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Jun. 13th, 2006 11:00 pmThis morning we didn't have to pack the bikes, because we were staying here two nights. We could leave the side cases behind, whee! We set out, back through the crazy detour, and up onto the shore road. We rode along the sea for ten or twenty miles, past this extremely cool looking little island, covered with buildings, and connected to the mainland by a bridge or causeway of some sort. Neat! I wished we would stop so I could get a picture, but we didn't. Soon we came to a corner, where a road led up the hill. We pulled over into the right turn lane, and stopped. And sat. And sat. WTF? They weren't even talking bollocks in Croatian, at least at first.
I had pulled up next to Robert. He said "I think I'm going to leave the group for the day, just let them go, and explore on my own." I said "Can I come with you?" He said "Sure". He went up to tell Igor, and by the time he came back, Irene and Trond had detached themselves from the main group and joined us as well. We left the rest of them to sit there if they liked, but the four of us would go on. Robert led us up the hill.
After a half dozen switchbacks, we'd climbed up quite high, and we could see a long way down the coast. There was a roadside shack selling coffee, with a couple picnic tables, and a space to pull over and look out over the sea. There were two bikes there already, a V-Strom and a large scooter. Robert pulled in there. It turns out these two guys were here to meet our group, and somehow some wires got crossed, they were the ones Igor was waiting for at the bottom of the hill. We talked to them for a little while and eventually the rest of the group arrived.
Robert said he wanted to go back and look at that island we'd passed, and spend some time in the seaside town we were looking down at.
Igor tried to convince me to rejoin the main group, he said he was taking them somewhere great. It had started to rain again. I looked inland, and saw dark clouds. I looked towards the sea and saw blue sky. I thought of doing another 400 kilometers in the rain, never sure where we were going or why, and returning to the hotel sometime after dark. Certainly the roads would be nice and the sights interesting, and I'd be able to talk bollocks in English on the radio with S while we rode. But I was so tired of long days, and of the struggles inherent in riding with such a large group! I decided to stay with the splinter group. Robert led us back down the hill and into Budhva. As we rode down the hill, we rode out of the rain.
Robert wanted to find a bank machine and have another try at getting some cash out. Irene wanted to look for souvenirs. We found a place to park, locked the helmets to the bikes, and I stuffed my tankbag into my top case. We wandered down to the beach.
Irene and Trond almost immediately found some other Norwegian tourists, sitting at one of the beachfront cafes. While Robert and I were waiting for them to finish their chat, we ended up conversing with a Ukrainian guy who spoke very good American-accented English.
Budhva has an old city with a wall around it. There is a narrow walkway on the top of the wall, you can walk all the way around it, and look out through the arrow slits. There's a spot where the walkway widens to a sort of patio, and you can see in all directions, look out over the harbor. From the wall you can look down at the inside of the city, and into people's gardens. They look green and mysterious. One garden had lots of cats in it, including one that was sprawled out on the stone walk, luxuriating in the sunshine and the warm stone. Another garden was entirely paved and had a number of scooters in it. You couldn't get to any of these gardens from where we were, unless you had rappelling gear. Inside the city there were a lot of old buildings, and nice shops. It was fun to explore. Back outside the walled city, we decided to go back to the bikes, find a bank for Robert, then ride down the coast to the next town and seek lunch. I remembered seeing two banks near where we parked. Sure enough, Robert was able to get cash at one of them.
We rode down the coast to the next town. It was smaller. Robert led the way right into the center of it, and down a steep narrow cobblestone street with a hairpin turn halfway down. The street led right down to the beach, where it dead ended into some outdoor cafe tables. Irene and Trond turned around and went back up, but Robert and I parked down at the bottom, near where bicycles were locked to a rail. Irene and Trond found somewhere to park up above, and walked back down. We picked a cafe and had lunch.
After lunch, Trond wanted to wash the bikes. He'd already picked out a car wash to use. I think that's the happiest look I ever saw on Trond's face, on the whole trip, when he washed the bikes. Robert, on the other hand, was visibly distressed by seeing his bike washed and shined. :-) I must admit some discomfort with the activity, myself, since the guys running the car wash insisted on power washing the bike and I was worried about the bearings and the electrical connectors. But everything was fine afterward, we had no problems with the bikes, and they sure looked pretty, all clean and shiny.
We stopped at a scenic overlook and took pictures of the island with all the buildings on it. The name of the place was St Stephens, and apparently a lot of movie stars have houses out there. It was EU$5 to park close enough to walk in, and we didn't want to spend much time, so we decided not to go in.
We got through the crazy detour, and back to our hotel by mid-afternoon. Irene and Trond walked into Bar and sent their postcards. Robert wandered off as well. I spent some time alone in the room, washed my hair, re-washed some of the clothing that had started to smell due to being continuously wet for so long, repacked my luggage, etc. It was so nice to just catch up on some of that stuff!
