Pero and his bike

nedjelja, 22.12.2019.

With a girlfriend to the sea, again! The August 13th

You can come back on the previous part of this travelogue here.

If you don't want to read, skip the text and see the images of this day here.

You can see the map of this day of the journey here.

We didn't go anywhere for two days, although this is an area where we can see a lot of beautiful things. Those two days were a hell of heat, so we left the sights of this area for other times. We mostly rested and spent time with my relatives.
After those two days, we got the urge to continue on our journey, so we got up on the third day very early to get the most out of the morning. We said goodbye to our hostess and get on the road before 7 am. From the expected freshness we did not get as much as we expected, because this is still Dalmatia, where the morning temperatures are quite high (and the daily even higher). However, we were satisfied with what we received, because it was even comfortable to drive.
That frantic steep hill that we had, upon arrival, and we overcame it with great difficulty, now we rode on it with the ease as the same as a feather falls or how a soap balloon levitates. During that descended, we passed through a neighbouring hamlet where an old OM truck stood motionless for about 40 years. I was still in high school when I saw him at this place when I arrived here. It still stands in the same place today, and how things look it will stand here for a long time. It is as if it merged with its surroundings and became its whole, so the people who live there need it, just like the road, the house and the tree next to that truck.

The story of a truck that became part of the whole

As we continued down this steep descent, the Imotsko Polje, in its size and peculiar splendour, appeared in front of us, albeit a little bit dreamily because of last night's dream. It covered itself with a light veil of the morning fog, I guess because it wanted to cover up its last night dream (and the fields dreaming also, aren't they?)
Sleepy the Imotski field

While the field was still hoping that the stillness and freshness of the night, at least will last for a little more, the town of Imotski, above it, had already stretched its benumbed limbs, and, washing in the morning rays of the sun, was preparing for action in this day, which will undoubtedly be like and yesterday's one, therefore hellishly hot.
By sun already awakened the Imotski town

And that it was already time for action, we saw the two of us too. When we descended into the field, the road only allowed us, just a half kilometre to enjoy the morning freshness, and then it said "Enough!" Then the road went uphill. This was the beginning of a 12 km long stage, with a smaller and larger ascent, even a little plain, but ultimately we will climb above the Imotski field by almost 400 meters in altitude difference.
Start of the climbing from the Imotski field

The morning still retained some freshness from last night, the sun gently and kindly warms our backs, the uphill is mild, so everything didn't seem overly difficult, it even made this uphill ride enjoyable. On the right side, we had a view of the Imotski field, which was more and more below us.
View from a height on the Imotsko field

Because I have cycled this road many times before, so I know it will not always be this idyllic. Sometimes it's not good to know everything.
With this gentle uphill, we will easily reach the village of Krivodol, but then the uphill becomes much steeper.
These scattered houses in front of us were the Krivodol village

A steep serpentine relented under our attack at the end, but this fight cost us a lot of energy, sweat and effort, so we took a break and refreshment in the first shade we encountered. After we had warmed well in mastering this Krivodol climb and its curve, the beauty of the fresh morning disappeared and it was replaced by the fierce Dalmatian sun. And it's only about 8 am!
Rescue in the shade after the serpentine, in the background

As my companion calmed her breath, wondering, I suppose, what she needed all of this in her life, I looked around and filmed a section of the road we had just passed. Standing in the sun, I was fascinated by the thermal power of its rays. If will not be a wind today this will be a hell of a ride in the truest sense of the word. But it will be even more hellish if, with the sun, the wind will blow on our face. So, the excitement and suspense as in real American films will be followed.
Somewhere down is the road on which we were riding

There was no other way than to deal with this situation with frequent stopping and resting So we were doing so. Fortunately, there was plenty of vegetation along the road, and since the sun was still relatively low, there was a lot of shade under the vegetation. And what was most favourable at the moment, in these shades, still managed to stay something of tonight's freshness.
The rest of the freshness from last night in the shade

At one of the following resting stations, a modest, small sign along the way made us aware that in this area there are similar to us, who biking too.


From the village of Krivodol, we lost sight of the Imotsko field because we entered between the hills. While this could be quickly concluded, it was not yet time to reach the pass. Instead of a summit of a pass, we again, with the continued uphill, got a view of the field, this time it was far below us. We were looking at its marginal, western part submerged by a lake of the symptomatic name the Prološko mud.

