Week 35: Ths wks blg frm Krk!
- May 2, 2022
- 6 min read
Our stops this week:
3 nights at Aminess Atea Camping (Island of Krk)
4 nights at Krk Premium Campsite (Island of Krk)
With more that 1200 islands and islets in Croatia, we headed to our first island. It is the largest Croatian island and is accessible by bridge. On route from our previous destination of Medulin, we stopped in a few places on the outskirts of the city of Rijeka. By far this was the biggest place we have seen so far in Croatia and we made the most of being able to access some specific shops. The amount of walking shoes we have been through between us since September, has been surprising and I’m getting close to desperately needing another pair, my third, as the side of my trainers disintegrate! We have found a few Decathlon shops, including one in Rijeka but unfortunately, they have not had the Merrell shoe I’ve wanted in ‘flipper’ size. I often wear men’s trainers but for some reason the only ones were more of a boot-so the hunt keeps going… Steve also found IKEA, which he wanted to look in. Hilarious as to get him in an IKEA in the UK normally involves some type of bribe: meatballs, dime bar cake etc.
We then hit our first Croatian traffic jam (not bad after being here 3 weeks), trying to get across the bridge to Krk. One lane had been closed for road works. It’s very disconcerting to be sat in one lane on a high bridge, with water underneath, with a workman in the closed lane next to you, using a pneumatic drill on the road…after about 20 minutes we made it across. The island seemed quite different to anything we had seen so far in Croatia, with it seeming very rocky and looking a little like the Isle of Skye.
Heading to Krk island and views from the bridge.
We headed to the first campsite and our first issue was sorted. How do you pronounce the name of this island-there are no vowels! It’s Krk like kirk, Captain Kirk. The campsite was quiet with lots and lots of empty pitches, perfect! In most campsites over here, you go to reception and ‘book in’, you then get given a map and you are asked to go into the campsite to find your preferred pitch. Even better, this campsite lets you drive in to find a pitch…at the previous site we ‘clocked’ 5500 steps walking from reception to what we thought was the end of the campsite-but found out after there was even more! They also ask you to identify a few pitches, as by the time you get back to reception one of the chosen pitches may have been booked by someone else ahead of you in the process, honestly, we see some people treating this process like they are on the TV program ‘Race Across the World’. At one campsite we had completed these first two steps and was driving to the pitch, which was now booked, to find two other people stood on the pitch, I think to claim it (please imagine or compare this to scenes from the film ‘Far and Away’, when the two main characters claim their piece of land in America, by racing horses before planting their victory flag in the floor). Honestly, when we indicated we had just booked this pitch, the female had the equivalent of a toddler strop and was dragged away by the male member of the pairing, they looked similar age to us. Anyway, I think you get the idea that for some this process is a big issue. I think we’re less specific, at the back or where it is quieter, flat or flat ‘ish’. If possible, I prefer a pitch which has some boundary: some trees, bushes or wall. This is for a bit of privacy…and because we have found that unless there is a boundary some people walk across your pitch. One woman even lifted our washing line up to walk underneath!!
Atea camping was really relaxing, pretty, immaculately clean, and quiet. The sea was a short walk from our pitch and there was a small town nearby. Whilst here we completed some chores-we are often asked what we do each day-there are always normal day to day jobs to do, you can’t escape them, even in Croatia. These included clothes washing and given Gordon a good wash. We are still finding sand in little nooks on Gordon, from the Spanish sandstorm and used the opportunity of having a water tap on the pitch to rub some of the dead flies off his nose and even Karcher the windows. Hilariously, we were told the wash block with the tumble dryers in are closed until the Summer, but in the wash block that is open we could use the washing machines…because the clothes would be less likely to dry in the Summer?? In fact, I have extra chores whilst travelling, as I am Steve and Bear’s hairdresser. Both also had a haircut. We also walked and cycled each day to explore the area.
The little town near Atea campsite, the window cleaner and some seats in the town.
An evening drink at the campsite bar
We then headed to Krk Premium Campsite, which was only about 30 minutes away but would mean we could explore some different parts of the island. This was a 5* campsite. Most of the campsites seem to be 4*, we are not sure what made this 5* but it was very nice. As it was a bank holiday, we decided to stay until the Monday as we had a nice, secluded pitch and the campsite seemed quite quiet, we didn’t want a repeat of the Easter weekend. We had brilliant weather over the weekend, with it being about 20 degrees most days. We visited the town of Krk, which is a very old walled town, having been inhabited since the Illyrian period. We walked Bear through some of the pine forests and found some great walking paths. There was a dog beach on the site and Bear used the opportunity to cool off when it was hotter in the afternoons. We even bumped into another English couple, a bit of a treat. The first English people we have spoken to since being in Croatia, apart from each other. They said this was the same for them. We chatted at the dog beach, but their dog was obviously a lot different to Bear as she swam around or sat down whilst we chatted. Bear squeaked and tried chewing his lead, as he stared at a paddle boarder. I’m not sure if he wanted to be on the paddle board or just wanted it to move-he is such a demanding dog.
The ramp that was also the scene of the octopus murder!!!
It was also very ‘different’ to see a young ‘ish’ boy (12-14 years old) enter the water, wearing snorkel, mask and flippers and carrying a harpoon. ‘Steve, Steve, Steve…he is a child and has a harpoon, watch out.’ I was trying not to shout this too loudly, but I was by the rocks and Steve was in the water with Bear. Is it just me, but this felt quite a precarious situation, with toddlers, dogs and adults by the water and a boy with a harpoon? Steve hadn’t heard and turned to look at me saying ‘what?’. ‘Harpoon, harpoon…the boy has a harpoon!’. Well, I think this helped implement some safety measures, as people looked up, I think more to work out what I was going on about. About 5 minutes later the boy came back to the surface of the water, holding the harpoon above the water, with a large octopus impaled on the end…his dad and brother, who had appeared, were very happy and whooped and clapped. The boy then carried it over to the ramp (for people to get in and out of the water) threw it down onto the floor, took a knife from his ankle boot and cut the octopus open. Well part of travelling is to have different experiences…I wasn’t expecting or wanting to have this one though.
Although, we have both enjoyed Croatia, we agreed over the weekend that we had started to now feel very comfortable and relaxed here. It takes a while to get used to and understand roads, driving, customs, shops, processes, and cultures when travelling-it is a different feeling to being on holiday. Plus, the bank holiday traffic getting off the island, with road works still in place, was a nightmare. It took 2 hours to do about 20 kms…not that different to being stuck on the M25, on a bank holiday weekend after all!
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