Day 2

Started the day early. As I was heading west the sun was on my back and throwing long shadows. The morning was reasonably cool. The first part of the ride was gently rolling but the Croatian mountain soon reintroduced themselves. The characteristic of the mountains in this part of Croatia is  of deeply cut valleys with ridges at about 600 to 800 m. This makes for a very hard work as all the climbing efforts is, all too swiftly, wasted in the descents. This is testing,especially as the heat grew to around 38°. Obtaining, and drinking, enough  fluid is a problem. This is especially true in these mountain areas where the population is thin and the occasional village you do find seems deserted. There are no roadside bars,  normally a great place to refill bottles, cool, and take a breath. The hills are pretty and are very green despite there being no obvious sign of water. The road verges have many wildflowers -cornflowers, golden rod etc. The beauty is only really appreciated the top of hills and on the very swift, depressing,and short downhill plunges into the valleys. On the climbs up all you see is the small piece of tarmac two feet in front of your front tire as you grit your teeth and grind away. The main local occupation seems to be associated with forestry with many lumber trucks coming past.   Hunting may be an occupation. I got this view from the lunch menu when I eventually found a very nice restaurant. The main courses were pretty much entirely  utilisations of bear, deer and wild boar meats! I had mushroom soup and a salad! The afternoon saw more ridges and valleys and it became obvious I was going to be late at my destination, the Wilhelm family holiday home on the island if Krk, where Joe, Eva and Lana were staying. The cycling was brutal but I eventually crossed a final ridge and saw the sea (Hallelujah). Still about 25 miles to go but eventually, and gratefully, arrived well after dark. Too drained to do justice to dinner. Shower, G&T, sugary tea and bed! What a day!

Some pictures below