island of Dugi otok

We decided to spend some free days visiting a seaside destination, particularly an island Dugi otok, which is famous as the green island, with beautiful hiking trails and nice beaches. There were only a few tourists on the ferry. Actually, at the beginning of May, almost no visitors were exploring the island. Expecting beautiful nature and peace I was soon disappointed after we had arrived there. On the island, there are many places filled with plastic waste washed up by the sea or left there by visitors or locals. Old gym shoes, flip-flops, even car doors simply don't belong on the beaches. During the holidays I wondered if it was still possible to clean up all this mess. I couldn't stop wondering if we will destroy the environment.

Za prvomajske praznike sva se odpravila na destinacijo nekje ob morju in se odločila za Dugi otok, ki je znan kot zeleni otok, z lepimi pohodniškimi potmi in čudovitimi majhnimi plažami. Na trajektu je bilo malo turistov. V začetku maja na otoku skoraj še ni obiskovalcev. Pričakala naju je narava in mir. Vendar sem bila kmalu razočarana. Na otoku, so številni kotički, kjer je veliko plastičnih odpadkov, tistih, ki jih je prineslo morje in tistih, ki so jih tam pustili obiskovali ali domačini. Stari telovadni copati, natikači, celo vrata od avtomobila pač na plažo ne spadajo. Ves čas sem se spraševala, kako naj to nesnago sploh še pospravimo. Pa kaj je z nami, smo res tako neumni, da bomo uničili sami sebe?

We started exploring the island in the northwest and first visited Veli Rat and the lighthouse. At this time, the entire coast near the lighthouse is overgrown with beautiful flowers.

Raziskovanje otoka sva začela na severozahodu in najprej obiskala Veli Rat in svetilnik. Celotno obalo pri svetilniku v tem času krasijo čudovite rože.

Walking from the lighthouse to the north and at the same time observing beautiful forest polluted with plastic waste made me sad. Sakarun beach is the most famous beach on Dugi otok and very crowded in the summer. At the moment, sadly, it is filled with garbage as well.

Sprehod od svetilnika proti severu me je razžalostil, narava je čudovita, a tu je odvrženo ogromno odpadne plastike. V bližini je plaža Sakarun, najbolj znana plaža na Dugem otoku in v poletnem času zelo oblegana. Trenutno, pa je bilo tudi tam veliko smeti.

Near the bay of Brbinjščica there is also the pool created by nature Zmajevo oko (Dragon's eye) and the cave Golubinka, which is accessible only from the sea with a small boat or kayak. Instead of visiting the cave in the rainy morning we explored the nearby coast.

V bližini zaliva Brbinjščica je tudi naravni naravni bazen Zmajevo oko (Dragon’s eye) in jama Golubinka, ki pa je dostopna samo iz morja z manjšim čolnom ali kajakom. Midva s jamo izpustila in namesto tega raziskovala bližnjo obalo.

In the village of Savar in a small church of St. Peregrine.

V bližini se nahaja vasica Savar s cerkvico Sv. Pelegrina.

The national park Telašćica, with the salty lake Mir and mighty cliffs and beautiful views is located in the southeast of the island. The hiking trails that we walked were easy and included only small evaluation changes. 

Na jugovzhodu otoka leži narodni park Telašica, s slanim jezerom Mir in mogočnimi klifi ter še lepšimi razgledi. Pohodniške poti, ki sva jih prehodila midva so lahke in potekajo večinoma po ravnini.

To reach the most beautiful views, it’s needed to go to the Grpašćak hill, where it could be seen all the way to the Kornati Islands.

Za najlepše razglede se je potrebno odpraviti na vzpetino Grpašćak, kjer imamo razgled vse do otočja Kornatov.

At the beginning of May, the only camp on Dugi otok was still closed. We stayed in our van overnight, where we always have the most beautiful views directly from our bed.

V začetku maja je edini kamp na Dugem otoku še zaprt. Midva sva najine proste dni preživela kar v kombiju, kjer imava vedno najlepše razglede direktno iz postelje.

While we were returning home behind Velebit mountain range, we spent some time exploring the landscape and stopped in the village of Kuterevo, where there is a shelter for young bears. Although they looked so cute, I wouldn't want to meet them in the natural environment.

Proti domu se nisva vračala ob morju, ampak sva izbrala cesto za Velebitom in raziskovala pokrajino. Ustavila sva se tudi v vasi Kuterevo, kjer je zavetišče za mlade medvede. Zgledali so tako ljubki, vendar jih v naravi ne bi hotela srečati.