Stanka 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 ...

... ruelles de la ville. Au dernier étage d'une charmante maison, la chambre est simple et confortable. En revanche nous partagerons la salle de bain avec l'hôte de la maison. Pour une nuit, nous acceptons et négocions le prix à 230 kunas (31€ environ)! La dame nous offre gentiment un verre de jus d'orange. Avant de partir découvrir les lieux, elle nous conseille d'aller du côté de la baie de Cikat.

A noter : les environs de Mali Losinj ...

... all so we caught the bus to Krk Town and found a sheltered spot to swim there. We then found a note in our guide book about a wind called The Bura, and you can tell its coming when white clouds form over the mountains, which they had. It can get so strong it can tip cars over! The next morning it was worse so we gave up and headed inland..... after getting the shock of our lives with the campsite bill... so expensive!!!!

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.

A short catamaran ferry ride and we landed in the town of Novalja on the nearby island of Pag but it is a world away from the quiet medieval Rab! Here the promenade was filled with tourist stalls one after the other; bars and restaurants blaring out their music, and all filled with people doing their best to consume the island's supply of alcohol. It is not surprising that Pag has earned the title "Ibiza ...

... many cafes around town.

At around 7pm the ferry arrived to take us off to our next island, Pag, which was really just going to be an overnight stop to get us to the bus to Split.

Rab is just two hours from Rijeka so, for people working in the city, an ideal island weekend hideaway. We saw one lady get off the ferry and climb onto her waiting boat right at the side of the ferry, definitely the right way to do this.

... 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!

... girls who were staying in a huge 6 man tent. They asked us to look after their 'home' for 2 days in between them leaving and their sister arriving. Inside was a giant fridge stocked with ham, cheese, salami, and wine, a huge inflatable double bed, some much needed cleaning products, and the whole tinned food isle from a local supermarket. They said we could use their 'facilities' and even gave us a bottle of wine. We ate like kings! The island of Pag was ...

... with a great view and amazing surround sound, I should praise God in the midst of our challenges. The next morning brought with it confusion. What were we going to do about our sleeping arrangements? We wanted to visit the park, that was why we came all the way out here, but we couldn't do that and head on to our next destination in the same day. We did not want to stay at the money sucking hotel and so we started praying. I called some hotels and found out they were ...