Tunnels galore

The drive from Zadar to Opatija was eventful.

Not long after we got on the A1 out of Zadar the traffic came down to a very slow crawl and while there were flashing signs we could not interpret what they were trying to tell motorists.

We crawled for around 5km and came around a corner to a viaduct and it was obvious what the issue was - there was a wind tunnel blowing one hell of a gale across this open area quite high up in the hills, it was blowing with such strength that motorcyclists were unable to hold their bikes upright and were off the bike literally leaning the bike back into the wind.

Once we had got passed that area we started to go through tunnel after tunnel after tunnel as the motorway cut its way north- the longest tunnel being nearly 6km in length

Then to finish the frustration for the morning it took around twenty minutes to get through the toll plaza as we left the A1.

Around 1.30 we arrived in Opatija which is best described as a sea side town slightly north of Rijeka.

Our accommodation sits reasonably high up the side of the hill and the room has a lovely view out over the Adriatic.

We took the hotel shuttle and were dropped off down in the fishing village of Volosko and we started walking along the Lungomare which is a pathway around the coastline linking Volosko with Opatija.

Along the way we stopped at a restaurant for a late (3pm) lunch and sat and admired the view from the open air eating area















After lunch we continued our walk passed some very stately century old villas and

















hotels, passed areas where boats of all shapes and sizes (& states of maintenance)





were moored until we arrived at Opatija town centre.

As it was around 4.00 we rang the hotel to have them send their shuttle to take us back to the hotel and we enjoyed a dip in the hotel pool, before venturing out again for a meal.

We have absolutely loved the stops we have had on the Adriatic as it is simply a delightful part of the world.

However Slovenia, Austria & Germany (again) beckon over the next couple of weeks so in the morning we will pack up again and add some more kilometres to the 4300 we have already ticked off.