Friday 6^th May     Hvar

 

We were up by 5am and on the 6 o’clock bus for Split, surprised at how many people were on the bus. Of course we shouldn’t have been really as school starts at 8 and hotel workers need to start early. The hotel provided us with a packed breakfast-2 rolls each and butter, cheese, pate, jam, chocolate spread and honey and water. Thoughtful! We ate this at the quayside while we waited for the boat.

 The diesel fumes were heavy this morning or maybe we had become more used to clean air out in the sticks. Yesterday we had walked 9 km to Omis mostly beside the sea’s edge. Occasionally we had to go up to the busy road which like a motorway it never seemed to stop. Cars were fine- they would toot a greeting and give you plenty of space but the lorries came hurtling towards you and on a fairly narrow road they came too close for comfort and we had to sometimes leap over the barrier where the sea was steeply many feet below.

The weather was perfect until we came into Omis and the heavens opened so we sheltered under a pine tree ( not the best cover) The clouds seemed to get caught in the mountains here and we often saw them passing lower, across the rock mass. The walk had been relaxing and beautiful however and today Split seemed a typical city with a lot of roadwork noise and traffic!

We bought our tickets for the catamaran, Krilo Star, which is faster travelling than the boat- maybe 30 mile an hour instead of about 6. It cost 70 kunar each to Hvar. As people got on, the catamaran rocked and as boats about it moved I started to get worried that it might be a rough journey. I felt a bit queasy already. It was fine though when it got going and it picked up speed.

We dropped people off at Brac then after an hour from Split we arrived at Hvar Town. It is described as having chic ambience and is popular with artists. It did seem more expensive for eating out and there were plenty of restaurants. It was very cosmopolitan with many expensive boats moored in the harbour. I had the best cup of tea (very large) anywhere here called English Afternoon and with Bob’s coffee it only cost us about £3.50.

We caught a bus to Starigrad which means main town, even though Hvar town has taken over the political and cultural side of things. Just 2 Km before the end of the journey we had to wait at the port for the boat passengers. While we waited we chatted to a young couple from Farnham in Surrey who were staying on Korcula and loved it. They said like us how the winter timetable- until June- makes travel a bit more difficult. He’d left his camera tripod behind and had to hire a car from Starigrad to be able to retrieve it.

At our destination we left the bus and walked past a park where there was frantic sparrow activity and by the terrific noise there must have been hundreds or even thousands. The birds must have been nesting in the mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees as they flew up with grass in their beaks.

Not far from here we found a bike hire shop. At 60 kunar for half a day each we could ride and if we broke down or had any trouble the owner said he would come and fetch us. I left my bus pass as proof of identity and we set of the way suggested. What well maintained bikes they were with enough gears and mine had a carrier. It was a beautiful route and for me was the highlight of our holiday. We hadn’t very long as we needed to be back for the 2.40 bus-logistics again!

Turning left instead of right for the bus stop we went onto a rough track just off this road. There was a very large dead snake in the middle of the track which reminded me that they can be poisonous and I said to Bob that if we got bitten then we needed to take a photo of it as we wouldn’t know what it was called for anti- venom.  The snake had gone a couple of hours later on our return!

There were vineyards and olive groves all along the route. This flatter region usually has lavender for which Hvar is famous. I have since been told that lavender is less popular with the tourists now so they don’t grow as much and if any was growing it would only be very tiny at the moment. The soil was almost orange and amongst the rocky olive groves were the deepest red poppies. There was a bike park with a water tap nearby.

We passed Hvar airport which was a scruffy field with flags, wind sock and a little hut.

 

There were plenty of butterflies( It was very hot!) – maybe an osiris blue though it looked bluer than the book picture, various tortoiseshell colours, a swallowtail and white butterflies. There was a bird that from its shape looks like a woodpecker but it had a crest, black and white checkered markings on its tail and it seemed to shimmer turquoise on its body as it turned towards the sun. We thought it was maybe a hoopoe but the crest was not full enough and the colour was wrong. Maybe it was a crested jay.

 

People were working on the vines and someone sold fresh lemon juice and tea from a hut in the field. A straight route took us to the marina at Vrboska. There were the most fish of all sizes here. We bought cheese and ham pastries from a baker, that were heated in a microwave, then we sat at a bar and ate them with beer. If they don’t sell food then this is acceptable. We believe this is the place nicknamed little Venice because of the stone bridges over the narrow canal leading to the open sea.

Here the children were just coming out of school with models of pot plants and cards. Maybe this is for something like our Mother’s Day. The church bells rang and at the top of the town is a church fortress built in 1575, rare in Dalmatia

We rode on towards Jelsa and the journey became more hilly. I was being drained by the heat. The sea was as green as we have ever seen it but despite wanting to see more of the coast we decided to head back. We hadn’t been aware of the wind but riding back it was a bit of a push. Most days were windy this trip and sometimes it was very gusty.

We praised the bike man for his maintenance skills and decided that lonely Planet should be aware that this is a gem of a company and the ride even more so. Bob had some fruit and I cooled down with a lemon icecream while the sparrows twittered away in the trees above us.

The bus drove back by the ferry again but this time the boat had just left so we hope thelady getting off with her luggage hadn’t wanted to catch it. The route passed through the mountain tunnel but sometimes might go over the top with no indication when. This was the quick way to Hvar Town.

Wherever we have been in Croatia we have seen very little litter if any. Beer bottles are recycled- we saw people removing them from rubbish bins into huge plastic bags and at 1 kunar each on return you could see why.

I was shocked that to go to the public toilet here cost 7 kunar- more than 70p!( more than double that in Split) We just had to have a beer and use the bars.!

We thought we might be able to visit one of the Plakeni islands from here. We watched out for the taxi boat that was advertising a trip to 2 of them. We waited but no one came. Then eventually a small boat came with “taxi” on the side and he said he would take us to the nearest, which happened to be a nudist stronghold. He said he would take us for 150 kunar and he would wait while we walked the island, which might take several hours (which we hadn’t got before our return ferry) This was way over the price advertised as he said we were only 2 people instead of a boat load. He did reduce it to 100 k but we were more worried about the waiting bit. We thought we might get stranded if it wasn’t a scheduled time. A bit later we saw him take a family over. There didn’t seem to be much there but if we had time it would have been nice to go to one of them. The name Pakleni is derived from the pine resin used to waterproof the boats.

We walked round to the Monastery, which was closed till 5 then up and down through the maze like streets. Far above the town is the indomitable fortress. We thought it might be closed as there was work being done on it. Later though as the sun began to set we noticed people watching with cameras on the battlements. They had been so still they could have been statues or ornamental trees until the sun caught in the lens of one.  

We had a meal which was OK but not as good as on Solta. They had pictures to let you know what to expect but then they did if differently so what was the point?

The sun has started to die a little at 6pm and there is cloud but this has been the best weather day since being in Croatia. Our boat left at 7. 35 and there was just time to drop off and pick up. We sailed directly towards a deep red sunset. A fitting end to a beautiful island!