Primosten & Camp Adriatic, Trogir, road to Zaostrog - text added

we moved South to Primosten and Camp Adriatic 2 km from the town. It was huge but on closer inspection hardly full at all. We chose pitch 283 right on the beach and when registering discovered we were on a tent only zone!  Bit of a squeeze but worth it for the sound of the waves. There was a Slovakian group of youngsters on the camp who were brilliantly well behaved and enjoying themselves. The teachers / adult leaders took them swimming twice a day and got stuck in - throwing them in and being generally enjoying themselves in a fun way. Sad to say that i don't think it would ever be allowed in the UK with all the red tape and possible accusations. Not one of them had mobile phones which was refreshing.  We went for a swim - shrinkingly cold (ahem) but refreshing :-)

our beach front pitch

Primosten

Beer is annoyingly cheap in Croatia, a 500ml bottle is cheaper than a 330ml one?  Guess what i am being forced to drink.........  I am however not as grumpy as our new german neighbours, the lady resolutely refuses to acknowledge us or even say hello. Not the norm. Her loss. 

grumpy man drinking beer

Our pitch gave us a great view of sunset. Approx 10 mins before it happened about 20 fellow campers appeared to enjoy the sight. Fantastic as always to see nature at it's best.

romantic view from dinner table

We decided to try one of the marked cycle routes before it got too hot, it started almost vertically up a very new tarmac road. Not good for poor Tina who had stopped talking to me - always a bad sign. She got stuck in and we soon reached the top. The views made all the sweating and puffing worthwhile. Great descent back to the camp and another swim.

the only way is down - above Primosten

Next stop was Trogir a UNESCO site. It has many preserved roman features - unlike the campsite we headed to on the recommendation of a Practical Motorhome magazine article. It was cramped and to be blunt NOISY!  Our waterside pitch faced a building site and the shipyard :-(   Constant rock breaking from 7.30 am and a loud thrum from the shipyard all night. Not as loud as the group of Hungarians returning to camp at 4am................   We - well I complained and we decided to move. The authors of the article has stayed on the premium pitch side away from all us ACSI peasants on the less desirable noisy side. Still they gave us a free bag of lavender when we checked out. 

Trogir was very good with lots of amazingly well preserved Roman features. The streets are a narrow maze with a straight line of cobbles indicating the way out - no line equals a dead end. Clever.

Trogir

Venetian Lion removed when town did not want to be part of Italy - 1932

Roman ceiling murals

Trogir - UNESCO world site

After spending the morning in Trogir, Zaostrog 80km south of Split was our next destination. The drive along the coast was dramatic with lots of curves and steep drops to the sea. It was slow but worthwhile. The second pic below says it all.

cheeky little monkey

Dalmation coast south of Split

Tisno and Murter island

Weds 21^st

Another hot and sunny day so the short drive to Tisno north of Sibenik was good with great views. We were looking for a site in the ACSI book but arrived at Camp Jazino which was on 2 interlinked sites. We chose a plot overlooking the beach side with lots of trees for shade. We were amazed to find ourselves the only people on the site!  

empty campsite Jazino

A bit of tree pruning and we were good. Bit wobbly those telescopic ladders. After our usual “exploration” of the site we concluded that it was community owned and built in the communist reign. Lots of stark concrete and functional buildings slightly crumbling round the edges. 

wobbly!

The water was crystal clear and full of sea life. Urchins, hermit crabs and lots of different inquisitive fish. A short walk took us into Tisno village which is a working port and gateway to Murter island (bridge is 30m long).  Nice honest place. On return to the site – sacre bleu.  We had been joined by a French pop up caravan. Crowded now.

crystal clear water

Thurs 22^nd

Hot from the word go!  Brekkie then a scoot to Murter which was being dug up for new pipes and not that an attractive place. Huge marina with the biggest motor yacht I have ever seen in storage on cradles. Definitely a millionaires play thing. We returned via Jezera a much nicer small village with a lovely marina. Very hot indeed by now so back for lunch then a refreshing swim in the lovely sea.

Jezera marina

Fri 23^rd

Overcast but still very hot so we cycled round the old coast road on Murter to Betina. We passed through 2 campsites, second one had boat moorings so was almost exclusively populated by Germans and Austrians. Quite a few very big motorhomes as quite open. Bumped into an Austrian couple who had been on Nin campsite. Were they following us?  

