July 17: Captivated on the Way to the Croatian Coast

As I began to make my way up and over the Dinaric Alps traveling from Jablanica, Bosnia Herzegovina to the Croatian coast, I became a little concerned when I noticed almost all of vehicles coming my way were motorcyclists in full technical gear riding dirt bikes with knobby tires. It turns out, though, my biggest challenge was figuring out how I would ever reach my destination if I kept pulling over to take pictures of the breathtaking beauty.

Leaving my lodging this morning after a delicious breakfast of eggs and fried bread, I gazed one more time at the shimmering, sparkling blue waters of Lake Jablanica to my right before turning off on road R419 towards the mountains.

I was immediately struck by the beauty before me as I could see the towering limestone and dolomite cliffs ahead framed by gracefully arching tree branches in all shades of green reaching over me from both sides of the road.

Bumping and jostling down the patched and potholed road, I was passed by what must have been over two hundred motorcyclists on dirt-covered bikes zipping towards me from the other direction. As they sped around corners and zipped over hills on machines with off-road tires and no luggage, I wondered what kind of conditions I would face on the pass.

The narrow mountain road I was on curved through tiny little villages of stone houses decorated with flowers and past beautiful vistas of rolling green and blue hills creating lush valleys of thick evergreen trees underneath the blue and pink sky overhead.

When I crested the top of one range, I came across a large gathering of sport bikes in a dirt lot off to my right with a Garmin rescue team vehicle stationed in their midst. It turns out there was a Bosnian biker rally for those motorcyclists interested in improving their off-road riding skills on nearby paths.

Happy to be riding through cooler mountain air with such incredible vistas on all sides, I continued down the mountains, winding my way through the countryside as I passed farmlands, neatly rolled bales of hay, and clusters of villages with church spires standing tall.

The border crossing into Croatia had almost no wait and after quickly making it through three stations there I continued winding my way towards the coast. Turning north on route 8 I was treated to my first view of the Adriatic Sea. What a sight to see the vast blue ocean stretching out before me after days of riding in the searing heat inland.

I’m looking forward to enjoying a few days of riding along the Croatian coastline before continuing to make my way south towards Greece.