From Starigrad Palenika to Krk

We had planned to stay at Starigrad Palenika for a week, but after four days we were getting itchy feet so it was time to move on.

Starigrad Palenika is a lovely village and we had a great spot overlooking the Adriatic. At this time of year the sea tends to be overcast first thing, but the sun soon clears this away, and we saw some lovely sunsets.

Whilst we were here we celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary, and we went for a lovely meal at one of the few restaurants that are still open. We went out walking a few times, and yesterday I went out for a ride along the coast on my bike. Other than that we didn’t do much apart from chilling out by the van and reading.

While in Starigrad Palenika, it was announced that William and Kate’s third child will be due in April 2018. Carol reckons that the baby’s middle name will be Carol if a girl, otherwise Michael. You read it here first!

Hazy morning
Boats used by the locals for fishing
More boats
View from the van
Quite a few roads are named after Croatians killed in the Balkans conflict
Bike ride
Sunset

Today we moved on to Camping Krk on the island of Krk. We could have driven inland and up the motorway, but instead we chose to follow the coastal road along the Adriatic. It probably took twice as long, but we enjoyed the scenery as we drove along, and were pleasantly surprised by just how quiet the roads were.

Along the costal road
Along the costal road panorama
Moi

After about six hours (including a supermarket stop) we finally arrived in Krk. The site is about a quarter full, so there’s plenty of space (ACSI @ €19/night) but as we’re not paying full price we haven’t got a beachside pitch, though we do have a sea view.

Tonight’s sunset

We’re in a state of flux at the moment with regard to our planning. Under the terms of the warranty we must have a habitation check done on the van by a Knaus dealer between early January and March, and we’d planned to have this done in Southern Italy in early January before catching the ferry to Greece. Unfortunately for us, the dealer in Bari closes for December and January, so we’ll need to come up with a Plan B. I’m currently in dialogue with a dealer in Sofia (Bulgaria), and if they can service the van in March, then we’ll take the ferry over to Greece mid-December and drive around Greece until the end of February before crossing into Bulgaria.

We plan to stay in Krk for three days, during which time we hope to get the van booked in for its habitation check. We’ll then be able to firm up our plans and book the ferry to Greece. We’ll also be planning our route through Slovenia and Italy.

Mike