  It was located up a hill in a small square -with no space to get backed up far enough to get a good photo.  I settled for a view of the bell tower from the side and a statue next to the steps leading down to the road along the marina. 

This is a statue of Saint Roch, who is recognized as the patron saint of dogs and the sick.

I was a bit intrigued by the steps leading up to the church plaza.  They looked really old.

After I found Mike -who was sitting in the cafe with some of the group, I took a break too.  This building was across the way, just behind the girl with the cat statue.

It was originally part of a defense tower for the town.  It is now a private home.  It is not very visible in this picture but there is a sundial on the facade of the house.

Before long, it was time to head back to Milna.  Our next stop was at a scenic pull-out for cars that overlooked the town of Bobovišća.  There was a cute heart that everyone wanted a picture with.

Someone from the group offered to take our picture with the heart.

I didn’t take many more pictures on the way back, but we did get to ride through tunnel –

It wasn’t much further to Milna after the tunnel.  We reached the Colombo and loaded ourselves onto the ship while the crew got the bikes on.

Lucija looks happy to have the first tour of the season finished.

Once everything was secured, it was time to sail to Split.  The regular tour itinerary has the Colombo in Split shortly after lunchtime.  That way anyone who isn’t planning an extra day or two in Split has time to explore a bit.

When we first pulled up to the dock in Split -we were at the end closest to our hotel.  We got a bit excited about that, but sadly that stop was just long enough to offload the bikes to the company mechanics…and take on a new set of bikes for the next tour.  After each tour, Sail Croatia swaps out the bikes used on the tour for bikes that have already been checked and repaired by their mechanics.

After the brief bike swap, we moved to the other side of the harbor and moored where we’d started the tour last week. I call this picture “deja view”.

Mike and I are staying in Split for three days after the tour -so we didn’t fuss about doing much that afternoon.  We found a restaurant and had a relaxing lunch.

We had one more night on the Colombo.  Our check-out time was 8:30 AM the next morning.  We spent most of the evening making sure we had everything packed.  Even so, we felt a bit rushed and distracted in the morning as we departed.

Years ago, my sister gave me a shirt with a quote from a retired Tour de France rider – Jens Voigt.  I have a tradition of taking a picture of me wearing it on the last day of our bike tours.  It wasn’t until a day later that I realized I hadn’t done it.  I am so disappointed!  So this time -I’ll just have to add a photo of the shirt without me in it…sigh.

Both Mike and I really enjoyed this bike+boat d’aventure.  It is definitely one of the best ones we’ve done so far.  There’s a few things that were different than what we’re used to on trips like this, but overall Sail Croatia runs a great tour.  Our guides, Miranda and Lucija are two of the best guides we’ve encountered on any of our bike+boat tours.  The captain and crew were also top notch.  Everyone was friendly, professional, welcoming, and did their jobs with a smile.

This ends the first part of our trip to Croatia.  There’s more to come -so I hope you stick with us for the rest of it.

Miles:  15.8     Accent/Descent:  2,123     Average Speed:  9.4

Categories: Part 7: Milna to Split