Croatia 1 – northern mountains

The overnight ferry from Anconna arrived in Split on a hot Croatian morning.

With very hot weather forcast for the Croation Coast, I decided to head to mountains of Northern Croatia, in particular the Gacka Valley.

The cleat water of the Gacko river flows through the valley.

The Gacko Valley sits between two natural attractions in Croatia; Plitvice Lakes National Park and the Samograd Cave.

The Plitvice Lakes are a spectacular series of lakes and waterfall.

Entry into the National Park is strictly ticketed, and given it was the peak holiday season, there were large crowds. I, therefore, took a walk around a forest trail that overlooks the Lakes. As you can see, it gives good views of the lakes and puts you at the top of some on the waterfalls.

The Samograd Cave goes deep into the limestome mountains, and the 8c temperature inside the cave quite a contrast to the 35c+ temperatures on a hot mid August day.

Access to the cave is ticketed and is underaken in small groups with a guide.

The motorcycle riding through these mountains is beautiful.

On a hot summer, the mountains are about 4c less than on the coast. For me that meant low to mid 30s and opposed to high 30s.

But don’t worry, you can still find a place to swim if you get local advice. I was given directions to this lovely swimming hole between Gacka and the Plitvice Lakes.

Road to Rome and beyond…

There is a medieval poverb- All roads lead to Rome. And the first road, the Apian Way led from.what is now Puglia to Rome.

On the small roads from Manfredonia, there are plenty of Roman reminders.

The main road into Rome is no longer the old Apian Way, there is a motorway instead, but the ancient road is still there.

As is the old city wall

But what can I say about Rome that hasn’t already been said, what pictures can I show that havent been shown?

What stunned me was that only an E-bike ride from centre of Rome along the old Apian Way, it was countryside.

So let me leave Rome and head north east to get the bike serviced in Rimini before heading to Croatia.

A short ride north of Rome in Tuscany are the Saturnia hot springs.

It was 32c when I was there, so probably not the best day for a 30c hot spa, but it was still beautiful.

The stop for the night was Lago di Bolsena, Europe’s largest volcanic lake. The shores of the lake is dotted with camping grounds. Even in the peak of summer, there are spaces to pitch a tent.

The riding through southern Tuscany toward Rimini was beautiful – beautiful roads and beautiful villages.

In the peak of holidays there was no accommodation in Rimini but luckily the was up the mountain in San Marino. A short ride from Rimini

The team at Opificio Bike Store in Rimini are fantastic, and I can’t thank them enough. On their first day back from holidays, they serviced, the engine, brakes, and fitted new tyres. Not only that, invited me to the Moto Guzzi Clunhouse for dinner that night.

The club house is an old farm shed between Rimini and San Marino. From the clubhouse, one can see the lights of the city of San Marino perched up on the mountain.

San Marino is in Italy but not in Italy. It claims to be the oldest continuous repblic in the world and is a seperate country. One of the handful of strange micro states within Europe.

With the mighty breva serviced, it was time to head to Anconna to catch the night ferry to Split, Croatia.

Ok ok ok! I just skipped over Rome.

In many ways, August is a good time to visit Rome. Though it’s full of tourists, most of the city due to its population escaping for holidays. Hence, the streets and public transport were easy to get around on. It’s both a beautiful and contradictory place. I’ll let some photos do the talking.

Puglia – Manfredonia and Gargona National Park

Manfredonia sits at the northern end of Puglia on the Adriatic Sea, nestled, south of the Gargona Promontory.

Its a lively town with a big fishing fleet and wonderful seafood restaurants.

It’s flanked by beaches.

And wet lands

The Gargona National Park is on a plateau with ancient forests, amazing motorcycling roads, and historic towns and villages.

Monte Sant’Angelo is a UNESCO World Heritage village perched up on the Gargona Escarpment. It is recognised as one of the most beautiful villages in Italy.

The Sactuary of Saint Michael the Archangel is in a cave church dating back to the 9th century.

The village is indeed beautiful with views to the sea, beautiful old pedestrian walkways, and beautiful local food

Puglia – Alberobello

The ferry from Messina landed in Vill San Giovani, Calabria. An overnight stop before heading to Puglia on Italy’s east coast.

In the village, there was dancing in the streets.

From the toe of Italy, the route to the east winds along the coast and over the mountains of Calabria.with spectacular views.

Then past the southern beaches with castello on the headland

To Puglia on Italy’s heel.

Alberobello is in the region on Puglia and is famous for its unique trulli stone houses.

The special building have led to Alberobello being declared a UNESCO world heritage site.

Its is truly beautiful to walk the streets lined by Trulli!

Sicily- Ortigia and Etna

Having managed some sleep on the chaotic overnight ferry trip from Cagliari (Sardinia) to Palermo (Sicily), arriving at 5am, there was plenty of time to cross the Island to Syracuse.

While the heat wave conditions in Europe had eased, it was still summer, and at Syracuse, the Mediterranean called.

Ortigia is an ancient walled city on a little Islet in Syracuse. Its history dates back to 700bc. Its been Phonecean, Greek ,Roman,,, and now Italian.