12 May – Island Hopping – Pag to Rab

12 May – Island Hopping – Pag to Rab

We were a little worried about the logistics of our day today when we set off as we had two ferry rides scheduled, but it all worked out remarkably smoothly in the end.

To travel from the island of Pag to Rab, we had to first take a ferry from Zigljen to Prizna on the mainland, travel around 15km along the main coastal road, and then catch another ferry from Stinica to the island of Rab.

We set off before 7am, to ride the 10km from our accommodation to the ferry terminal. We started off with some steady inclines to wake us up. We rode alongside stone walled kraals and spied a few sheep in them. There is not much for the sheep to eat on this rocky ground, they must be a hardy breed. We had a wonderful downhill run to the ferry – with white granite cliffs on one side and the sea on the other. Even better – we made it onto the 7.30am ferry! Off to a good start.
Each ferry was quite cheap – equivalent to around NZ$12 for the two of us and our bicycles – it only took about half an hour to get to the other side.

We had a quick coffee at a roadside stall on the other side and then tackled the steep climb up to the main route E65.

ferry leaving again – view from up on hill

Kris has been calling this the “road of death” as all the coastal traffic has to go on it and there are no alternative small roads for bicycles. We were pleasantly surprised by the low traffic on the road – we were most likely lucky with our timing.

It was beautiful riding along this road and seeing the sea and the islands on the other side. We stopped a few times at viewpoints. There were some steady uphill climbs again, luckily with the wind at our back, and then a good downhills.

The turnoff to Stinica took us down a steep switchbacking road back to the coast. As we pulled up the 9.30am ferry was almost all loaded and ready to leave, amazingly we caught it – Kris was the last person on the ferry after buying our tickets. This ferry was a little bigger than the first one with a few more cars and a bus on board.

Once on Rab our pace slowed, as we now had the whole day to cycle the length of the island to our accommodation on the other side.


We stopped at a supermarket for some warm fresh pastry (flaky pastry filled with cheese), a belated breakfast.
When we got to the town of Rab, we spent some time circling around it. There is a yacht harbor and an old town. These old coastal towns all look a bit similar. We ate and ice cream in the old town.

Our route out of Rab was incredibly steep and Jenny’s calves were burning from pushing the bicycle up the steep hill.

Our first impression of Rab is that it was just as rocky and desolate as Pag, however it began to get a little greener towards the north western side. We rode along the coast most of the way, with the wind to our backs, it was a lovely ride.

We are staying overnight at Lopar, to the north of the island. The next ferry leaves from here to Krk. Unfortunately because it is still out of season, there are only two a day and the morning one leaves at 6am, and we were hoping we don’t miss it.

We bought some food and wine from the supermarket, had a coffee, and then rode around to look at the Lopar beach. It is pretty desolate at this time of year as all the tourist kiosks, and many restaurants and bars are still closed up.

We got to our accommodation, right by the ferry terminal, early at around 2pm. Luckily the owner was here and let us in. We have a huge apartment, with views overlooking the harbour and the ferry. We enjoyed sitting in the sun drinking wine on our big balcony and then had a sleep.

view of ferry coming in from balcony

 

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