Peljesac Peninsula
Wednesday 11th – Sunday 15th October
So, our overnight stop at Zaostrog was comfortable but today we must make for the ferry from Ploce across to Trpanj on the Peljesac peninsula. Now as you may be aware by now, we are not that good at getting going early and we thought that the 11am ferry would be too tight for us, so we opted to try for the 14:15. It is a straight-forward drive down to Ploce from Zaostrog and we got there in plenty of time. In fact the ferry terminal was deserted when we arrived, the markings on the road and quayside we almost non-existent and so it was difficult to know where exactly to go.
I parked the motorhome in no-mans land whilst Ruth went in search of the Jadrolinija office to buy our ticket. There had been a little discussion at the ticket office because Ruth had told them our motorhome was 7m. That presented some difficulty because they have pricing for under 7m and over 7m – so 6.99m it was and the 274Kn fee was duly paid. I started to move the motorhome up to where I thought we might have to queue and we waited. A short time later a couple of men came over and told me to move, not only was I in the wrong lane (there are lanes?) but I was too far forward (those invisible stop lines are so difficult to judge). So, we moved as instructed and waited. We knew it would be some time so I stayed with the dogs whilst Ruth went in search of some provisions for lunch. Some time later a few other vehicles started to arrive and presumably used our vehicle as a guide of where to queue. Of course when the ‘queue manager’ came I had to move forward because I was not quite in the right place whilst other vehicles had to swap ‘lanes’. It all seemed a bit bizarre to me because when we finally loaded onto the ferry both lanes went on at the same time.
We saw our ferry come in some time before our expected sailing and unload the vehicles that had come from Trpanj. It was no problem waiting for the ferry because the quay at Ploce is so pleasant. A swedish gentleman came over to talk me and introduced himself as working for the leading camping magazine in Sweden. He was travelling in a car but asked me about the logistics of taking a motorhome across on the ferry. He obviously knew the Peljesac peninsular because he imparted various tips of where to go and places to see. Some of those we had already penciled in but it’s useful to have independent verification that your plans are along the right lines. He did suggest that we try the oysters at Ston but they have never really appealed that much to me so me might leave that one off the list.
We had good weather for the ferry crossing, it was a beautiful day and the view as we crossed was magnificent. It’s about an hour crossing but on a nice day the time soon flies. You have to leave your vehicles during the crossing and dogs have to stay in outside areas on the ferry. OK on a nice day, but I can imagine during cold and rough weather we might have had a difficult time. We did notice that some did not take heed of the signs to vacate vehicles and we didn’t see anyone challenged so I guess that might always be an option in poor weather.
We were front of the queue on the quay, first to load, and would be first off. I could just imagine the joy of the car and van drivers who loaded behind us. At Trpanj there is nowhere to pull over and check your bearings once you disembark, you are straight off the ferry in the town centre and on your way out of town, and over the hills either towards Oribic or Ston. We were heading to somewhere just the other side of Oribic, but somewhere as yet we hadn’t quite decided. Once over the hills from Trpanj we began our descent down the other side towards Oribic. The views are breathtaking. We just cannot get over how the views in Croatia just keep coming, you think you’ve seen it all and then round the next corner, wow, another fantastic view.
We passed through Oribic, still uncertain of where we would stay. We had identified a couple of options but it came down to arbitrary decision as we were driving along that we would head for Loviste and a site called Camp Lupis. We followed the coast road along out of Oribic and through a couple of other small settlements and then began a steep climb up an over another set of hills. Wow again, another fantastic view this time looking back and down at where we had been a few minutes earlier. Around the corner at the top and starting our descent back down again and towards Loviste and yes, you guessed it, wow. In terms of views coastal Croatia just keeps on giving.
Loviste is about as far north as you can go on the peninsular. There is no through traffic because everyone that has come here has come to Loviste. This as we were to find out made it a really quite and peaceful place to be. As we approach Loviste the satnav wanted us to take a right turn down a rather makeshift road which appeared to double back on itself. We didn’t take it, opting instead for the wider and much more suitable road ahead. It transpires that this makeshift double-back road is a sort of by-pass and avoids you having to negotiate all of the parked cars along the sea front village centre. Well it was too late for us but both roads ended up in the same place and we were fine.
The final approach road to Camp Lupis is single track at best and when we got to the site there seemed no way I was going to get the motorhome in the entrance, let alone up to the pitches. Ruth had gone to find the owner and investigate whilst I waited blocking the road. Of course whilst waiting a car came up behind me so I had to move. A three point turn, reversing onto the beach and then into the first part of the entrance was enough to let the car past. Ruth returned with the owner who explained that he had another entrance a little further up the road and he would guide me to it.
The owners were extremely nice and helpful in every way. They helped us get the motorhome onto a lovely pitch (in fact it was two but it didn’t seem to be a problem in low season) and then explained everything about the site and the village, what was open, what was closed, and where to walk.
One of the things that impressed us at Loviste was the night sky. There is very little light pollution at Loviste and the clear sky presented a fantastic starry night. I’ve been trying to get into a bit of photography of late and I’ve always been amazed at some of the photos I’ve seen of the night sky and in particular the Milky Way. What better thing to do than to use this fantastic sky and see what I could do with my limited camera equipment. Well I have to tell you that I was amazed, and to be honest probably fairly lucky to capture the photo that I did.
