Waking up in Italy felt right. I’m not sure what it is. The culture, the food, the people? It’s hard to pin point. It’s all of those things. I’m kind of a chameleon! I love the Italian spirit and I adopt the energy around me. Equally I know I can create a positive high energy. However, I think we’re all a product of the dominant traits of those that surround us. In the United States were an eclectic bunch, but in most other countries you get what you get in both personality and culture. Adapt or isolate yourself into oblivion.

The B&B….

It was a warm morning, they offered breakfast but I chose a coffee. Warm or not I’ll take their home made espresso.

The mission this morning is too retrieve said check card from the Fedex office and get to Rome. This time I booked a hotel near the city center. I want to park the bike and play tourist again. I headed towards the fedex which is 45 minutes away.

But before I did that I made a pit stop at a small local cafe. Just for the hell of it!

Panini and yet again another espresso. It might be boring to you but I like randomly stopping into cities I have no reason to be.

So as the ride continued it turned out the Fedex was closed on Saturday, and re-opens Monday. UGGHH! So onto Rome. Although I’m excited to park the bike for a couple of days because I have been on the move since Lisbon!

A quick 40 minute jaunt….and full of excitement!

I arrived and decided to park the bike in a parking garage. Rome has a history of bikes being stolen. The garage ended up being perfect place for it, with the exception of walking with my gear about a mile.

Here’s where we blast through and play tourist. Really the two places I could see over and over is the pantheon and the coliseum. These two structures are both perplexing and a breathtaking representation of the roman empire.

Before I do that though a rooftop selfie at the hotel…..

Then a thirst quenching and whimsical smoked ale beer at this local…

Now the sites…

The Italian colors flourished in this photo……

I spent two mostly full days hanging out. Most of Saturday and all Sunday. Hitting up your typical Irish bars, watching rugby and having some late night pizzas.

Pretty uneventful, but I met some nice folks from around the world. My kind of weekend really!!!

The plan is to pick up the check card Monday morning and head to the coast to get to the Croatia Ferry and thats exactly what I did. Rome was just what the doctor ordered but I’m ready to hit up Croatia.

As I walked in, I showed my passport and finally received the card…….

Thanks to my buddy Eduardo back home, I’m back in cash action!!!!

I’ve got a 4 hour ride ahead of me and I’m sure I’ll stop periodically as Italy is a head turner!!

Not 20 minutes out of Rome and I had to stop and take a pic of this cool town with a medieval look called Nepi….

Nepi is a lovely town north of Rome near Lake Bracciano. It is in the area known as ancient Etruria, amidst gently rolling hills and monumental towns with epic pasts. The town was a pre-Roman settlement in the borderlands of Cerere (Etruscan Cerveteri) and Sutri. The Romans arrived and established a stronghold here in 383 BC and eventually conquered the entire region.

Riding on these roads was fantastic and the scene was just like I was rolling through a combo between Napa and the sierras. Actually it reminded me of Jackson at the base of the sierra nevadas. Rolling hills and vineyards with your pine trees and dramatic mountain sides…..Except you don’t see castles in California….

Side note, some of these gas stations have views for days……..

As I decended and rode through and off The Monti Sibillini National Park (Italian: Parco Nazionale dei Monti Sibillini) it’s an Italian national park located across the regions of Marche and Umbria, encompassing the provinces of Macerata, Fermo, Ascoli Piceno and Perugia.

With more time, I would of loved to have checked this park out. Riding through it made me fill with wonder.

I arrived to the port town of Ancona …..

and waited for the load up time at a cafe…..

Checking in was a breeze…

On my way out the shots from the boat gave me a close to birds eye view of Ancona…..

Ancona, capital of Ancona provincia and of Marche regione, in central Italy, on the Adriatic Sea on the farthest branch of the promontory that descends from the Conero massif. Founded by Syracusan colonists in about 390 BC, it was taken by Rome in the 2nd century BC and became a flourishing port, particularly favoured by the Roman emperor Trajan, who enlarged the harbour. Attacked by Goths, Lombards, and Saracens, Ancona declined but recovered its importance in the Middle Ages; it was one of the five cities of the Maritime Pentapolis under the Byzantine exarchate of Ravenna. 

Daffy duck and I got some great views of the sunset…..

With that I’ve got a nice nightime cruise coming and I’m looking forward to a country Ive never been to. CROATIA HERE I COME………as the night crept up I met some fellow riders who live in France and I introduced them to POLAR STEPS. An app that tracks your ride and pics all in one. You can look them on the app, as Chrisophe Tof! It’s nice to meet other riders as we share in all the trials and tribulations of traveling on a motorcycle.

I also had a brief but memorable interaction with an American couple Barry and his wife from Chicago. The discussions went from inner city Chicago life, to life on the road. Barry, I believe was a pastor, said he was inspired to tell his kids about what I was doing as an inspiration. Citing how traveling helps people think outside the box. Of course I don’t disagree.

These ferry’s are pretty awesome and convenient considering I can wake up in a new country with my vehicle/transportation. I had a good nights sleep and woke up to the sound of the Captain speaking, saying we were an hour out. The thought of seeing a new country always gets me excited. I packed up and walked out to the deck and wasn’t disappointed. GOOD MORNING SPLIT, CROATIA!

My first thought was it looked very Mediterranean, I have all day to ride and find a place to stay.

