21 May 2022
But a ferry ride away!!
But we could not find a ferry to Hvar town which carries bikes (all direct ferries are fast catamarans which don’t!). Maybe so few cyclists actually arrive into Split (sensibly)..that they do not see the need!
So we took the cary ferry to Stari Grad. Our first ‘big’ ferry…..with three upper decks!! As you leave Split…you really can see what a lovely city it is!
Very pleasant two hour cruise…past the islands of Brac and Solta.
Off the ferry for our short 15km ride to Hvar town, with a 450m climb to add a bit of spice. So we of course turned right following the road sign…and headed up the hill…..and just as we arrived near the top, we came across a 1500m tunnel. Bikes not allowed!! So we had a check on Google…only to discover we should have turned left from the ferry!!
So…we sailed back down again….past the ferry…and started again. A nicely graded road (the “old” road)…and a lovely ride. The first pic is looking down at the new road…where it disappears into that tunnel!
Extraordinary use of dry stone walls….
A nice coffee stop at the top as well.
Except it wasn’t really the top!! To finish with a lovely 8km free-wheel down to Hvar town.
Hvar is built on quite steep hillsides…so we had prior asked about bike access to our booked apartment. 80 steps up…we were told. But in fact – there are 209 up, and another 23 down…and THEN the flat was on the first floor! But we were a bit wiser than to follow directions…and found the road above the flat, and luckily enough builders were working nearby and had set up planked wheelbarrow access down the 100 or so steps almost to the door!! Much easier than we had feared!! And when we leave…we shall just continue downhill!!
Great flat….with not a bad view….looking out at our local swimming spot….so it was not long before we were in the water (quite cool still).
Hvar town is a picture-perfect place…and it is good to be here in May, for apparently it gets mobbed in the summer. But it is (already) marred by lots of groups of (mostly) British lads, on their stag nights (weeks) making an embarrassing spectacle of themselves. And to feed that…the beer prices here are 50%+ higher than anywhere else in Croatia.
Interesting that until we arrived in Split….the vast majority of tourists have been German. But here in Hvar, it seems to be 90% brits!
We did find a bar eventually with relatively normal prices, but it is well away from the centre. Nice sunset!!
