Coxaco Novalja

... of a slow start this morning after last night's punch party - not hungover, just because for once, we didn't have to be on the bus! Last night was great - inside out theme [which we thought was definitely a boy's idea] but was very disappointed in the commitment to the cause! I lost a bra [and yes i had a spare thank you!] to a vodka-soaked gummie bear attack and am hoping not to win my second ...

... old Pension/pub for a couple of nights.

Back to Czech for a couple of days to regroup and copious amounts of laundry! Road trip to Croatia was pretty long - took us around 10.5 hours..sure it seemed a lot longer for Jarrad who drove the entire way.

Well worth it though. We have decided to leave the main island and Island hop to the bottom of Croatia ...

Au matin, petit déjeuner sur le port. Les boissons oscillent entre 6 et 12 kunas, ce qui est fort acceptable pour notre budget. Nous prendrons d'ailleurs l'habitude de petit-déjeuner de cette façon, en craquant parfois pour une pâtisserie locale.

Après avoir traversé l'île de Cres en autocar, nous arrivons à Mali Losinj (prononcé "Lojigne").
Plus touristique que Cres, Mali Losinj était le 2e port de l'Adriatique au XIXe siècle c'est pourquoi ...

So we drive down to Croatia. We thought it would be a great idea to wear our bikins as we drive so we get tanned... brilliant plan... that was until we got to the border and thought, whoops. Luckliy there was a car in front and we quickly put clothes on. In my haste I put my dress on back to front and inside out.... The guy then asked if we had anything to declare and was in hysterics when we laughed and said only 3 beers ...

Great little place to relax, with plenty of beaches (topless, nude or otherwise), hiking, boating and more. Heavily touristed by northern Europeans, with lots and lots of skin on the beaches and boats, and a very interesting medieval town made for wandering tourists.

... Croatia".

We found another room with a view, watched the sunset over the harbour and then went to our room. It was quite a hilarious room with two single beds secured to the wall head to toe. Definitely a town to pass through.

The receptionist was a lovely lady who directed us to her favourite restaurant away from the crowds, with a really pleasant atmosphere and a meal to redeem the island.

What a wonderful way to spend a day on an island. We walked for miles along and in the water, stopping often to admire the view and marvel at the colour of the water; found a local man to talk to about his little bit of paradise and a local ice cream parlour with thatched coverings and amazing views to enjoy our ice cream just out of the midday sun; the local park for a lunch picnic; and later an obligatory espresso at one of ...

... of Sveti Grgur, an island which had been a women’s prison. A bit of a theme to this tour? We chatted with someone from a liveaboard ship that was also touring the area and discovered how lucky we were with the weather as the last weeks had been awful. Long may this sunshine continue!

That evening, after supper, we got an ice cream cone to wander around eating and, to Annie’s delight, there was a delicious Granadilla ice cream for her to enjoy!

once again we opted for private accommodation which proved to be the cheapest option in Croatia, but this time we had a whole apartment to ourselves! The apartment was so nice and in a great location, with a bedroom, bathroom, lounge, kitchen and an outdoor patio. First of all we headed straight for a supermarket and cooked a nice healthy meal for the first time in weeks! The main attraction in Novalja, and the reason we went, was Zrce beach, a well-known party beach with huge ...

... they comfort me. " Somehow we made it to the hotel and smiled joyfully as we talked to the receptionist. She not so cheerfully informed us that they did not have a reservation for us and the hotel was full. We asked her to please call around and see if she could find our reservation. She directed us to another hotel a dark turn and 300 meters away. So off we went into the darkness, thanking God that we had packed a flashlight and His Word in our hearts. The next ...