The Prologue mud viewed from the place where we stopped…

...and zoomed by zoom lens of my camera

Immediately near here, a long time ago, a cistern was built, as a source of the water of this region. Judging by her appearance, it is long out of use, so now it was standing passive and silently here with no function, except that it is reminiscent of some other times behind us.
Old cistern (rainwater tank)

The descent that followed was a few kilometres long, with gentle percentages, so that a comfortable, God-given balance of air resistance and speed was established. Braking was not necessary while we had a speed of about thirty kilometres per hour. This allowed even more intense, more complete, indulgence to the pleasure of looking around, listening to the gentle noise of the wind, breathing the scent of the Dalmatian flora, still dormant from last night, and finally experiencing the wind blowing across the skin. At such moments, the urge to stop must be exceptional to break it all, heavy hearts. One of the impulses because of which simply we had to stop was one of the tombstones along the road. Made by under mysterious circumstances, by the mysterious people, still debated by historians, have stood here for centuries. As much as we were amazed at them, as we stand silently watching them, they remained silent even more indifferently. Too bad, if they wanted to, they could tell us something, who everything was and how they walked past them during those centuries while they were here. Thus, it remains for us to take, from the centuries they spend here, to steal only the one-hundredth of a second, which has been taken by the camera to carry them, together with us, into the eternity of the image.
The company for silent filming

As a complete contrast to the centuries-old peace enjoyed by the tomb stones here, on the opposite side of the road, in the distance one can see the symbol of modern age - the highway. It is located at the foot of Biokovo. Thus, the tomb stones on the one hand, and Biokovo on the other, look at a kind of symbol of today. It is a pity that Biokovo, like the tomb stones, rejects any meaningful, coherent comment on current events that are taking place in its vicinity. It is a pity, I said, because they could say a lot about people who have been here throughout history.
The Highway below the Biokovo mountain

In the Lovreč place, there is a large, lavish church with equally large and lavish shade, so there was not a moment of doubt as to whether or not to stop. First, we settled into this abundant and still fresh shade, along with the bikes. Let them also feel something of that shade. After we had cooled down, we prayed one-tenth of the rosary, now already the standard procedure during at stopping along some of the churches. And after talking to God and refreshment the soul because of it, we indulged in the pleasure of seeing the surroundings.
The church in the Lovreč place

A game of light and shadow

Thick shade in front of the church

View from the thick shade in front of the church on the road by which we will continue

According to Google, the Franciscan parish church of the Holy Spirit in the Lovreć place was built in 1936/1937. years. It was built not far from the old church, on the hill on the very centre of the parish, for the parish priest Fr. Jozo Simic. The church is a three-part structure, built of carved stone in neo-Romanesque style. The beautiful one-story bell tower with the final pyramid was completed in 1938. On the front of the church is a large rosette, the work by painter Branimir Dorotic (2004). The church was repeatedly repaired: 1958, 1970-1972. and 1980-1991, when the church was thoroughly reconstructed. The roof on all three parts was changed, a triumphal arch was built that separates the presbytery from the main part, a painted image of the Holy Spirit (Joseph Bifel), new electrification was introduced, sound system, the church was painted, new bell towers and three new bells were installed and electrified. The churchyard was also arranged and a cave of Our Lady of Lourdes, formerly located in the north nave of the church, was erected on the northeast side.
We moved on with the ride. The downhill continued by leaving the Lovreč place and it lasted till the Cista Provo place. This place, some village in the remote Dalmatian Zagora, would have gone unnoticed, like many here, had it not been for the intersection of the main roads. We, coming from the Imotski town, if we continued straight, would arrive in the Sinj town and further to the Knin town. If we turned right across the Aržano place, we would go to Herzegovina, towards the Livno town. But, we still preferred to turn left towards the coast. After this turn, the road is still wide enough, except that the asphalt is newer. The line is also present at the edges so it looks like a real, main road. The only thing that didn't be good for us was the increased traffic because now we have merged with those who come from the north and there were in a hurry to the coast.
From the Cista Provo place, the road continued straight south with a couple of long, though gentle, up-and-down sections. When it was in the "up" position, it passed through dense pine forests in which, probably due to the intense heat, there is no distinctive scent of pine.
After the Cista Provo place toward the pine forest

