Day 41: Plitvicka, Croatia

Stats... 76.10km in 4hrs 16 mins. Our lady host knocked to wake us up at 8am and we got the impression they wanted us out a bit sharpish. So we packed and left asap. We cycled to the supermarket for breakfast and followed the slightly undulating hills over horrendous road works for several clicks. There was one rather long unwelcome hill that was a struggle. We stopped in a bus shelter for lunch and to hide from the heat and strong sun. We had to dodge several angry looking and sounding dogs that so far luckily have been on chains. We also saw a sign for beware of the bears for the next 8km and suddenly the dogs did not seem so bad! We made it to the National Park however the campsite on our map closed before the war apparantly so we continued 7km to the next one which was slightly infuriating at the end of a long day especially as it was in the wrong direction. At the campsite we pitched our tent on top of the brow of a hill with amazing views over a valley with a lovely clear lake which we headed straight for. After a quick dip it began to rain so we went to our tent for a siesta and wait for it to clear. We made dinner and had a few beers on our own bench and consulted the maps for our best route back to the coast.

Day 40: Otocac, Croatia

Stats... 69,29km in 4hrs 25mins. What does not kill us, only makes us stronger is our moto for today. We cycled the most amazing coastal road for ages with the weather being incredibly hot and sunny. It seems we chose the wrong day to have off. We made it Senj and had a lunch stop on the pier but we ended up throwing most of our bread into the sea for millions of fish that were perfectly visible in the extremely clear waters. We then had a huge climb from sea level to 700m high in approx 10km. This was steep and hard work to say the least. We believe it was harder than the Alps even as the heat and luggage took its toll. We were blessed with a downhill for a while into a pretty valley with plenty of poppies. We saw a sign which showed that we were only half way to our intended distance for the day and we were struggling. There were several free rooms in houses so we chatted to a women and before we knew it we had our feet up for the day. We cleaned the bikes some more as they were squeeking at us and had a beer with the owners of the house.

Day 39: Selce, Croatia

As the weather forecast for today was 25 degrees and sunny we decided to take a well earned day off to reduce the very poor tan lines we have created over the past weeks. However, as we woke in a thunder storm we were not impressed but decided to chill for the day literally. We cleaned the bikes and cycled into the village to use a hotels internet and find a supermarket for brunch. We did a laundry and relaxed on the seafront in the hope that the sun would put its hat on! We read, watched tv on the ipod and walked into the village again for dinner. Kris braved the water by doing a belly flop... intended of course. We checked the maps again for the route for the next few days and attempted to calculate how long we have got left.

Day 38: Selce, Croatia

Stats... 101.31km in 5hrs 39mins. The weather was lovely and hot and sunny and we intended to make the most of it. We left by 8am and as it is Sunday the road was less busy which made for perfect riding. The road was slightly undulating hills all the way to the border as we crossed into our 10th country Croatia. This was the first border where we had to hand in the passports and got a stamp. We were a bit worried of being stopped and searched as the bag of washing powder we are carrying looks slightly dodgey! After the border it was downhill all the way to the coast which was brilliant. We followed the coast as it snaked round the lie of the land... it almost felt as though we were going round in circles. It was very pretty riding and only slightly up and mostly down! As the legs began to fail and the sun was winning we stopped at Selce campsite to jump in the sea and cool off. We walked into the village and enjoyed dinner on the seafront and chilled in the bar with too many beers til late.

Day 37: Kozina, Slovenia

Stats... 41.19km in 2hrs 22mins. We had a leisurely morning where we had a lay in, we made sarnies for lunch and Kris nicked the last of the hot water! It was still chucking it down with rain and we got the full length waterproofs out for the first time. We had to backtrack slightly on the road and make our way south to the Stockjan Caves. We were feeling a little caved out but they were a unesco site and could not be missed according to the lonely planet... and they were right! These caves were less beautiful but definately more amazing as it had an immense, huge, very deep chasm which we had to cross by a tiny bridge. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos in the caves so you shall just have to trust us! When Kris legs stopped shaking we cycled to our campsite for the night passing a 2ft long dead snake on the ground! We also passed several restaurants with spit roasting pigs on the side of the road.

Day 36: Postojna, Slovenia

Stats... 34,21km in 2hrs 50 mins resulting in a total to date of 2,086km! We joined Petra and Fran for breakfast and listened to Petra play the piano beautifully for us. We had got just 2mins up the road and hit the most stonking hill so far. Al VO2 maxed and ended up pushing for the first time while Kris made it to the top but for the first time he did not make it look easy! It began to rain hard as we took some quiet hilly roads to Predjamski Castle. Kris was very excited as this castle growing out of a cave in a cliff is where Jackie Chan did a scene in Armour of God. We then cycled on to Postojna Village and found a small dated apartment where we could escape the rain. We walked back to the Postojna Caves which were very beautiful and massive in size compared to those in Belgium. The cave tour involved 4km of train ride and 1km of walking. We were treated as there was a special booking down in the caves where the judges of Slovenia were having a meeting and had a saxophone player accompanying them which sounded amazing with the accoustics of the cave.

Day 35: Lozice, Slovenia

Stats... 62,45km in 4hrs 33mins. We packed all our wet and muddy gear amongst the mossies and got on the road both in a bad mood. The road started busy but then we found a quiet road leading to the border of Slovenia and our moods brightened as we made it to our 10th country! The lovely quiet roads were quite hilly and slow as there was also a slight headwind. As we turned a corner there were several people clapping and cheering us on which we thought was odd until 5mins later lots of police cars told us to pull over and the tour d slovenia bicycle race flew passed us! Kris reckoned he could of had them but we were not allowed on the road! As the road cleared we continued down a 9% gradient hill and up a 10% gradient hill. The descent of which lead to a valley where we were greeted by a 70kmh head/cross wind. This was particularly dangerous as we also came across the motorway not being open so all the major traffic was on our intended road including huge trucks. We therefore had to walk with the bikes in strong wind until we found a small restricted road that snaked through some tiny villages which was safer but still very windy. Having had enough we sat on a wall by a church in Lozice where Kris chatted to a nice lady who spoke to another nice lady who called her son in law (Sandi) who called his friend (Marco) who had a spare room for us to stay in! We met Marco, Petra, son Fran and Grandad Stane and we were taken straight to their basement for their home made wine and lots of it! A few glasses later we went for a walk with the family to pick their home grown cherries. One tree of which had a branch recently snapped off by a bear!!! We walked back via Sandi house and met his wife and son and had more wine in their basement distillary! We later joined Petra for dinner who had made us a traditional slovenian dish of corn and fresh cows milk from the neighbours cow. They are a lovely family and we very much enjoyed their company, hospitality and kindness...thanks!