Croatia 2018-07-27 - Istria - Packraft Lim Fjord

Western Istria has a geographical feature that is known as “Limski kanal” or “Limski zaljev” in Croatian. Tourists however prefer to refer to it as “Lim Fjord”, although in fact it is not a fjord at all, it just looks like one. More precisely, Lim Fjord is a 10 km long narrow bay that was carved by a river into the limestone landscape, rather than by a glacier.

During our family holiday in Istria I make a 34.7 km solo packrafting & hiking daytrip covering the Lim Fjord area. I start at our holiday residence in the small village of Flengi around 8:00am and hike through vineyards and small woods to a bay just north of Vrsar, where I start paddling. More than anything else, it is important to make an early start to be ahead of the sea breeze, which usually starts blowing later in the morning. Being early allows me to avoid rough conditions while paddling along the Adriatic coast, passing some of the islands of the Vrsar archipelago, until I reach the mouth of Lim Fjord. Around the time I reach the fjord the sea breeze starts to pick up, which is good since I am now veering east and can hence enjoy a nice tailwind. I make good progress and make a stop halfway the fjord around noon.

As I paddle further inland after lunch winds increase even more so I continue to make good progress. I paddle until the very end of the fjord and then go back a bit to take a break at the beach next to the restaurant. It’s a pretty hot day, I hence take a short swim but am quite surprised about how cold and murky the water is, compared to the Adriatic. Apparently the fjord has rather special conditions, which explains its economic significance as shellfish growing grounds.

Unfortunately there is no obvious hiking trail from my current location back to the village of Flengi. I therefore decide to paddle back part of the fjord. This is where conditions really get rough. Not only is the sea breeze blowing in full force now, in addition thunder clouds have moved in. The fierce headwind and waves are a real struggle but in the end I do reach a point where a trail steeply climbs up from the fjord onto the surrounding plateau. Although I am low on drinking water I decide to hike parts of the Kontija woods before returning, first to a lookout above some steep cliffs, then to a lookout above the so-called “pirates cave” and finally to a lookout tower on the Mukaba hill. Afterwards, I hike back to our holiday residence where I arrive around 6:00pm, well in time to take a dive into the pool to wrap up a physically strenuous day.

Worth mentioning is that water in these parts has a high salt content. Much of my stuff, including the lens of my GoPro is therefore covered with salt by the end of the day. Good rinsing afterwards is in order…