For some economize some of the time during the riding and for a practical reason too, we had breakfast with our hostess this morning before departure. It was just after six, so it's no wonder that I became hungry before noon. Perhaps that hunger was accelerated by the heavy consumption of cold beer, which, again, was accelerated by hellish heat. Anyway, in the village of Vukušici near a modern, freshly built church, we found a stone wall with shade suitable for slow dining. As a real housewife, my companion spread out the table and brought out the abundance of food we had at our disposal. Here in the shade, it was tolerable anyway, so I unwittingly stretched this lunch by chewing and swallowing slowly and more slowly. I admit that this fierce heat was starting to worry me, even though I keep myself as a man who withstands the sun.






When I became satiated, my hunger were gone, and with it, my worries were gone too. They withdrew in front to patience, perseverance and confidence. Before it appeared, my hunger had diminished, alleviated, if not suppressed, these three last epithets, so that this excessive and objectively unnecessary concern arose. Satiated and rested, I set out with a clear optimism to continue the journey. This optimism was reinforced by the objective fact that we had 3 km of downhill in front of us. This was a downhill where a valley with the Cetina canyon was on the right side.
Somewhere down there is the Cetina River

Although difficult, I still found the strength within myself to break the descent momentarily, for the sake of standing and taking pictures of that valley and the road along which we were riding
A forward view

A backward view

We descended into the place Sestanovac where we have an intersection again. But, unlike the intersection of Cista Provo, here we rode straight south towards the village of Zadvarje, 8 km away.
The Šestanovac place, and in the distance the Zadvarje place

The Šestanovac place

As we were descending, preoccupied with the pleasure of that descending, we did not even notice that it started to blow. Just after the intersection, when the road continued more or less straight, we noticed that the bikes somehow becomes heavy to ride and that the wind was blowing straight in the face. These eight kilometres, which were even a little downhill, instead of flying and not to notice them, made it difficult for us to pedaling. Obviously, it's wind from the south, because it's quite warm, not to say hot, so it more heating us than cooling. In addition to the heat from the wind, there was also heat that radiated from the asphalt as well as from the surrounding rocks we passed by. In a word, a real hellish ride.
After entering the Zadvarje place, panting as if we had just climbed a mountain, we found our salvation in the thick shade in front of the local gas station. So we stood in the shade, restoring life's functions to normal and watching the crowds of vehicles which were on refueling. The traffic has really become heavy, so it is a real relief a cognition that we only have to endure it for a little while, only about half a kilometre away, when we will thank the main road for socializing and turn at some of the local roads.
But before that, we stopped at the lookout right at the exit of the place.
The viewpoint, placed at the exit of the Zadvarje place

A few years ago, this road, from the Imotski town to the Adriatic main road, underwent reconstruction, so now it is wider, with lines on the side, and more beautiful, which you have had the opportunity to see in previous images. The reconstruction of this viewpoint was somehow involved in this reconstruction, so it is now separated from the road. I remember when the road was just beside the viewpoint, so getting there by a narrow and busy road was not very pleasant. To make the road look like it now looks, it was necessary to cut away a good part of the hill, because this is where the road makes a sharp bend around that hill.
And from the lookout, there was a breathtaking view. Here you can see the valley of the Cetina river with the road on the left, which we intend to pass along it.
The view from the viewpoint

When I looked down, I saw a hydro power plant built in 1913 which were still in operation. Looking like this from the viewpoint, the pipes that lead the water from the Cetina river to the engine room can be seen.
Hydroelectric power plant with supply pipes

And when I looked slightly to the right, I saw a piece of a dam and a reservoir of water from which those pipes lead it to the engine room.
The accumulation lake

Before we were proceeding further, I looked through the zoom lens of my camera at the Podgrađe place, located on the left side of the Cetina Valley. It would be a real pleasure for me to understand, to comprehend, or simply to find out by what logic the people in that place decided to live in this stone desert. This leaves only the confusion in me which, when it cannot already find in concrete, search the sense in the general understanding of human torment and striving for survival.
The Podgrađe place

