Today, we decided on a late start so we could walk around Rovinj.
After a nice breakfast at our hotel, we set out for a long walk through the walled city and along the harbor.
The temperature was perfect, with overcast skies ... apparently, it had rained all night, so everything was wet ... the churches, the narrow cobblestone streets, the old houses, the markets, the boats ... what a great way to wake up and greet the world!
Today, we had to catch two ferries that do not run very often, so we had to time things carefully.
The road from Rovinj to Brestova, where we caught the first ferry, was magical ... deep greens from the previous night’s rain, small roads through the mountains and little towns, cliffs, fortress-like villages perched on hilltops in the distance, the ocean on one side, fjord-like inlets, and land and islands everywhere. Very special.
The first ferry to the island of Cres took about 20 minutes. On the other side, the roads got smaller, the hills higher, and the views more striking. We also had to ride about two kilometers of gravel ... deep at times ... through a section of road that was being repaired.
After an hour of even better riding across the island of Cres, we arrived at MaMaLu, a great seafood restaurant by the water, tucked deep inside a very picturesque cove. We thought about swimming, but we were running out of time if we wanted to catch the 4 pm ferry from Cres to Krk.
We made the ferry just as a big storm was approaching ... halfway through the crossing, the temperature dropped significantly and the wind picked up dramatically.
We managed to make it to Krk and to our hotel about five minutes before the big storm hit.
After a nice rest, the storm passed, the sun came out, and outside it was as if nothing had happened. Tourists were out, restaurants were open, and the whole town came back to life.
We walked through the streets, saw a Benedictine monastery, churches, the cathedral, the fort, the waterfront, and even went up to the hilltop called “the Little Vatican” because of its long religious history.
Krk is a beautiful, coherent example of a town that works well and has been built over layers of Roman, medieval, Renaissance, and modern history. A very special little town.
After some drinks in front of the ocean with Jason and Heather, and dinner on the patio of our hotel, we called it a day.
Tomorrow, we head to Zadar ... and we get to ride the best section of Croatia’s coastal road!
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