The winds passed on in the middle of the night last night, and this morning it’s beautiful out again. We’re feeling really fortunate about how the weather is breaking - about a week ago it looked like we might get rained out for most of our few remaining days in Croatia.
Today’s ride deserves more attention than we’re giving it here, because it was really a special day. Very relaxed, beautiful cycling, culminating in a truly spectacular out and back on an dead end road biking down to the strait that separates the mainland from Pag - a candidate for the best miles of the entire tour. This part of the ride was worth a video all by itself, but the rest of the ride was memorable too. So, rather than saying more about it we give you the rare two video day.
Looking back at the walled city as we bike north along the waterfront. For the next four miles we’ll follow the shoreline north through the outskirts of Zadar, skirting small parks and marinas. Very pleasant, other than we’re biking the wrong way on a one way street much of the way. It’s better on the way back.
Descending to Nin, the town in the distance at the base of the hill. We’re following Eurovelo 8 (the Mediterranean Route) here, in one of the rare spots in Croatia where there’s a real bike lane that amounts to anything.
Just outside of Nin is Saint Nicholas church, dating from the 11th-12th century. It is the one of the few preserved examples of pre-Romanesque architecture in the country. The crenellated addition is much newer than the church itself, added as an observatory 500 years later. The little church sits atop a hummock that’s is an unexplored prehistoric barrow.
Nin occupies a small island, joined to the mainland on either side by small footbridges. The town itself is pedestrianized, very quiet and relaxing. With restaurants and a few apartments, it looks like it would make a fine spot for an overnight if we ever come through this way again.
Grgur Ninski, the tenth century Bishop of Nin, one of the most important figures in early Croatian history. We saw a replica of this statue in Varaždin. We’ll see the third and largest one when we reach Split next week. All have a golden great toe, polished from people rubbing it for luck.
Although by my untrained eye, it might also be the common wall lizard.
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/55990-Podarcis-muralis Reply to this comment 3 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Bill ShaneyfeltPresumably the common wall lizard, since there were so many of them around. I liked this shot particularly for the shadow cast by his foot. Reply to this comment 3 years ago
Video sound track: Sreća (happiness), by Filip Dizdar
From Nin we generally followed the coastline northeast, stopping for lunch on Ninski Zaljev, the Bay of Nin. Across the water is the southern end of Pag.
While we eat, we watch this lone figure sailing back and forth across the bay, the only figure on the water today other than the birds. Behind is the ridge behind Pag town, the one that we hiked across two days earlier.