We were just over a hundred meters away from the turning from the main road. But riding by those meters was extremely psychedelic.
First, the very ambience of the road in this place was special because of the fierceness of nature's cruelty and the persistence of man, because everything is bathed in the greyness of the raw rocks, where the term horizontally is a foreign word. In such a rocky ambience, a man was persistent to built the road. So, on one side of the road, those from the hills, we had vertical cliffs of tens of meters, and on the other side of the road probably was, the abyss, the same high. Probably I say because the bumper protected us from it.
And the bumper was double.
Just in case!
Secondly, there is the traffic, the heavy ones, mostly the trucks with and without trailers, which remind my companion on barely survived fear during the riding through the Neretva Canyon.
And thirdly, that wind, which blew in our face for just those hundred meters , as if he felt that it was his last chance to complicated our lives to the fullest, so it blew up to the intensity of a hurricane.
All of this together was too much for my companion, so by the maxim "Hurry up slowly!" she got off her bike nicely, and walked those famous hundred meters like she was on some kind of promenade.
Everything came together in this place

Everything somehow overcome in our lives, even those hundred meters.
The road on which we turned was narrow, so narrow it was not clear to me how they managed to draw a line on it.
But she was without traffic.
Without any traffic!
A little over three kilometres, in the form of seven serpentines, we descended to the valley of the Cetina, or to the hydroelectric power station, to continue straight, as far as the uphill and downhill concerns were concerned.
We stopped not far from that hydroelectric power station to take a look at the accumulation lake, the viewpoint and the pipes that bring water to the engine room.
A back view at the accumulation lake from the narrow but empty road

A closer look (thanks to the zoom lens)

A closer look more (also thanks to the zoom lens)

There was an old acquaintance of mine. 32 years ago I cycled by this area for the first time with a hold on this water source. Fortunately, I saved that moment to history by a camera. Now is the time for that old, rustic shot to come to light for a moment, purely for the sake of comparison with today one.
Me in 1982...

...and me in 2014

Not far from the water source is a stone bridge over the river Cetina, by which I could, among other things, reach the place Podgrađe that I filmed from the viewpoint. I could, I said, but not this time. We would rather continue down the Cetina river.



A view of the Cetina River from the bridge

There are (at least) three roads from the Imotski town to the Split town. One of them, the easiest one to drive, go over the Dubci pass where it connects to the Adriatic main road. But it is also the busiest, so as such it was not attractive to us.
The second road goes via the Blato na Cetini place to the Gata place and then descend six kilometres to the Omiš town. This one exaggerated with the uphills and downhills.
The third road, by which we crawled now, was in the middle, geographically. There was no traffic, only occasionally something appeared. We followed the course of the river Cetina relatively horizontally, and everything would be nice and beautiful if it were not for the hill in front of us. On its way to Omis, Cetina runs through a canyon in which there was no place for the road. Therefore the road has to go up to the sky. This means that there was a three-kilometre steep climb ahead of us. Fortunately, that warm wind blew into our backs. That's why we almost didn't feel it while when we riding, which made riding particularly easy, and even with the help of local shades, it even manages to cool us down.
We rode a little up the hill ...

… and we rested in the shade for a while (a back view)

The first time I saw them, they were weird to me, but later I got used to it. It was mostly the vans that were pulling the trailer. The rafter boats were stacked on the trailer. So, we all know about rafting, and now we saw how these boats coming back.
Rafting from another angle I

Rafting from another angle II

Up there is the place of Kučice, the place of scattered houses. That place was of particular interest to us because there should be a summit of a pass somewhere there, I mean, the end of this uphill.
We have seen the first houses before any visual hint of the place. Well, at least that! The ride was going somehow, I mean the ride uphill, it was bearable. 2 pm was long gone, and since on our left side was the west side and was a huge hill, the shadows are getting bigger and longer, and therefore more convenient to stop. In addition, that wind blew in the back all the time, so it either helped us when we ride or, as I said before, cooled us down further when we paused in the shade.


