Ćevapčići and Vela Straza
We were up and out early this morning along with many others in the hotel after a fire alarm beckoned at 6am. Apparently something was burning in the kitchen but there was no cause for alarm. With so little sleep for all of us this was the hardest breakfast, and neither of us coped well with the sleep deprivation. The coffee didn’t do it, and after our regular morning feast we all went back to bed, not stirring again until the afternoon. It’s nice having no pressure to do anything, and it’s lovely to sleep when you need it.
Today was also the hottest, in Croatia’s summer heatwave the temperatures nudged above 30C, and the sky stayed ever blue. Lathered in sun lotion and donning sunglasses and hats, with Conway in the baby carrier, we walked beneath the pines along the coast to Lanterna for a mid-afternoon lunch. Under a parasol we looked out to sea, where a police boat passed in front of a distant island.
We couldn’t leave Croatia without having some ćevapčići – a type of skinless grilled sausage, with a side of duved rice. The starter of anchovies and prawn, and the squid salad were washed down with cold beer.
Vela Straza
There’s an old fort, Monte Baston, that looks out over Mali Lošinj, and we were reliably informed you could probably walk up there with a buggy. It’s about half an hour from the hotel.
We packed a bag of fruit, salami, bread, cheese and Pringles and set-off for a sunset picnic at the top – hoping for some fabulous views.
The upward path was a layer of loose stone, thin at times, it snaked left and right and our buggy kicked and rocked as we tried to force it up the hill. We put Conway in the carrier and Sam marched on ahead while I carried all the bags and struggled with the three-wheeled city stroller. “Yes, I’m fine”.
Eventually the path evened out and turned to gravel and the last stretch up to the top was easy. We parked the buggy by the fort and found a bench with views out to the horizon for our picnic (360 view).
Four Germans joined us at the summit, they attached GoPros to trees and recorded time lapse videos of the sun falling into the sea.
The clear blue skies offered no dramatic sunset, and the distant cloud covered mountains were too far away to dazzle us. Down in the bay we saw Mali Lošinj light up for the evening.
The journey back was easy, and we stopped in the hotel bar to listen to some live piano before going to sleep.