In Betina we were cycling past a nondescript tent / marque when I spotted a boat in skeletal form. Brakes on!  There was a part completed traditional oak boat being worked on. Out front in the bigger marque was a lovely 9m long sailing boat nearing completion. The guy was very happy to chat to me about designs, materials and the history of boat building in Betina.  

Slovenian oak

9m traditional sailing boat

6m boat under construction

The smaller 6m boat would be €18,000 – gulp.  The 9m boat ?   upwards of €30,000 as it was more complex and was being supplied with all the rigging and sails.  Lovely to look at and great to smell oak shavings again!  Heaven. 

Nin & Krka national park

Monday 12^th

Moved to Nin near Zadar on the recommendation of Tomislav the very helpful Tourist Information guy at Korana.  Good place to visit. Camp Ninska laguna very eccentric with very basic facilities. Solar water system was coils of black pipes on the roof!  Worked in a fashion. Our pitch had views across to Pag and the Velebit mountain range beyond.

Nin

View across to Pag

Tues 13^th

Rain and cold wind am, then sunny. We cycled onto sand spit afer lunch. Lots of broken down / deserted beach cafes. Nobody on beaches. Haircut for me in the evening before dinner. Lady spoke perfect New York English (10 yrs living there)  Bargain at £4.00!

wrecked beach cafe - no service

Weds 14^th

Howling Burra north wind all night which buffeted the van keeping Tina awake. Colder so bacon rolls for lunch – the last of our treats from home now consumed.

Thurs 15th

Bus into Zadar.  The town was bombed in WW2 then also badly in the homeland war in 94. it has been completely rebuilt and the main tourist part of the old town is very impressive. We arrived in a scruffy part but the footbridge  to the old part delivers you into a lovingly restored Roman designed town. Lots of churches but we both ranked number 1 attraction the sea organ which is powered by the waves. It was designed by a local architect Mikal Basic. We recorded the amazing sounds and will try to post a link. A  good day's sightseeing.

Roman remains

amazing sea organ

Friday 16^th

Poor weather all week so far with very strong wind so when the sun popped out we went for a cycle to Privlaka. It was absolutely empty of life with lots of deserted, half finished houses. All the rest were shuttered up. Strange. The island of Vir was the same – what a chaotic style of building. Not especially pretty.  The end of the island was better with a rural feel.  Great views to the islands.

dramatic sky and sea

Sun 18^th

Left Nin and drove south along the coast road to Sibenik and the Krka National park. The Kornati islands off Biograd and Vodice looked great – sort of volcanic mounds all over the sea.  Lots and lots of remote campsites which we assumed will come to life in high summer? We arrived at Camping Marina and Krka side by side. Quick inspection and we chose Marina. Pretty full with mainly German and Dutch. Quick setup and a scoot into Skradin. What a picturesque place. A lovely inlet lined with expensive sailing yachts and “gin palaces”. The road down was scoot heaven – full of twisties and hairpins.  Ice cream was also nice.  Nice atmosphere.

Krka main waterfall

ooh!

very loud close up

Skradin from above

Mon 19^th

Moved pitch away from the path to the loos. Then scoot down to Skaradin and the boat to the Krka park. Very pretty mini cruise up to the entrance. Krka is a sort of mini Plitvice. The infrastructure appears newer and well orgaised. Still very impressive set of main waterfalls. Lots of Americans replaced the Japanese we saw in Plitvice.  On our return the pre booked Dutch ACSI group were arriving. Our new pitch gave us grandstand seats as motorhomes and caravans arrived. Funny to watch then maneuvering their caravans with tiny remote control for the electric movers!  Like Scaletrix in very slow motion if you know what I mean. (for the younger Blog readers Scaletrix was / is a slot racing car game with remote speed controllers – Google it!)  very friendly bunch who also told us we had great viewing seats.

Stopovers - Google map

Places visited and other info on stops / route from Slovenia to where we are currently in Croatia


Hope the link works this time!



https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zLPprIVde9E4.kRyn0X9c1cDM

into the lush interior

Pigeons on the beach!

