Photo 1 - Jelsa’s donkey (on the right!)
The road of the stage
Last night at the Marco Polo boutique hotel in Gradac, we had a wonderful dinner. We were practically alone, but as we were leaving the table, a company arrived, mostly women, of clear Scandinavian nationality. We retired to our room but, around 9:30 pm, when we wanted to start sleeping, the ladies went wild in 80s disco songs with blaring music. Between ABBA hits and various Disco Inferno, I leave you to imagine on “Mamma mia” what may have counterpointed myself. Fortunately, the music stops at 10.30 pm, just in time to avoid causing an international incident with Sweden and Croatia. The wind was still blowing hard and the rain was beating, we are a bit worried about tomorrow’s stage.
Photo 2 - Gradac on the road to Drvenik
Wake up at dawn, the wind has not stopped, it is no longer raining and in the distance you can clearly see the sun coming. Meanwhile, we discover that the Scandinavian ladies are part of an organized meditation tour and we find them on their mats who, guided by the guru, do yoga and meditation exercises. We leave before 10.00 to make the first 12 km, until the Drvenik ferry that will take us to Hvar. We must immediately remove the various jackets and windbreakers placed in protection, the heat is already starting to be felt while the wind remains strong.
Photo 3 - Leaving Drvenik by ferry to Porto san Giorgio
Photo 4 - Porto san Giorgio-Sucuraj. The lighthouse
Photo 5 - Porto san Giorgio-Sucuraj
The ferry is not very large and does not even have a central hall therefore, all outdoors in search of the best and most sheltered side from the wind. Porto San Giorgio or better Sucuraj is the entry point to Lesina and is a beautiful village with a lighthouse at the entrance to the truly characteristic port. Let’s take a look at the route I had prepared but, given the previous not very good ones in finding alternative routes, we decide to stay on the main road in order to avoid dirt roads or other difficulties. A first climb of 15 km without major slopes, takes us to 350 meters high, and then remains, with continuous ups and downs, between 250 and 350 m.
Photo 9 - Ophrys incubacea
The most amazing thing we found was a sea of orchids; the plateau is completely full of them and in full bloom. Too bad we could not stop for just a few minutes for a few photos, we would have more than willingly spent the whole day lying on the ground taking pictures of this wonder of nature that are orchids. And now banana and biscuit break. We note that nearby there is an old village, ruined and abandoned, probably of shepherds. One thing strikes us: a construction similar to a Nuraghe of Sardinia. It is a circular construction, with a very low entrance and a circular roof, like the Pantheon of Rome, with a central hole. We do not understand if it could be a shelter for animals or a shelter for shepherds with the hole in the center to allow the smoke from the brazier to pass.
Photo 10 - Rural construction in abandoned village
Photo 11 - Rural construction, central hole in the roof
We resume our march, practically today it is all uphill or at least for about 40 km. At 10 km from the finish we dive into Jelsa. Ultimately we traveled a very beautiful road and even today we totaled 62 km with 850 m of difference in altitude but, all in all, the climbs were well divided and with a few difficult ramps to tackle. The village of Jelsa is really characteristic, it represents a tipical Dalmatian islands fishing port of, even if tourism is now prevalent.
Photo 12 - Swooping down to Jelsa!
Photo 13 - At the bottom of the descent the sea and the road sign of Jelsa, we have arrived!
Photo 14 - Jelsa harbour
Tomorrow we will leave Jelsa to return to Split. We will take the ferry to Stari Grad, Cittavecchia. We will only do fifteen kilometers by bike. We will use the time we save to visit Split.
The stage movie