When we got to the first house of the place, we could not restrain ourselves, so we stopped in its already abundant shade and we rested within with pleasure. As far as the hills are concerned, there is not much left, and there was plenty of time of the rest of the day, so why not indulge in the enjoyment. We completely forgot about the traffic jams in the Zadvarje place, we drowned in body and soul in a peaceful and quiet environment, whose silence was disturbed by the wind, but only slightly, just enough to enhance the overall comfort.
The first house of Kucice, the look ahead…

...and back view

The restless spirit as I already am, just a moment after calming my breath, I began to look around. To the right of the road, perpendicular to it, there was a view of the wooded hill beyond which the Cetina canyon was visible. Across the canyon, a line of roads, carved into the rock, was noticeable, and overall this was a typical mixture of greys of stone and greenery which the forest would like to be but had not yet reached that.
The Dalmatian scene

"Just a little bit, just a little bit," I assured myself as we entered the end of the uphill, passing a rare but still forest, which was here on either side of the road. In front of us was a bend that should mark the end of that uphill.
"Just a little bit, just a little bit"

And it was the end of the uphill. Of this long uphill. But contrary to expectation, instead of the road going downhill, it continued, either straight or little up and little down through the place. The sun was burning hot, which was especially felt in the moments the wind stopped. The forest and shade, which they had faithfully followed us on the uphill, were now lost somewhere and left us with abundant rays of sunshine.
What was this now?
Instead of being satisfied, and thus encouraged, because we overcame the ascent, as if we were disappointed, so this walk or ride through the place falls harder to us than climbing uphill. Besides, finding shelter from that hot sun during vacations became an impossible mission, so we used any small piece of ground that the sun does not shine on.
The searching for shade, however small it was

On one of those resting place in something what was ridiculous to call a shade, I watched the place. Again, the dilemma, confusion, appeared to me, as it was on the viewpoint near the Zadvarje place, who and for what reasons did decide to build his home in this place !?
The kučice place - panorama

The Kučice place - detail

We seem to have impressed the Lord with our perseverance, determination, and above all our submission of hellish riding conditions, so he prepared us relief and refreshment in the form of a local grocery store where I found fruit for her and a cold beer for myself.
One jealous wasp attempted to spoil an idyllic of the moment which, I suppose, was irritating for it that I was constantly in the company of my companion. So, as soon as I left her alone and unprotected, her leg has been stabbed by its stinger. As soon as I heard what had happened, I pressed the cold, dewy bottle to my feet, which caused a sigh of genuine pleasure at my companion.
In continuation of riding, we got into Earthly Paradise!
Again on the left side was the hill, again the forest was on it, and again the shade, but this time big, really big. And all of this was amplified, beautified and spiced up by a long, very long downhill. In such an environment the heat, fatigue, and any difficulties were lost, disappeared as if by hand. All that was left was the pure pleasure of descending, the fluttering of a pleasantly refreshing breeze, the scents in the air, which the freshness of the shade encouraged to come to light.
The shade, the downhill, the freshness

Initially, the hill was to our left, and from the abyss, we were separated by a stone fence. Behind that fence, at one place the road was somewhere deep down, which, for who knows by whuch time, turn itself toward the other side, making thereby a serpentine.
A view at our near future

Initially, the hill was to our left, and from the abyss, we were separated by a stone fence. Behind that fence, at one place the road was somewhere deep down, which, for who knows by whuch time, turn itself toward the other side, making thereby a serpentine.
Cement free wall

With the passing of one serpentine, we came to the next one, which we had seen a little earlier from above.
The serpentine

For the refreshment of the traveler who is in no hurry and who enjoys this Paradise beauty, there is also a source of freshwater. That water source also seemed to impress Hajduk fans (a football club from the Split town), who left a mark here more than noticeable to any of those travelers.
For Hajduk fans only (it is written:
Under this sky
only you)

Right in the middle of the image was…

...the water spring

Refreshing of the shade was in lavish abundance, so even though the road had changed its course by a hundred and eighty degrees, both sides had bathed in plenty of shade.
Still a Paradise atmosphere

Everything beautiful in life lasts for a short time, no matter how long it lasts, including this Paradise descent. When we levelled off with the Cetina river, the shade disappeared and the sun appeared with its still bright and strong rays.
The end of the downhill, and also the end of the shade (a back view)

That leveling with the river did not mean that the road was horizontal, but that we found ourselves hand in hand with the river. At first, we felt it by the sound of the purling and then through the tree canopies we saw a river, so close to the road, only about ten meters away, that we again relented the temptation, and stopped at its bank.
We left our bikes...

