PEARLS OF THE ADRIATIC SEA
After leaving the bustling city traffic of Split, we continue along a beautiful coastal road. We leave the coastal road at Omis and visit the canyon of the Cetina River. In the 1960s, this sensational gorge served as the film set for Karl May's “The Prince of Oil”, a road sweeper in the popular Winnetou series. Be sure to make a detour to the viewing platform here. The winding mountain road takes us back to the coastal road, past Makaraska and to Drvenik. Here we wait for the ferry, which takes us to the island of Hvar in 20 minutes. If you are the first to get off the ferry, you will have little traffic ahead of you and after just a few kilometers you will realize why Hvar is one of the most beautiful islands in the world. This becomes clear at the latest at the viewpoint above the town of Hvar. What a sensational first day of driving with five great friends from Georgia, USA.
We start early that day to catch the ferry at 10:00 a.m. and that was a very good decision. Deserted streets give us a completely new and dreamlike perspective on the way back. The only oncoming traffic consisted of countless butterflies dancing in the sun. Up onto the ferry, which takes us back to the coastal road, where the traffic is of course a little heavier than on Hvar. Next (photo) stop is at the parking lot in front of the Pelješac Bridge. The bridge is a two-lane road bridge over a tongue of the Adriatic Sea in southern Croatia, which was opened on July 26, 2022 With the construction of the Pelješac Bridge, an inner-Croatian road connection was created between southern Dalmatia with Dubrovnik and the rest of the country. Shortly after crossing the bridge, we leave the coastal road in the direction of Ston. Ston was founded by the Romans, who worked the salt pans here. Construction of the fortifications began in the 14th century. Three forts were built, which were connected by walls. Over 40 towers were part of the approx. 5 km long wall, parts of which are still standing today. This meant that access to the Pelješac peninsula could be completely controlled. The entire complex was completed in 1506 and is considered the longest fortress wall in Europe. And again the motorcycles take us back to the coastal road and on to Dubrovnik. The beautiful city has become known to an international audience since the TV series “Game of Thrones”.
As we had already visited Dubrovnik the day before, we leave the “Game of Thrones city” and head to the top of the 412-metre-high Mount Srd, from where we have a fantastic view of the beautiful coastal city. What many tourists do by cable car, we do by motorcycle (please only with very good drivers), the rest is explained in the attached picture. We wind our way back down the single-lane road to the coastal road, which takes us to the border with Montenegro. As Montenegro is neither part of the EU nor the Schengen area, a little patience is required here and you realize this once you have crossed the border. In stark contrast to this is the marina in Porto Novi, where we have lunch. Sailing and motor yachts of almost every size bob in the harbor basin, great restaurants and bars line the harbor promenade. Freshly fortified, we continue our journey and, after an unspectacular journey, cross a strait by ferry that connects the Mediterranean with the Bay of Kotor Incidentally, not only we seem to like this route, but also Jeff Bezos. The Amazon founder's luxury sailing yacht has already been spotted in Split and is now back in the Bay of Kotor.
WHAT A (Rest-) DAY, WHAT A BUNCH OF GREAT GUYS It is a tour guide's paradise to be able to experience a day like this with a group of great drivers and people. A perfect day from start to finish. 25 hairpin bends take us up to the viewpoint over the Bay of Kotor. Then through the beautiful Lovcen National Park and down to Lake Shkodra. Goats, cows and turtles accompanied us part of the way. This day was marred somewhat, but really only slightly, by the long roadworks between Budva and Kotor. Another highlight followed in the evening. When a sleek motorboat docked near the hotel, Brandon asked the owner if he would take us to a great restaurant. No sooner said than done, we were treated to 2 great boat trips and a sensational dinner. Thanks guys!
Today we leave the Unesco World Heritage Site of Kotor and the country of Montenegro. We circle the Bay of Kotor and once again wind our way up the serpentines into the mountains, from where we have great views of the Bay of Kotor. Up here in the mountains we cross the border into Bosnia and Herzigovina. We pass through the town of Gecko and then head off along beautiful, lonely roads where we can really give our "horses" a good workout. Up here in the mountains, we cross the border into Bosnia and Herzegovina. We pass through the town of Gecko and then travel along beautiful, lonely roads where we can really put the spurs to our “horses”. And then it's back down to fascinating Mostar, one of the hottest cities in the whole of Europe. Our beautiful tour hotel is located in the middle of the fascinating old town, which we naturally explore straight away. We head for the famous bridge, which was unfortunately completely destroyed during the Bosnian War. Unfortunately, we couldn't admire any bridge jumpers today, but the oriental-looking city makes up for it.
We leave the impressive city of Mostar behind us and climb lonely mountain roads that lead us along the Bosnian-Croatian border. We reach Lake Busko, one of the largest reservoirs in Europe, and shortly afterwards cross the border into Croatia. We cross the Krka National Park, which we will visit again at the end of our trip. And shortly afterwards we arrive in the coastal region, which is lined with countless islands, crystal-clear water and beautiful beaches. Our hotel today is just a stone's throw from the beautiful old town of Zadar, which we explore after dinner.
Due to the heat, we decided not to do the whole tour suggested for the rest day, but we definitely wanted to see the birthplace of Nikola Tesla. It was very impressive to see where this extraordinary man was born. In the coastal region, the gale-force “bora wind” demanded our full attention on the outward and return journeys.
The heat, which is unusual for June, continues and so the decision is made to take the shorter route to Split. For the most part, this route leads along the still beautiful Croatian coast, where dreamy bays and beaches follow romantic fishing villages and romantic fishing villages follow dreamy bays and beaches. Again and again, the view wanders to one of the 1,246 islands, 47 of which are permanently inhabited. And it's not just the heat in the air, but also some melancholy, because today is our last day of driving and, as our 5 friends have an early flight, also our last hours together. Thank you for a sensational week with very special people.