Tues 6^th

Lovely scoot to the bottom of the island – Baska. Crystal clear water with a lovely beach (and pigeons!)  Bit tacky at campsite end.

Baska old town

bit cold!

pigeons on a beach

Plitvice Lakes - national park 

Weds 7^th

Big supermarket shop then off to the interior of Croatia. Our destination was the Plitvicka Jezera national park. This has the most amazing waterfalls and lakes and has been a park since 1951. It actually was where the homeland wars started when the Serbs took control of the main buildings. Once off Krk island the road went up and over the coastal mountains, and we were in lush, green valleys.  Several of the villages had very stark reminders that the war was only 20 years ago. There were quite a few abandoned houses with roofs / walls missing and pock marks from bullets and shells.  Very sad to see.

few wiggles ahead

Kamp Korana campsite

We arrived at camp Korana a sate owned site. 35 ha and 2500 people in Summer. It was only half open and very quiet.  Very nice location and only 6km from the park.

Thurs 8^th

Walk in the morning to a mill, then on to an impressive restored tower standing high above the canyon.

restored tower

In the afternoon we got the bikes out and went exploring. We saw a church with lots of bullet holes above the door, there were also several wrecks of houses hidden in the trees. A local builder stopped to ask if we were lost. He explained in perfect English the church was Serb – “ they destroyed our church, but we left theirs alone”  the houses were a stark reminder of the upheaval caused by the wars. Bosnia is only 15km away from the remains of the village.

bullet ridden Serb church

The campsite had also been destroyed and rebuilt. There is a huge overgrown tarmac carpark – the only remains of a former motel that was bombed.

Friday 9^th

Hot and sunny – we scooted up to the lakes. Free parking for scoot. We had a great time walking on the board walk trails which zig zag around them. Great sounds and sights of all the water rushing past. 

impressive from above

Some of the waterfalls provided a very cooling mist as you can get very close. Nature is truly impressive!  The park setup is huge with free buses to transport you from one end to the other. 

nice cooling spray

Not too many fellow tourists but a few school trips. Usual teenage lack of manners on the quite narrow boardwalks – we seemed to be invisible. Several times I just stopped when they would not move over from walking 3 abreast. A few bounced off me – a few just did not know what to do.  Grrrrrrr. Lots of shouting by the teachers, but “normal” deaf ear syndrome from lots of them.

boardwalks zig zag around the falls

A truly impressive place to visit. Make sure you do.

Krk island

Sat 3^rd may

An earlyish for us (we now find it impossible to have less than 8 hrs sleep) start had us headed for the Island of Krk. The road and scenery were fab – great curves and some miracles of engineering took us around Rijeka and onto a brand new motorway to the island.  Forgot to mention the teeming rain………again.  

Krk bridge view

campsite rock beach & idiot?

The bridge across is very impressive. We drove straight to camping Krk – formerly a naturist site, but now officially a “textile” site. Thank goodness.  4 star luxury at ACSI prices. Very, very nice site with designer loos and swimming pool.  We walked into town around some lovely inlets. Nice place.

view from path to Krk town

circle the difference(s)?

Sunday 4^th may

Cloudy with cold wind – not what we wanted!  Scooted into town and walked around the narrow streets of the old town. Back for lunch then a cycle to Punat marina some 6km away. Mega yachts and a huge boat yard / marina hinted at what it must be like here in August.

thought it was yellow?

sunset view from van

 Lots of people were leaving to go home so the site was very quiet – have we finally arrived at the quiet season??  Lovely evening sun and great sunset across the bay to Krk town.

Monday 5^th  

Sunshine all day!  We scooted into town and had a coffee and yummy cake before we embarked for our 4 hour island cruise.  We were the only English speakers – German was the dominant language as most tourists seem to be German, Swiss or Austrian. 

remote beach - boat only!

We burbled along the coast and passed some seriously lunar rock formations.  There were some amazing tiny beaches only accessible by boat.  The landscape at Starska Barska was truly lunar and very barren.  We cruised past the cliffs of one island and saw a Griffon Vulture roosting. It was completely unperturbed by the boat engine or the stupid German guy repeatedly clapping his hands! 

lunar landscape 

We are now officially islanded out.  Next planned move will be inland to explore the interior of the mainland.

our pitch