… and we reached the river on foot

I have heard a lot of praise about Radman's mills, though nothing concrete except the conclusion that they should be visited. It will be that it all reinforced my expectations, when I did not find or meet the expected, clearly, so I was disappointed. It is, in fact, an ordinary restaurant where the only real pleasure is to eat and drink well. Truth be told, I have to admit, shade is abundant, so what it someone does here seems like that he does it with real pleasure.
View from where we came from and entrance to the restaurant

There is also a children's playground so that the kids feel not too bored while their parents enjoy an abundance of delicacies.
For kids I

For kids II

I already told that this restaurant is widely known, so it is quite reasonable that plenty of tourists come to it. The ones from the Omiš town can also do this by water, by boats that sail by Cetina river and dock at a small pier.
The dock

There used to be some mills in this place a long time ago. They were, but they are gone. In the meantime, they have survived the transformation into a restaurant, which in these modern times brings more benefit than grinding flour for our daily bread.
From the silent protest about the pure commercialization of the missing mills, we did not consume anything of the abundant supply of restaurants. We were only satisfied with the remnants of our stock, which was modest, but still sufficient to withstand until the Omiš town. And till that Omiš was 5-6 kilometres of pure pleasure, which we will ride slowly, part by part, gently and carefully, and therefore with enjoy.
The sun, or rather its rays, is increasingly difficult to find because the hill on the left creates a huge shadow. From somewhere, I do not even know from where, I got the feeling that I am in the front row of the theatre, comfortably reclined in the seat and protected by the shadow, I am watching the brightly lit events on stage. Therefore, amazed and touched by everything that was going before my eyes, I was in no hurry anywhere, but I reduced the pedals speed to the minimum necessary, just enough for the bike riding slightly.
And why is this all so !?
Well, for example, because of a tunnel that found its place in a space gap so small and yet enough to be illuminated by the glare of the sun. It was illuminated from the outside as well as from the inside, so that the passage through it was imbued with a slight sense of comfort, with complete suppression of any discomfort or, God forbid fear, of oncoming vehicles. Because in this Paradise they simply are gone!

And it's possible too - a sunny tunnel

Or is it, perhaps because of the boats, full of tourists who will lazily touch the gentle cobweb of the moment in which we sailed or rode. Spoiled with exaggerated, up to the grotesqueness, tourist services, they were dully staring into the water in anticipation of those famous Radman mills. There, they will be reassured that it, what is served in front of them on the table, is the original of the premium offer placed just for them. Because of a strong desire for security and a well-known future, they do not allow their senses to take a trip, step away in that gentle cobweb of tender moments. And these are moments in which the soul shiver to such an extent how it has not shivered for a long time. That was a long, long time ago when was still allowed to theirs senses to fly out and, after they made a fluttering circle of excitement, and so fluttered, they returned to the body again. And then they trimmed wings of their senses with the justification that they did it for sake of regard, position, age and time. And now, their miserable senses veins in the cage of an old body, pouring the bitter tears of slavery that manifest themselves in misunderstanding, ignorance, and poignancy. Someone in particular, even morbidly, satisfaction is to express all of this to those who still hold the grains of youth in their hearts. According to those who keep the doors of their souls constantly open to those cobweb moments that flutter their soul.
According to those in which that flutter appear as gentle, but barely noticeable smile, yet penetrating, and upsetting, upsetting smile for those in the boat.
Probably all this was my imagination, a moment of indescribable enthusiasm that took my soul to unprecedented heights. Because of that, at the moment, I confidently hold myself as the happiest man in the world. At this moment of all enthusiasm, all these little, tiny and barely noticeable creatures in the boat, who have a dull look and indifferent face, I regret from the depth of my heart, that they crush the time in nothing, the time that was abundantly given to them for spending it in the way that I spent at this moment.
In a next moment, I came back here where I was slowly, almost idly, pedaling, wondering where it comes from all this what was flowing through my head, what was the cause, and why.
The peaceful surface of the Cetina River is disturbed by boats with tourists