So as I made way off the boat I was immediately met by border control. I’ve been so used to just riding into countries in Europe without showing much of anything, so it took me back for a bit. They looked at all of my paper work for the bike and asked me a ton of questions. That being said I was able to get in and ride on.

I truly did not decide where I was going to go until I got on the bike so as I made it through the border patrol I thought the first thing I’d like to see is a castle. So as I checked through google maps I found this one…….KLIS FORTRESS

The Klis Fortress (croatian: Tvrđava Klis; Italian : Fortezza di Clissa) is a Medieval Fotress situated above the Village of Klis, near Split , Croatia. From its origin as a small stronghold built by the ancient Illyrian tribe Dalmatae, to a role as royal castle and seat of many Croatian kings, to its final development as a large fortress during the Ottoman wars in Europe, Klis Fortress has guarded the frontier, being lost and re-conquered several times throughout its 2,000-year history. Due to its location on a pass that separates the mountains Mosor and Kozjak, the fortress served as a major source of defense in Dalmatia, especially against the Ottoman Empire. It has been a crossroad between the Mediterranean Sea and the Balkans.

Fun fact this castle was also filmed in the movie game of thrones!

It was a beautiful day and the weather was in the high 80s so I decided instead of a hotel I wanted to camp and I found a campsite right on the coast an hour away.

Camp HORIZANT

After setting up my tent with a fantastic view I took a dip in a setting that most only dream about. Crystal clear waters, rocky beach side and weather as perfect as it can get!

I didn’t have many options for an open restaurant but found one down the street, with an ocean view! Food was good but expensive! Nothing to recommend. 🙂

That afternoon I was able to meet a few fellow travelers, share a beer and cigar, and tell some tales of all my travels. The common intrest with fellow travelers are the stories and were certainly not void of those.

Waking up with an ocean front view was just what the doctor ordered. The price was right the air was fresh and the ocean was at peace.

I woke up refreshed and ready to tackle the road ahead. I have a general idea of the direction i’m going and then I look at all the options for roads to ride. This next one was easy. Just follow the coast.

I eyed a town called Zadar and thought that would be my first stop. It’s only a couple hours away. This is about where I should tell you my first thought was why don’t I have my Nikon Camera?! On my first long ride to finland I carried it with me. It took some of the best pictures. Although phones have improved it’s nothing like an official camera. Either way here are some pics from this coastal portion of the ride. They won’t do it justice :(…..Croatia’s coast is beautiful!!!

I arrived in Zadar with not many expectations. But once I took a look at this coastal town, I realized I wanted to stay.

Zadar was cool town, with many tourists from the surrounding area. I don’t think there were any americans but it made me feel like I’m really far away from western societies. Like I was just getting a taste of what easetern europe was really about. It wasn’t easy to find a place to stay because the town was busy but I stayed in a nice size apartment on air bnb.

The next morning I woke up fresh and ready to ride. I was tempted to hang out in some of the local pubs, the night before, because the town was lively, but I’m not a spring chicken anymore. The weather and riding is taking it out of me.

So onto the next spot….

I have one or two more days to spend here in croatia and after my first coastline camping I wanted to do it again. There were a few options but I decided on location a few hours from me.

On the route there were two things I wanted to do. One stay along the coast. Two see if I can find a castles along the way.

As I stopped for lunch a town called Karlobag, I still wasn’t sure of the language or the cultural food. It felt as if it was a mix of many different. There was italian options of course and what seemed to be more eastern european influences but it wasn’t distinguishable I just havent been able to to talk with a local about either.

Staying along the E65 coastline road I almost found a castle instead it’s a fortress….

One that you can eat at too….

So even though I had some lunch Karlobag, I couldn’t resist sitting in the castle/fortress for a snack. Again these weren’t created yesterday. Some of these have been here for 1000’s of years. Here is your history of the Nehaj Fortress….

The name Nehaj comes from the Croatian term Ne hajati [ne xajati], which means ‘don’t care’. In Croatian this fortress has also other names, which are: Kula Nehaj [kula nexaj], what means Nehaj Tower, and Nehajgrad [nexajɡrad], what means Nehajtown.

This name was given to the hill and the Fortress by the Uskoks, who built on the top of this hill the Fortress for defensive purposes. They gave the hill and the Fortress such a name because they wanted to emphasize to the citizens of the town of Senj, and all of those that lived in the vicinity of the town of Senj, that they should not worry that someone will conquer this hill or the Fortress as long as they are there.

The next camp site is only a 15 minute ride from here and I’m excited to take another dip in the sea…and as you can see this site looks inviting!

I chose Camp Kozica mainly because its sits right on the water and then it’s also near a turn off that would take me to the borders of slovenia. I like croatia but I’m on a slight time crunch and want to leave ample time for each country. So depending on how I feel the next morning…we’ll see!!!!

As you can see from the pictures above :)….I’m starting to get lazy about taking pictures. From when I started back in 2016, I would be very conscious of the types of pictures I wanted. Now its an after thought.

I took a dip and then spoke with some fellow travelers, over a beer and cigar, again :), who were intrigued by my riding stories. I find people to talk to but it’s not often I get people asking me alot of questions. Most are intrigued, but it doesn’t go farther then some mild admiration. Ulitmately a nice easy going night before passing out.

Tomorrow is a mystery, where I go what I do will be left to the wind!