Thursday, September 7, 2023
As promised, a 5:15 AM wake-up. The tent withstood the spiky plants, and there was no sign of the dormouse. We packed up the tent, loaded the bikes, and warmed up to get our slightly sore and stiff muscles and joints moving. After just a few hundred meters on the road, we were greeted by a pink-orange sunrise over the valley and neighboring hills. It began with just a few rays peeking out from behind the hill and within a few minutes, turned into a big sun over the hills, signaling that it would be a hot day.
The next village on our route was Vrh, which, as the name in Croatian language suggests, stands on top of a hill and is also part of the Camino Krk path. It has a stamp for this route, which we happily added to our notebook. Who doesn’t love stamps?
The village of Vrh is the highest point of the day, as from there it’s a descent to the ferry in Valbiska. Along the way, we picked three figs to taste at first, and later on, a full cup of them.
We arrived in Valbiska by chance 15 minutes before the ferry departure, bought tickets for ourselves and the bikes (€5.97 per person + €5.97 for one bike), and soon we were on board, bikes secured against the wall, and us at the bow of the ferry, hungry and ready for the hour and 20-minute sail.
We made good use of the time by having breakfast, which clearly included fresh figs, taking some pictures, and enjoying the strong wind.
We disembarked in Lopar, where we were soon joined by Primož’s parents and their little dog. That night we slept in a campsite, under the stars.