I didn’t really know what I was doing but that is the beauty of digital photography, it doesn’t really matter, if you take a series of shots and they don’t turn out it hasn’t cost you anything, OK, a bit of time, but hopefully it will have been a learning experience and well worth the time spent. My shot isn’t perfect by any means, but I have learnt from it, and it has inspired me to take similar shots when I have the opportunity.
On the Thursday, our first full day at Loviste, we did a bit of a recce of the area, having a walk around the bay, seeing what shops there were, restaurants, walking opportunities, and of course where we might be able to take Lily for a swim. Most of the beaches around the bay seemed to be signed as not dog friendly but when we asked the campsite owner he just indicated that it was low season and it wouldn’t be a problem – and indeed it wasn’t.
The owners had kindly identified some walking opportunities and we checked these out a little more just by having a wander to see where the paths were and what they looked like.
On the Friday we decided to walk over to Rasoha Bay which is on the mainland side of the peninsula. It wasn’t a difficult walk although the first part was quite stony whilst the latter bit was a little narrow and damp.
It is a beautiful little bay with one small boat moored and not a lot else. Unless of course you count the huge pile of flotsam and jetsam that seems to have been washed up at the end of the bay. As with everywhere we have found in Croatia the sea is so crystal clear. Lily of course was in here element and had a good play and swim.
That evening we had decided to try out one of the Konoba’s for an evening meal. We had spotted one of the other couples from the campsite eating at Konoba Mirce two nights running which we thought sounded like a reasonable recommendation. We had also seen them making their way there for a third night and so we decided to give it a try, and we weren’t to be disappointed.
It wasn’t busy, us, the regulars our neighbours, and another couple from the site. The place is only small so another few couples and it would have been full. We both ordered Sea Bass but the waitress returned to say they only one left, so I had the Gilt Head Bream which afterwards we both decided was the better fish. Ruth had ordered a Dalmatian style side dish after a little encouragement from the waitress. This turned out to be boiled chard, garlic and potato, a sort of boiled version of bubble and squeak. We again were in unanimous agreement that ordering this was a mistake, however you have to try these things at least once.
The next day (Saturday), I was a little sluggish getting going so Ruth took the dogs for early morning walk along the track that runs to the rear of the campsite. Part way along she had discovered that there was an apiary right next to the track a few hundred metres along from the campsite. Being a beekeeper this was of course very interesting so later in the day we walked the same way so that Ruth could show me.
I have to admit that I was taken aback. In the UK, beekeepers are used to keeping their bees away from public places, for two reasons really. The first is safety, not all bees are placid creatures, although they are defensive in nature so are only normally a problem if they feel threatened. Secondly, in the UK, hives are frequently vandalised and sometimes stolen so there is a tendency to keep them out of site and reach of the public. Not in Loviste however, an apiary of about seventy hives, right next to a public track, and even with a sign that must surely encourage the inquisitive to have a look. I wouldn’t recommend that anyone approaches a bee hive without protect clothing, that’s the way we are in the UK, but being experienced and assessing the situation I couldn’t resist having a closer look. The bees seemed so calm and gentle, not bothered by my intrusion (I wish that my bees were as calm as these Croatian ladies) – it does help though knowing how be behave around bees and hives so don’t try this one at home folks! I was respectful of being in someones else’s apiary and wouldn’t have done anything to disturb them, but curiosity satisfied we continued our walk around the tracks and bay.
It was a glorious day and we were hoping for another nice sunset tonight. We weren’t disappointed. The sunsets we have seen during this trip have been truly spectacular and honestly like no other sunset I have seen. What a fabulous way to end the day.
We had only intended to stay at Loviste for a couple of nights but to be honest, we loved this place, in fact I could have stayed there I think. We have however plans to visit and see a lot more of Croatia so we decided that we would stay on for the Sunday and then move on the following morning.
Sunday seemed like any other day in Loviste, lovely, sunny, warm, beautiful, peaceful, relaxing, and oh yes Lily wants to play ball in the sea! We spent the day chilling, having another walk around the bay, and making sure that Lily could get her last swim in. We also did some boring but necessary stuff like laundry.
Monday the 16th October and it’s time to pack up and ready for the off. It was quite a sad feeling really because we really could have stayed here much longer. The area is great, the campsite is great, the campsite owners are lovely and helpful, and to be honest, our fellow campers were all very nice too.
We were the only Brits on the site and couldn’t really strike up a meaningful conversation with anyone but you do get a feel for how people are. We ‘spoke’ with one of the couples on the site just before we left and asked how much longer they were going stay. They looked as though they had already been here for some time and when asked they said that they would stay as long the weather held out, when it changed, they would go home. We do feel that on another trip to Croatia we would certainly drop in here and probably stay and chill for a little longer.
So, all packed up, ready to hit the road, and we find that Vincent feels exactly the same as us. He likes the place and does not want to go – Vincent is staying by the look of things. Of course he couldn’t, we had places to go, and he would get to like other places too. Eventually, a bit of coaxing and persuasion did the trick and we left Loviste.
