Sunday, June 2, 2013

Days 83-84 (May 28 - 29, 2013): Bol, Croatia


The Quick Facts:

* Made the ~1 hour catamaran journey from Split to Bol (on the far side of the island of Brac) which is another city set on the banks of the sea with a wonderful mountain backdrop
* Hiked up the 778m mountain of Vidova Gore for some amazing views of the city and surrounding country
* Rented bikes from Big Blue Sports to ride along the coastline (they are located right by the famous Zlatini Rat (“Finger”) beach in Bol, and we highly recommend  them – the bikes are new every season, are well maintained, and come with top-of-the-line gear systems and shocks; the terrain can get rough along the coastline so it’s important to have good equipment)
* Stayed at Villa Giardino, a wonderful B&B set at the top of the hill very close to the main part of town – the breakfast they serve is delicious, the rooms are fabulous, and the staff is so incredibly nice.  Stay here if you’re ever in the area!

The Good:

* Bol is just an absolutely charming beach town with stunning mountains in the background; we were lucky enough to be there before the busy season, which meant the water was still a little cold but also meant it wasn’t as crowded as the town apparently gets in the summer months
* Our hotel was particularly remarkable (keeping in mind we’ve spent the past ~3 months living in hotels)
* Everything really, we loved it so much we decided to stay an extra day!

 
The Bad:

* Nothing, although I’m sure it’s different experience when it’s at its busiest in the peak summer months


As mentioned in my last post, our trip to Bol began the day before on a catamaran from Split.

 
 
This was the view from our hotel room when we arrived...



The purpose of going to Bol was to celebrate Carrie’s birthday.  Here she is, freshly woken up with a birthday doughnut:

 
After breakfast we set out to hike Vidova Gore, which takes you 778m up into the mountains.



The path is well-marked with signs starring the Dad from Family Circus and a woman wearing 80s-style "Mom jeans"…



And even chaperoned by some goats!

 

Here is the scene about halfway up.  The beach that juts out there is the Zlatini Rat (“finger”) beach

 

Here is Carrie on the trail…



…eventually getting to just one more obstacle before reaching the top.

 


And we made it!  Note the finger beach from all the way on the top...



 

In the afternoon we set out on some bikes to ride along the coast, but it sort of got rained out.  We did make it to the famous Zlatini Rat beach where Carrie showed off her abdominal muscles.


Whoo, tired!

 

With a forecast of perfect weather and our love for the town and hotel, we decided to stay another day in Bol, which allowed for us to go on another bike ride along the coastline.






 
After all that riding, we stopped for a beer at a place that looks out onto the water.

 
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