And then I saw her, my wife, in front of me, as she riding, and above me, I heard him, the God, who allows us all this. All of this got for me with one specific solid and reliable framework: I am a really happy man!
I do not know how many days in this trip has been awarded by the best-ever title, but this day has surpassed all of them. (And maybe it wouldn't be just like that, if it wasn't for everyone else days, right !?)
It all starts, goes and ends with her

That we were not the only enthusiasts, however, is showed by one vertical rock (not nearly vertical, but real vertical), on which he and she slowly, patiently, persistently, but also with maximum enjoyment, climbed two of them.
Just as I have a problem when I must, futile and hopelessly, explaining to the blind people with healthy eyes and to the deaf people beside healthy ears are, why I drive, so do they, I suppose, get in the trouble when they must explain why they climb !? Well, it's not worth explaining, who understands, will understand!
He from afar

He from close

She from afar

She from close

The tower on the rock above the road told us that the Omiš town is around the corner. In ancient times, a sharp eye on the tower noticed a newcomer and told the one who needed to hear it about the guest. Today the tower informs no one, only welcomes the visitors, and with special cordiality, it does so to those who give it a moment of their time in a form of a view. Like we just did.
The tower which welcomed us

I was in a bit of a hurry when I said that the Omiš town was around the corner because instead of the town of Omiš, we saw huge grey jaws swallowing whatever was coming to them, whether it was us or the Cetina River. We enter a short but impressively deep canyon, the crevice that the Cetina River has carved through the rock to finally find calm in the sea.
Cetina River Canyon in front of the Omiš town

The rocks squeezed space so tightly that there was no other but the road needed to make it through the tunnel, in fact, two, to the town.
There is also a footpath, so we will walk slowly

One more

This canyon comes suddenly, like a crescendo, a cold shower, which transforms that idyllic calmness of the Cetina valley, which evokes lyrical, romantic contemplation, into the psychedelic sinister power of nature. That force of nature, it seems to me, shows, perhaps even warns, a man that he is so small and tiny comparing with it, and to remain constantly aware of just that - that he is small, small and insignificant, and that he can only reach heights with by humility.
Passing through the second tunnel, it was as if we had opened the door to a space-time machine. From that lyrical calm, gentle cobwebs of wind and serene stillness we entered the frantic crowd to the maximum of commercialized mass tourism. S lot of cars around us, the masses of people, everywhere the speech of the people, everywhere the vehicles screaming, everything starting, moving, crawling, going.
In a panic attack caused by sudden consternation, it came to me, for a moment, to take my companion by the hand, and holding it tight, as the only reliable support, to escape, to return to another time and another place where there was all that I respect and love, and what is lost here forever. And it is not far from, just a hundred meters of road and two tunnels of time.
And then I confessed to myself that what we got into, was exactly our goal for today. Confused for a moment, because the emotional part of me just couldn't accept it or understand it, such a simple, but creepy conclusion to a cold rational part of me - all this what was around me, was someone's goal !! ??
And yet so it was!
It's easy to do what you love, the skill is to love what you do! So I refrained myself and in the end I forced myself to accept reality as it was, and continued through this jungle, hustle and bustle in search of our ultimate goal today - a auto-camp. Yet, to somehow comfort my soul, still longing for the interrupted earthly paradise , I took another look behind me at the door of the space-time continuum in the form of tunnels.
Tunnel as a time-space gate

The camp was somewhere here, but we can't find it. Then we found a campsite, and no way to find an entrance to the campsite. This frenetic search, I suppose, due to our impatiently desire to complete it as soon as possible, became unbearable. At the same time, all kind of vehicles around us were shouting, were honking and were buzzing in the general hustle of the endless column in both directions.
We endured a lot on this journey, so we will endure this quest as well. We found a campsite at the end, checked in at the front desk, found the right place for us, pitched a tent, and took a deep, but a deep breathed deeply with relief.
Today's traveled kilometers

The time of ending today's ride

We have calmed our body and soul with an effective tranquilizer in the form of hot soup.
The chef in battle with maestral

It refreshes the soul, strengthens the body

We were doing evening restroom, tucking ourselves into sleeping bags, and staring silently at the ceiling of the tent were trying to create order and peace in the soul that was still shaking because of the abundance of impressions gained during today's ride.
It was a day to remember.
Real a day to remember.
I will never forget it!

You can view the continuation of this travelogue here.

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