With a 20 min walk to Tureta Tours boat in Murter harbour (taking the car wouldn’t have saved that much time with parking a distance away AND expensive) – how to get there by 8.30am latest without losing out on breakfast? A first world problem of course but Hotel Colentum’s manager came to our rescue.The dining room was not open to guests until 8am on the dot but I wandered in 15 mins early, explained our position and in a jiffy he said – go ahead, help yourselves now, everything is available! What a star!
Filled ourselves up with the usual excellent buffet choices, not quite as good as Hotel Aurora (the Gold standard) but very enjoyable.We were out of the place by the back of 8am, rucksack already in tow and a brisk walk down the pedestrian track found us at Murter harbour.
On the boat by 8.20am and most of the seats were taken! But luckily, we got the last bench table on the upper deck, where seating means you generally share a table with another 4 people or so. A group of Dutch people joined us eventually, very chatty and as ever when we say we are from Scotland , began asking us about whisky!
The boat was pretty full (it takes over 100 people) we were served a soft drink and by 9am we were underway.
Murter looked nicer from a distance than up close.
So began our long day trip, the Kornati islands lying very low, almost flat , on the horizon.
Scenic it was not and my heart sank as we finally made our way up the west coast of the Kornati and the boat operator told us to look out for cliff faces (very low cliffs) that looked like various people or animals. Eh? I knew then they were struggling to impress with the landscape if we were all looking out for this nonsense! The cliff below was a dog’s face apparently.No commentary was given about the islands, a bit of a shame.
By the time we’d been sailing for a LONG 2 hours 20 mins – in lovely balmy temperatures of course -we pulled in to a remote bay on the island of Mana where we all got out for a swim and relax on a deserted pebbly/rocky shore. That was bliss in the heat.
I decided to climb up to the high point of the island where there were what looked like the stunning ruins of an old church and village but apparently these were part of a film set in the 1950s.Quite a spot and only a 10 min ascent.
Then lunch was served…a big plate of Mackerel and salad for me and Pork steaks for Chris..both excellent. A glass of wine was part of the deal too.
Onto the next island and in only 25 mins or so, after berthing, we had a short walk to a dazzling white pebbly beach on Levrnaka island where the National Park visitor centre is located. It was described as the only sandy beach but the sand was off shore .The beach, as usual, was all pebbles and sharp gravel but with gorgeous aquamarine water.
Lovely swimming here where we had an hour to spend. There was no shade and the sun was really belting down.You really had to stay in the water a lot as it was broiling.
The shop in the visitor centre was closed in June but it had a lovely setting, very pretty…
Then a sail along the edge of renowned Telascica Bay (very average) and back to Murter , a return trip which felt interminable.
The islands look stunning from the air but at sea level their appeal quickly fades as they are very flat and the scenery is quite monotonous.I couldn’t imagine sailing between them on a multi day cruise – it would, as we say, ‘do my head in!” Glad we did it though, to scratch that Kornati itch plus we enjoyed the swimming.
Back at the ranch in the Hotel, we had the usual cold stuff on the balcony after another quick swim in Slanica bay.
Good breakfast next morning and we were able to access the swimming pool after checking out at 10am.For an hour we managed to nab sun loungers and just read and swim.The temperatures daily were really creeping up now.
Our only plan on this final day was to visit Zadar but on driving out of Murter, we spied the tiny hamlet of Betina , on the other side of the bay. What a quiet, lovely little place that turned out to be!
Wandered up to an old church, very beautiful.
Then down the deserted backstreets – very clean – to a café on the quayside.Traditional boats were moored here too.
Latte and a croissant for me, a beer for Chris.It was a delightful spot.
We had parked the car about a half mile from the centre so returned there, where there was the usual quiet pebbly beach with nice swimming and which also offered public showers.
After that enjoyable little interlude, we headed for Zadar but I really wasn’t keen on it from the off. We were back to city living and it seemed a bit scruffy and without the charm of the other places we had been. A fine church – St Donatus – at the centre of the city though it was closed.
Strolled around, grabbed a coffee then had an early dinner at a walled restaurant tucked off the main drag and amidst almost tropical foliage.
Konoba Dalmacija turned out to be very good indeed despite it being quite a large operation. Vegetable pasta for me with lots of fresh Parmesan and pork fillet for Chris with good fresh chips. A good choice as it was a bit bamboozling with so many cafes and restaurants about. Inexpensive too albeit not the sort of environment I prefer – a bit jungly and I would have preferred a sea view. But…it did the trick.
Our Croatia adventure was over. It was an easy, quick drive back to Zadar airport, where it was just as well we were early as it took an inordinate amount of time to return the car. 40 minutes at least due to lack of staff. Bye Bye Hvratska. I’m not sure we will ever return as we have explored so much of the country now and I do think that the landscapes were much more engaging further south. But the little villages and towns we discovered this time were outstanding in their pastel -coloured prettiness. We have superb natural landscapes at home but don’t have that kind of pristine, sun drenched ancient architecture typical of the best of the Mediterranean , Adriatic or the Aegean and that is a big draw for me.
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