Biking, hiking and strange creatures

Our first holiday together has been wonderful so far. 

Croatia is an amazing country. The countryside is beautiful, a mix of dryness with the limestone rocky mountains and the stunning crystal clear Adriatic Sea. 

The people have been very friendly so far. The area we’re staying in, Podstrana, is right on the sea but doesn’t feel like a typical tourist destination. 

There are lots of small family run b n b style accommodation. It’s much nicer than commercial areas with huge hotels. 

We’re staying at Villa Pinocchio. I loved the name of the hotel and it’s about 15 meters from the sea - bliss.

We explored Split yesterday. We took the bus into the centre and discovered the area. I wanted to see Diocletian’s palace and it didn’t disappoint. 

Wandering through the small archways exploring the hidden treasures Split has to offer was fantastic and (yes I’m going to sound soppy) it’s been even more magical having Peter by my side. 

For years I’ve loved travelling. I’ve enjoyed my own company, I’ve loved my own agenda and answering to only myself however when you have the right person by your side, things just perfectly click into place. 

Peter loves being active, just like me, so we did a great workout on the beach yesterday. One legged squats and far too many hip exercises. 

After yesterday’s workout, I had the grand idea of hiring bikes. I wanted to visit Omis which is 13km away from our hotel. I figured it would be a nice flat ride. My god it was hard work. 

I’m used to riding my lovely light carbon fibre Specialize bike. Not this mammoth uber heavy mountain bike. Needless to say, my butt is sore. 

The cycle along the coast was lovely and didn’t take too long (maybe 40 mins). When we got to Omis, it was breathtaking. 

The mountains were huge and so exposed. Set against the beautiful blue waters in the sea and green waters in the canyon.

We wanted to visit the Fort. We realised there were two. After getting lost multiple times, we set back along the path (I may have told Peter is was wrong before).

After abandoning the bikes, we headed along a rocky path. I then looked up and saw the Fort. It was bloody miles away up high. I may have turned the air as blue as the sea - oh dear. 

However, being the stubborn cow that I am, I persist and despite my dodgy foot (soft tissue damage thanks to pole), it took us about an hour to get to the top. I made a joke that we better not have to pay to look around. We did have to pay, 150kn (about £1.75).

There was a little room at the top with a lovely man called Neina. He has to make that journey each day that he works. He was telling us he sometimes sleeps overnight, I don’t blame him. 

After taking in the magical views, it was time to head back down. Thankfully this was a lot quicker than coming up. Although it was a little more risky as the stones were marble and slippery. 

By this point it was around 3:30pm and we were starving. I definitely think we worked for our lunch so we stopped at a little restaurant in Omis. We ordered what we thought was a burger and chips but it turned out to be a more traditional dish, it was lovely. 

After lunch it was time to head back to our hotel. After the cycle here and the little hike (plus yesterday’s squats) my legs and butt were a little tender. 

Surprisingly it didn’t take too long to get back. Although it was later in the day, I couldn’t wait to head into the sea for a swim. 

Because there were thunderstorms overnight, the sea was a little murky but it was still beautiful. 

In the evening, we decided to walk along to the marina and we were admiring the incredible yacht’s when I noticed something black swimming in the sea. At first I thought it was a type of jelly fish, then maybe a squid and then after an extensive google search we discovered it was called a sea hare. 

These sea hares are native to the Caribbean so we have no idea how it came about to be in the Adriatic Sea. 

I can’t believe how quick the holiday has gone. This was always just a quick break (four nights) but I’m sad how fast it’s going. 

We’ve got a boat trip booked to explore the blue lagoon and some other islands so that’ll be fun. It’s been nice spending time with Peter and exploring country 49 together.