Day 93

22 July 2013

She is ready!

Around eleven thirty I called the dealer and asked how things were going with my motorcycle. Meanwhile I had packed up but not paid my bill as yet. There was still a question about the early arrival of the parts but… they had arrived. The bishop I had made fun of was now helping me I think, as when I arrived at the bus stop, bus number 5 had just pulled out, but when I waived the driver, he stopped. Almost the same happened at the exchanged to line 3 which to took me to near the bike shop. By now I recognized where I was so I got out one stop earlier and what had taken me an hour on Saturday had now taken me 35 minutes. I was eager to get going, so this was a big help.

No need to ask more questions than necessary or start a conversation. I just paid the bill and off I went back to the hostel. I paid the bill and loaded up and before 2 pm I was on the road north towards Rijeka. I wanted to ride the coast road again as I had enjoyed it a lot on my way to Plitvice, however when I went there I needed to turn inland half way down the road; I now I could ride it all the way to Rijeka, a fast ride but still only averaging 50 km per hour due to the hundreds of switchbacks and turns. I think the longest straight bit was around 50 meters.

Late afternoon I arrived in Opatija, 20 km past Rijeka. I still needed to find accommodation. I pulled over at a restaurant near the sea front and asked the immaculately dressed waiter if they had wifi . He first looked me up and down no doubt trying to form an opinion if he would let me in wearing a bike jacket and holding my helmet in my hand. After a few seconds the final judgment came by way of a gentle nod after which I ordered coffee and got to work. The deck from where I was located overlooked the very end of the Adriatic sea, quite a sight. I could find no accommodation in Opatija, meaning, in my price bracket, but found a hostel in Rijeka 16.5 km back. I booked online and ordered a pizza as by now it was 8.30 pm.

The hostel was the worst I had come across but was the only one with space for and parking for the bike, as July is prime holiday season. The taps didn't work properly, there was shoddy carpentry, broken lockers, no place to sit, no tables , nothing. The bathroom was small with inadequate lighting etc. I sat on a bottom bunk which promptly collapsed underneath me. The receptionist girl quickly came over and said 'yes it happens all the time with that bed" I thought: two screws will fix that and it will never happen again, why don’t you get it fixed. Anyway once you are asleep it does not matter. At least everything was clean. The only thing it had going for it was that it was right at the harbour with nice views. Rijeka is a prime seaport; larger ships tie up there. In days gone by I had often seen larger vessels with "Rijeka” on the stern, now I know where they came from. Anyway at least I was able to park the bike inside the large foyer of the building.