Everywhere Virtually

Not being an early bird I was woken up by Walter around 6 who was used to rising at 5am. It was already light outside and the ship would soon dock in Split. We had breakfast with a very international bunch of passengers. All of us equally bleary eyed and staring into the middle distance. We had just enough time to get up on deck to film some footage and take some photos.

There were high expectations of a great ride down the stunning Dalmatian coast but the weather was not on our side. A light mist turned into drizzle which ultimately turned into a persistent rain as we cleared customs and fuelled up in Split. For the next hour we would see nothing of the Beautiful coastline and legendary islands of the Adriatic. There was hope on the horizon as we could see breaks in the cloud and glimpses of blue sky.

by the time we reached the tiny strip of Bosnia that intersects the coast road we were bathed in hot sunshine and the cool morning temperatures of 12c had shot up to 27c. Our stops were frequent as we rounded a new bend to be then presented with a stunning vista of the mountain, coast and villages nestled somewhere in between. It was one of those “wow” moments. In a way I am glad it rained because it gave me a better appreciation of the many moods of this coastline.

We had a light lunch in Dubrovnik just outside the old town but didn’t do the tourist trail. That is for another time, not in 30c degree heat in full biker gear.

Post lunch we got a move on for two reasons. We were hot and we were set to meet Marcin Safranow from Motosyberia. He was riding his KTM from Gdansk to Bar in one hit. We had some way to go and had yet to organise accommodation. I was keen to camp but Walter was not. I was on a very lean budget so ever hotel stay literally shortened my route because it mean’t I had less money for fuel. So there was some tension there and because we were travelling so early in the season there was not much scope for camping anyway so I was faced with the reality that in all likelihood I would not get to see the Ukraine on this trip.

In the end we rolled into Bar which is a big draw for Russian tourists wanting to holiday on the Adriatic. We stopped at the first hotel we found that was as close to the beach, eateries and the action as possible. It was to be the Hotel Kangaroo. A very un-balkan name but more than suitable for 3 weary bikers. Marcin turned up around 9pm and we discussed the wonders of how he got there considering his radiator hose had detached from the radiator and his head gasket was leaking oil.

After a few beers and some delicious dinner in the form of steaks we were ready to crash. It had been a long hot day and we had a big day tomorrow.