Croatia - Jezera, Murter

This September I took a Basic course in sailing. The Sailing school, ANA (Adriatical nautical academy) is stationed in Jezera on Murter island, Croatia.

Course lasts for 5 days and 4 of us taking the course were lucky enough to have all weather conditions that we could have in adriatic aquatorium (well, beside storm, very high waves and showers) - on the first day we had the wind maestral with ghusts of wind bura that were blowing around 25 knots. Next three days, in the morning it was almost without any wind and afterwards there was just enough of wind to sail normally. Last day we had the wind jugo, which also means a bit bigger waves.

On the 3rd day we were even lucky enough to see a pair of dolphins passing just few meters away from the sailboat.

We learned a lot during this 5 days, and it was easily seen because on the first day we knew nothing, everything was new - expressions, the knots, procedures before, during and after sailing, ... we just didn't know what to do. On the last day we prepared everything by ourselves without any help from the instructor, and successfully managed to do a 360 degrees turn around the island.

Still a lot to learn to be able to say we know how to sail, but knowing so much more than before the course. We all got diplomas and a booklet with confirmation that we sailed 100 nautical miles.

And now some pics...

Jezera

is the sea tilted?

1st reef main sail

butterfly sails

Murter

Croatia - day 4 - Lošinj island

Last day. Short trip to island Lošinj (in the past it was part of Cres, but then the passage was made and the bridge between was built). After lunch we went back to Cres, to north, on the ferry line Porozina-Brestova, and then home.

Veli Lošinj

Veli Lošinj

Veli Lošinj

Mali Lošinj

Istra

Croatia - day 3 - Cres island

Cres island

After 2 days on Rab it is time to visit the biggest island in Croatia - Cres. To go there from Rab we had to get a ferry to Krk and then to Cres (lines Lopar-Valbiska and Valbiska-Merag, around 30€ altogether for 2 persons with motorbike). On one of it we saw large longhorn beetle.

why fly if you can get from place A to place B for free :)

waiting for a ferry

Cres

Cres

Cres

Cres

Cres

On Cres it is very hot. It is like in a pit where there is no wind. But there lies one of the most famous beaches in Croatia - beneath a place called Lubenice (translated - watermellon). You can get there by foot from Lubenice (around 40 minutes of walking in one direction) or by sea, so it shouldn't be crowded.

Lubenice

Lubenice

beach beneath Lubenice

Cres is one of not so many islands that has its own source of drinking water, thanks to the lake called Vransko jezero. The lake's water is so clean that it supplies water without any filtering.

Vransko jezero

view from Cres island

In the afternoon we arrived to southernmost part, Punta Križa, where we piched the tent in a (overpriced) camp. I saw a caterpillar and after few hours found out that there are hoards of them in a camp.

beach in a Punta Križa camp

caterpillar

Croatia - day 2 - Rab, Rab island

After a good night sleep we woke up with some sand in the tent - the whole camp lies on a sand which is bad for our airy tent when there is wind. But it wasn't so terrible so we decided to leave it like it is until we come back in the evening.

Today we went to see the town Rab (which has the same name as the island). It is not far away from Lopar. Rab is really beautiful, with old stone houses, narrow streets (that seem like they could be slippery when wet), some viewpoints with a great view on the city and coast, great restaurants and bars.

from a viewpoint

from a viewpoint

panoramic view

stone houses

lunch time

Rab also has a forrest park and we saw many agavas in bloom. Since agavas flower only once and then die, this is not such a common sight.

forrest park

forrest park

agava in bloom

The sea is obviously very clean because all around there were sea urchins. Unfortunately, some of them couldn't be seen :)

sea urchin

Croatia - day 1 - Lopar, Rab island

Since we came back from the Netherlands few days before planned, why not go to the sea? So after 2 days of rest we took the motorcycle and camping gear and went to another trip - Adriatic sea.

We drove on the "old road" - that is what we, natives, call the road from Karlovac to the sea; it was the only road from the middle part of Croatia to the sea before highway was built. It is a much nicer trip to the sea because of the nature and local delicacies.

Storks

Jezero Bajer (Bajer lake)

Jezero Bajer (Bajer lake)

It passes some places you can not see from the highway. For instance, Lokvarsko jezero (former Omladinsko jezero) near Lokve, artificial lake made in 1955 that also holds the record for the largest caught river trout in the world, weighting 25.40 kilograms.

Lokvarsko jezero

Lokvarsko jezero

In the afternoon we arrived to the south of Rab island (with ferry line Stinica-Rab), and then drove to the north to a place called Lopar. It is a tourist place with a huge camp that won the "Best camp in Croatia in 2017" award. We will be staying here for 2 nights.

this is how you park on Croatian ferries (hint: look at the last car and the gates that are not fully closed)

view from the road close to Lopar

Lopar

beach in the camp