Matijević

Had a lie until 4.30am & read until Jackie surfaced around 8.00am. We did breakfast at 9.00am & were fully packed & back on the road before 10.00am.

Our destination was Prizna to catch a ferry to the Island of Pag. It was a difficult start because the SatNav wanted to take us back through the busy border into Slovenia. Eventually we convinced it to take us on a purely Croatian route without tolls & it then directed us up into the mountains of northern Istria. We actually passed a very remote border checkpoint where there were no cars, in fact the only vehicle we saw for miles was a weird pedal cycle contraption. It was ridden by a man with a woman sat in front of the handlebars on a reclined seat reading a book but also pedalling.

We then passed through the hamlets of Slum (hope this wasn’t an omen for what was to come!), Brest & Dane. We eventually picked up the A7 dual carriageway & headed south. At Bakar, we left the A7 to avoid the tolls & followed the coastal road still southwards. We filled up with fuel, cheapest so far, then stopped at a Spar for provisions to put in our now cold fridge sitting on the backseat of the car.

We stopped at a Lidl, then another supermarket to buy a fitted sheet for our blow up mattress, which Jackie had forgot. We now have one in a fetching shade of mauve.

On the drive Jackie looked up & then fretted about the fact that we were staying at a naturist campsite & predicted thunderstorms on Saturday. Neither was true, in fact our campsite is child & pet friendly - more worryingly. The website description of the camp is more akin to being part of the ‘groovey gang’, when 14 year old Rodney won a painting competition holiday in Only Fools And Horses!

Around 2.30pm we arrived at the tiny port of Prizna & purchased our £12 ferry ticket for the 15 minute journey to Pag Island. At 3.10pm we set sail & worryingly noticed that a large proportion of the ferry passengers were yobby Eastern European males. Apparently Novalja, 3 miles south of our campsite, is a party town.

Upon arrival on Pag we followed the convoy towards Novalja, then headed north to Camp Navis. We checked in at reception & the receptionist insisted on walking Jackie to our plot whilst I crawled behind in the car. We have a lovely spacious plot with a couple of trees including an olive tree. The beach is just 50 yards away & we can see the sea either side of our neighbours transit van. The only down side is the ground is rock hard & stony.

With neighbours on seven different sides all watching us we commenced the tent erection in 30+ degree sunshine. It took us 30 minutes to argue the toss about which way the tent should face & where would we park the car.

Eventually we came to an decision & erected the tent relatively painlessly, apart from bending tent peg after tent peg in the rock hard ground. The tent & all the accompaniments including air beds, cooker, fridge, power cables, top box etc etc are courtesy of my brother who seemed to have his very own Millets in his loft. The phrase “All the gear...............” springs to mind!

Apart from crushing MY bad finger in the fold out table & tripping over the guy ropes twice, we did a pretty good job. The positioning of the car was a different matter - with all eyes on us, we did some serious pruning of the shapely olive tree. Under Jackie’s directions, I had driven the car through the olive tree & the branches had got stuck in the top box & roof bars. To free ourselves, I had to yank & snap the the branches out, then push up what was left of the tree, whilst Jackie drove the car out. It was inevitable that we would eventually make a spectacle of ourselves!

We treated ourselves to a cold beer & relaxed. I had a really good feeling about this camping malarkey. We have an ideal spot, the nearly all German neighbours seem nice, no sign of yobs, very few kids, only well behaved dogs & really quick WiFi. After a beer we tidied up our pitch, got everything out then went to the beach for a swim.

After we showered in the block, which wasn’t the subject of any complaints from Jackie. Everyone & I mean everyone is sat around in just Speedos, shorts or bikinis, so I followed suit. When in Rome........... We won’t be wearing to many clothes over the next few days it seems.

The evening was spent in our camping chairs around the table, drinking beer and wine & nibbling on just snacks to ensure we slept well. The only problem with this approach was that we both had to get up in the middle of the night & stumble the 100 metres or so through the site to the shower & toilet block.

Writing this blog the morning after a very comfortable night, we will undoubtedly stay here for at least the 5 days we have already booked & do as little as possible. Hence, I will suspend the blog until we move on.

Song of the Day : Trip Through Your Wires by U2.Read more