After another big breakfast buffet at the Hotel Jezero, I headed out in the rain with my parka on as I made my way up the highway about 1/4 mile to the bus stop shack to wait for the 9:30 AM bus to Zadar where I now planned to stay the night.
Right on time, the green Flexi Bus stopped for me when I flagged it down. It was a two-decker and I took the top front of the bus for a great view of the rain-streaked countryside filled with forest and then giving way to hilly farmland and then open fields. We connected with a four-lane toll road that was in excellent condition and we went through a few tunnels one was over 5,800 meters long. I was the only passenger on this bus—another COVID19 tourist experience.
Even the country roads were in good shape, and the four-lane toll roads were amazingly smooth and well maintained.
When we pulled into Zadar at about 11 am, I realized that I could take another bus that left at 2pm to Novalja about 1/1/2 hours north. I was hoping to get a haircut at one of the shops there, but they were closed on Sunday. Instead, I had a leisurely lunch waiting for the bus to depart.
Unlike the other bus rides, this one was fairly full with people getting off along the way. It was advertised as an A/C bus, but none of us could feel it. Unfortunately, I was sitting on the sunny side of the bus as we passed along some very rocky landscape punctuated by miles and miles of crisscrossing rock walls which didn’t seem to reduce the rubble on the ground for the goats and sheep. I moved over to the shady side of the bus when another passenger disembarked.
When we pulled into the Autobus park, it was another 15 minutes walk into town. I guess they plan this to provide taxi drivers with some more income opportunities. I walked to the Casa La Cha Hostel which was right on the waterfront.
I was met by Margarita, the owner, and her daughter, Lucia, who booked me into an upstairs dorm of two bunk beds with a deck that overlooked the entire harbor at a cost of 160 Kuna per night. They told me I would be the only one in that room. Before COVID 19 pandemic, they told me they would be booked for the entire summer season. They said that people were now beginning to return.
View from my deck.
View from my bottom bunk to the Adriatic Sea.
View of the Casa La Cha Hostel
I decided to spend two nights here and skip staying in Zadar on my way to Sibenik.
The beaches here consist of small light-colored pebbles instead of sand and a concrete promenade with very few vacationers. Apparently, the big party beach, Zrce Beach, is about 4km across the island from Novalja.
Instead of eating at a dinner place that I am attracted to, I went to the Lonely Planet recommended Starac I More restaurant and had a langoustine pasta unfortunately, the seafood was mushy and pricy and I was the only customer.
I watched the sunset from the promenade.
In the morning I walked by several closed restaurants and cafes until I found one that was open and had a vegetarian omelet along with some strong coffee and fresh OJ. I had to wait a bit because the chef did not come in until 8am.
After that, I walked over to the Zrce Beach expecting to see lots of people swimming and lounging on the beach chairs, but no. The place was virtually empty. I bought a cooler from the Serbia server who said I was her first customer. She said she learned English from watching movies so she understood better than she could speak.
With the cooler, she said I could use one of their lounge chairs so I read a bit of my book before moving on to some of the other venues there that were also absent of very many people. Here’s hoping the crowds will return later this summer.
About halfway back, I got caught in an unexpected rain storm and got completely soaked before I got back to town. Once in town, I stopped at the Moby Dick for a lunch of sword steak with a combination of spinach or chard and potatoes.
After that, I got a haircut and shampoo at Jenna’s next to the St. Mary’s Rosary Church. It was just 60 kunas plus tip. Margarita from the Casa La Cha recommended it. It’s amazing what a haircut can do. I feel so much cleaner and more joyful.
The rains have stopped and my clothes are drying in the warming sun as I enjoy the ocean views from my “private” dorm deck while reading a novel.
I had a dinner of a tough cordon blu at a pizza restaurant—big mistake-tough and greasy with little cheese. Afterward, I went to a wharf-side restaurant to watch the sunset over Novalja—a good cure to a bad meal.
In the morning I caught the bus back to Zadar around noon and then onward to Sibenik for a couple of nights.
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