A whirlwind day - we had coffee at the meeting hotel at 8am and watched our new fellow bike tour friends gather for our 9:30 am departure from Split to Skradin. We would have loved another day or two in Split, and that is always a good sign!
One of Peter's watercolor studies of old Split.
Our guide Silvija gathered us up and we took a motor coach ride north to the tour start in Skradin, a very sweet little town that sits at the gateway to Krka National Park. After getting rooms and luggage squared away, we we off to the harbor and a boat that takes you to the entrance of the park, a short and picturesque trip. The highlight of Krka NP is that there are over 17 waterfalls that you can view from walking trails and overlooks that encircle the park. The weather is perfect - warm sun and cool breezes - and we spent a few hours exploring the park and having lunch.
Upon our return we changed into our bike clothes and went to the bike fit - and I must say I am TOTALLY STOKED that Experience Plus has absolutely brand-new titanium bikes with awesome gearing and rapid-fire thumb shifters just like ours at home. They are feather-light and absolutely gorgeous - it was hard to limit myself to the 8k shake-down ride!
At 6 pm we had a welcome meeting with drinks and appetizers on the hotel patio. We met our guides, had our orientation talk and all introduced ourselves. It is a great group of 18 and we are already entirely enjoying each other! Dinner was at a local restaurant a short walk from the hotel - we enjoyed mussels, veal risotto and grilled tuna with more delicious vanilla cake for dessert. The conversation was very spirited and we are primed for a great touring day tomorrow...if we can get enough rest, as it is already approaching midnight - yikes!
Tuna on the grill...very rustic charcoal hearth inside the restaurant!
No comments:
Post a Comment