Croatia Cycling: Day 10

Day 10: Šipan to Dubrovnik

Distance: 12.3km

Elev. Gain: 189m

Last day of cycling!

Itinerary Description

Šipan Island is the largest island in the Elaphiti archipelago. In the 15th century it was a fashionable summer retreat for elite Dubrovnik families.

What I Will Really Remember

1. Last Day of Cycling
While our tour continued onto Dubrovnik, we said goodbye to our bikes after an easy jaunt around Šipan. The Giant Roam has been a surprisingly good bike for this journey. Here's a video of our last day of cycling:

2. Croatian Faux Pas
"Chasing a Croatian Girl: A Survivor's Tale" by Cody McClain Brown was a book recommended to me to get a sense of Croatian culture. This book is an easy read, with some laugh-out-loud sense of humour, but made me cringe at times when I think about how many faux pas I've made in Croatia. As a seasoned traveler, I should have done better.

(1) Croatians never ever be the first one to break a party.

"party breaker \' pär-tē\ \' brā-kǝr\: the person who first leaves a night out, a gathering of people, a party, or any other good time and by leaving thereby ruins the party and everyone else’s good time."

Yet, I was probably the first one to call it a night after dinner because I need my beauty sleep to be ready for cycling the next day.


(2) Coffee in Croatia is treated with the utmost respect as a social function. 

"Croatians love coffee, but more than that, coffee in Croatia is where everything gets done. It’s where friends meet, where deals are made, it’s how favors are asked, it’s how people are hired, fired, introduced, married, divorced, everything!"

Now I understand the 'pause' when I asked the barista for a take away or to go cup. As a coffee lover, I should be punished with a double dose of caffeine!

One size fits all!

(3) Talking about the war is not something to take lightly.

"... there wasn’t much to tell. But then, little bits would float to the surface, like the flotsam and jetsam still bobbing in the water above some long-sunken shipwreck. A story about a relative or old friend would suddenly veer into a story about the war. Talking about it is not something to take lightly."

(4) Barefoot is a major no-no!  

"I had no idea that being barefoot can cause all kinds of illnesses. I was later to learn that walking around, sometimes even in socks, is a good way to get rheumatism, the flu, the common cold and bladder infections." 

Yet, every time I saw the Adriatic Sea, I stripped off my cycling shoes or running shoes or sandals so fast that I would be airborne and into the water before I even remembered if my phone is in my pocket.

Havayanas, my travel companion, since 2002

(5) Inviting families and friends into your home when they visit is quintessential to being Croatians. On our last group dinner together, everyone was inviting everyone else to wherever they are from. Not only did I have the "oh, you're just saying that to be polite" look on my face, I was silent on the topic because I'll be on the road for the next few months or let alone know where I'll end up by the end of the year.


3. Random Things
A few other random things that I learned on this trip:

• A rich lifestyle is defined based on the lens that you choose to see it through 
• Church bells ring at random hours like 08:06 or 19:13 
• There are cats everywhere 
• My thumb is too weak for shifting the big gears. It has been almost two weeks, and my thumb still hurts to this day. Ouchie!
• Game of Thrones has lots of naked boobies

That's all folks! I discovered that I had some Kuna currency leftover in a hidden pocket, so maybe it signals that I'll be back to visit this lovely country one day. Until next time, dovidenja!