This morning we took the coast road to Brestova, so we could catch a ferry to Cres …
… and just when we thought half the cars wouldn’t fit, the flap opened to a lower level!
Just a 20 minute crossing took us to Porozina in the north of the island.
Long and skinny with a rocky terrain, it looks remote and unspoilt, but appearances can be deceptive. The introduction of wild boar by the Croatian hunting lobby has affected the balance. Tramuntana sheep are in decline, preyed on by the boar, and with less sheep carrion for the Griffon vultures, they too are in decline, barely surviving in a colony fed by volunteers. Nonetheless, we did spot a number of sheep and a vulture flying above this lookout.
Onwards to Cres Town, which looks very Italian, but that’s hardly surprising since this area was under Venetian rule for around 800 years.
We walked round the harbour and saw the Church of St Mary, City Gate and the Municipal Loggia where locals still sell their wares …
… and wandered round the back streets too.
We looked back for a great view of Cres, before making our way south.
Osor is now a sleepy little place but with some pretty grand buildings.
It was once the main town, standing guard over the narrow channel dug by the Romans to aid navigation and which divided what was once known as the Osor island into Cres and Lošinj.
Malaria became a problem and despite knocking down the city walls to improve air flow, thinking that was the cause of the sickness, in the end Osor was abandoned and Cres became the main town.
After a lovely lunch of pag cheese and salad in a shady taverna …
… we crossed the bridge.
Losinj was even longer, skinnier and more rocky. We skirted Mali Losinj which looked just too busy and found ourselves in the smaller and very beautiful Veli Losinji …
… before driving back up the island. When we reached Osor, the traffic lights stopped us at the bridge but we saw the barrier was down, so I went to look.
There was a party atmosphere as the swing bridge was open, allowing boats to cross from one side to the other, which apparently only happens twice a day…
… then it closed again …
… and we were on our way.
The descent to Valun was steep, with a fabulous viewpoint on the way down!
We reached B&B Palac just as the sun was sinking behind the hills and settled into to our attic room …
… with a porthole view of the sea.
Valun is a small village that is famous for the Valun Tablet from the 11th century; originally a gravestone, the tablet is inscribed in both Latin, old Croatian and Glagolitic script and marks the presence of the descdents of Romans on the island alongside Croatian families. Today, the Valun tablet is embedded in the wall of the Church of the Blessed Virgin.
We’ll hear more about Glagolitic script later, but it is the oldest known Slavic alphabet, believed to have been created by St Cyril, a Greek monk, in the C9th.
Having had our delicious lunch late, we weren’t hungry so we just sat on the harbour in the evening sipping wine, then went to sleep to the sound of the water lapping against the harbour.
The morning sun was lovely as we enjoyed breakfast, then moved on.
Off Travelling Together 