The rest of the group pulled in sometime after dark. They'd had a great ride, lots of twisties, visited a monument where they climbed many steps, and had a fabulous meal. It hadn't rained on them very much at all after they left us. They almost made me jealous.
I had pulled up next to Robert. He said "I think I'm going to leave the group for the day, just let them go, and explore on my own." I said "Can I come with you?" He said "Sure". He went up to tell Igor, and by the time he came back, Irene and Trond had detached themselves from the main group and joined us as well. We left the rest of them to sit there if they liked, but the four of us would go on. Robert led us up the hill.
After a half dozen switchbacks, we'd climbed up quite high, and we could see a long way down the coast. There was a roadside shack selling coffee, with a couple picnic tables, and a space to pull over and look out over the sea. There were two bikes there already, a V-Strom and a large scooter. Robert pulled in there. It turns out these two guys were here to meet our group, and somehow some wires got crossed, they were the ones Igor was waiting for at the bottom of the hill. We talked to them for a little while and eventually the rest of the group arrived.
Robert said he wanted to go back and look at that island we'd passed, and spend some time in the seaside town we were looking down at.
Igor tried to convince me to rejoin the main group, he said he was taking them somewhere great. It had started to rain again. I looked inland, and saw dark clouds. I looked towards the sea and saw blue sky. I thought of doing another 400 kilometers in the rain, never sure where we were going or why, and returning to the hotel sometime after dark. Certainly the roads would be nice and the sights interesting, and I'd be able to talk bollocks in English on the radio with S while we rode. But I was so tired of long days, and of the struggles inherent in riding with such a large group! I decided to stay with the splinter group. Robert led us back down the hill and into Budhva. As we rode down the hill, we rode out of the rain.
Robert wanted to find a bank machine and have another try at getting some cash out. Irene wanted to look for souvenirs. We found a place to park, locked the helmets to the bikes, and I stuffed my tankbag into my top case. We wandered down to the beach.
Irene and Trond almost immediately found some other Norwegian tourists, sitting at one of the beachfront cafes. While Robert and I were waiting for them to finish their chat, we ended up conversing with a Ukrainian guy who spoke very good American-accented English.
Budhva has an old city with a wall around it. There is a narrow walkway on the top of the wall, you can walk all the way around it, and look out through the arrow slits. There's a spot where the walkway widens to a sort of patio, and you can see in all directions, look out over the harbor. From the wall you can look down at the inside of the city, and into people's gardens. They look green and mysterious. One garden had lots of cats in it, including one that was sprawled out on the stone walk, luxuriating in the sunshine and the warm stone. Another garden was entirely paved and had a number of scooters in it. You couldn't get to any of these gardens from where we were, unless you had rappelling gear. Inside the city there were a lot of old buildings, and nice shops. It was fun to explore. Back outside the walled city, we decided to go back to the bikes, find a bank for Robert, then ride down the coast to the next town and seek lunch. I remembered seeing two banks near where we parked. Sure enough, Robert was able to get cash at one of them.
We rode down the coast to the next town. It was smaller. Robert led the way right into the center of it, and down a steep narrow cobblestone street with a hairpin turn halfway down. The street led right down to the beach, where it dead ended into some outdoor cafe tables. Irene and Trond turned around and went back up, but Robert and I parked down at the bottom, near where bicycles were locked to a rail. Irene and Trond found somewhere to park up above, and walked back down. We picked a cafe and had lunch.
After lunch, Trond wanted to wash the bikes. He'd already picked out a car wash to use. I think that's the happiest look I ever saw on Trond's face, on the whole trip, when he washed the bikes. Robert, on the other hand, was visibly distressed by seeing his bike washed and shined. :-) I must admit some discomfort with the activity, myself, since the guys running the car wash insisted on power washing the bike and I was worried about the bearings and the electrical connectors. But everything was fine afterward, we had no problems with the bikes, and they sure looked pretty, all clean and shiny.
We stopped at a scenic overlook and took pictures of the island with all the buildings on it. The name of the place was St Stephens, and apparently a lot of movie stars have houses out there. It was EU$5 to park close enough to walk in, and we didn't want to spend much time, so we decided not to go in.
We got through the crazy detour, and back to our hotel by mid-afternoon. Irene and Trond walked into Bar and sent their postcards. Robert wandered off as well. I spent some time alone in the room, washed my hair, re-washed some of the clothing that had started to smell due to being continuously wet for so long, repacked my luggage, etc. It was so nice to just catch up on some of that stuff!
The rest of the group pulled in sometime after dark. They'd had a great ride, lots of twisties, visited a monument where they climbed many steps, and had a fabulous meal. It hadn't rained on them very much at all after they left us. They almost made me jealous.
