SwimTrek Croatia 2004
We had an early start to catch a flight at 8:30 from Gatwick to Split, Croatia. From there we caught two local buses to Šibenik from where we caught a “water taxi” to the island of Zlarin from where we were based for the week. We met the other 13 swimmers and 3 leaders but sadly there was no time for swimming!
We got up early for the introductory swim. We zig-zagged across the port and back for a quick 600m evaluation in order to determine our grouping. I discovered that although Deborah is not at all deferential to cold water (despite having swam in a couple of very cold lakes in Wales and an extremely cold Lido in Ilksey) she gets in quickly if it means starting with the rest of the group and not having to play catch-up! The weather was very cold and windy so instead of an open water crossing, we swam 4.25km down the west coast of the Island of Zlarin before stopping for lunch. After lunch we walked around the southern tip and then Deborah and I, together with another 6 swimmers who still felt like we hadn’t swum quite enough, swam another 1km back to the boat. There were lots of jellyfish and the occasional plastic bag floating in the crystal clear water and lots of fish!
As it was still extremely windy and cold we took our boat up the Krka river inland to the Krka National Falls. We spent the morning hiking up around the falls and then went for a quick dip under the lowest waterfalls. Unfortunately, the park warden decided that our swimming might encourage other visitors to the park to go for a dip (unlikely given the fresh water was quite frigid and it was still cold) and as there had been a lot of rainfall the current under the falls was quite strong, so we were asked to leave the waterfall before Deborah made it in! After lunch our goal was to swim from the falls down to the blue bridge. I wore trunks but Deborah donned a wetsuit which kept her nice and warm and we swam downstream while waving to the occasional passing boat. It was quite a change to swim in fresh water and not have to experience the stinging salt if you misjudged a wave. Just before the end, the slight taste of salt signified that we were approaching the tidal estuary.
The sun was shining for the first time and the seas had calmed down considerably so we set out for our first open water crossing. Unfortunately, despite a staggered start, the current was quite strong and we were told to change our destination point several times and the group became very spread out. We boarded the boat on from the next island and went over some swimming drills in the port before going to another island which had been used as a prison of war camp. We played in the harbour after lunch. Sadly the ground under the diving board wasn’t deep enough for fancy diving! We then had the “SwimTrek” sprint to a sister island - a distance of less than 500m. Debs misheard the directions for the race and touched the other side and started coming back before she realised it was over and she had won. We had a second race coming back. Deborah opted to swim it butterfly and swim at a more relaxed pace right alongside me. She enjoyed more of the scenery both above and below the water, while I swam alongside my personal dolphin/mermaid, admiring her graceful proficiency at this stroke.
The weather continued to improve so we took a long sail to reach the islands in the Kornati National Park. We landed at one, from where we took a hike to the highest point and more group photo shoots. We swam in the port before lunch and then set off for an afternoon swim down the coast of another island.
Our last official day of swimming and we swam from our home base of Zlarin aiming at the church tower on Prvic, the island directly to the North, some 3.5 km away. For the last part we were allowed to spread out slightly and encouraged to sprint. Debs said she didn’t want to watch how slow our progress felt, and once we arrived on the beach realised we had sprinted for a good 15 min at the end! I arrived completely exhausted and couldn't even stand up on the beach! We hiked to the opposite side of the island, where the boat had moored. After lunch, and a rest, we set off once again to the next island, Tijat, another 2.5 km. Again Debs decided to swim with the slower group and put flippers on, but didn’t use her arms, and kept her head above water to enjoy the last swim and be a more social swimmer! She was giving me tips on my front crawl, which made it seem like only half the effort. If only she'd done this from Day One, I thought. When we arrived at the next bay, she took off her wetsuit and cooled down in the water before we all boarded the boat back to Zlarin.
For those who still hadn’t had enough swimming there was an optional session in the port of Zlarin before breakfast. The wetsuits had been put away, so we had to keep moving as the water was quite cold. We practiced stroke technique and had a couple of team races to finish off our trek. The others took the lunchtime ferry but Debs and I decided to enjoy a last two hours on the island then took a water taxi back to the mainland, from where we took a 7 hour bus ride to arrive in Dubrovnik for a late supper. The old city was spectacular with limestone pavement and buildings – all floodlit [with upward facing 500 watt lights! - Deb].