How do you hold up an international cruise. I did.

Peter made a great dish of tortellini, salami and a very special sauce for dinner last night.  Again the night was just as hot as the day, so we went and sat out the front of the camping ground and just chatted some time away before retiring for the evening.  My tent was a mess and I needed to do some cleaning before I could lie down.  I had a great night’s sleep and woke around 7am. 

Now we were in no rush today as we had everything planned and we still had our ferry pass from yesterday to use.  This was a great idea to purchase a 36 hour ticket for 25 Euro. For breakfast we had muesli, banana, and a cup of coffee.

I slowly packed up my tent and loaded the bike for the 1km ride to the port of Punta Sabionni.  But first we still had plenty of time before we boarded the 5.15pm ferry to Pula in Croatia.  Now that’s another story in itself.  We went to the Wifi room, did some research on accommodation and checked out the intended route for the next couple of days.

It was now time to go and catch the first ferry to Lido.  This took about 30 minutes and we had no problem with getting the bikes on as the ferry only had about 20 people on board.  After arriving in Lido Saint Maria we rode down to the cafe where we had a snack yesterday and once again had another snack of cake and coffee.  We sat down with the coffee set and looked real cool with all the locals.

The next stage was a 5 minutes ride up the road to find the port of Lido Saint Nicolas.  This was a ferry port for the transfer of cars to and from the mainland of Italy.  We got on board with our bicycles and we were off again for another and perhaps the last ferry ride in Italy.  The ferry took us to the port of San Basillio which is still on the island of Venice but around the other side of the island.  You are not permitted to ride your bicycle on certain parts of the island so we had to catch 2 ferries.   

After riding over the bridge and through a Police check point, we were permitted to enter the harbour. We made our way to the customs waiting area and just relaxed the afternoon away talking to some young Aussie tourists and doing some more waiting.

Check in for the ferry commenced around 3.30pm, so Peter and I got in line to get our ticket and present our bicycles for inspection.  We were told to take our bikes with us and head towards the security screening process.  This is just like the screening at any airport in the world.  Because we had 4 panniers, tents and tarp on each bike they told us to push the bikes through and didn’t worry about the scanning process.  Then we were called back to go back through the scanner, take our panniers off, and tent, and handlebar bag and put them through the scanning process. This is where all the fun begun.  By the time I got through the scanner I was asked if I had a knife.  Of course I have a knife, I’m camping.  The problem I had was it was one hell of a knife, with folding blade.  The line behind us was long and getting longer because of what we had to do and it was taking up a lot of time.  

So I was pulled aside and asked for my passport and this was taken to the Police check point about 10 metres ahead of me.  I couldn’t go anywhere and was told to wait for the Police.  Now I was thinking what was the worst thing they could do to me, whip me, put me in goal, or fine me?  After about 10 minutes of waiting with my bike and gear, I was told to come forward ahead of everyone and speak to the Police Officer. 

I went into the air conditioned room and started talking to one of the 2 police officers that were doing all the police checks on people wanting to get onto my ship.  I had the undivided attention of one officer and that meant the tourists had 1 officer to do the checking.   We talked about the knife and why I had it, and he told me it should have gone on checked baggage. I explained the situation and he was fine with my excuse.  I also requested if he could speak to the ship’s master and see if he could carry it for me and I’ll pick it up off him when we get to Croatia.  Sure, no problem. I was given a piece of paper and told to collect the knife when I get off the ship.  

I took about 15 minutes talking to the police officer about my job, Peter’s job and he was rather impressed.  He told me had been to Sydney in 2000 and participated in the 800 metres finals of the running.  I shook his hand and called him a legend.  He wished me all the best in my journey and I headed towards the ship. 

Due to my little encounter with the Police and holding up the whole process, the ship left Venice 15 minutes late.  But it was pretty cool to shake hands with an Olympian runner from Italy.

Now we’re still on the ship heading to Pula, so when we arrive I hope to find some accommodation, post the story and go to bed.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Post blog. We finally arrived at Camp Stoija in Pula, Croatia at around 10pm.  Not good, but the other option was far too expensive.  We settled in like all Aussie do, we made ourselves at home.  The place is loaded with tourists and we should be moving on by 10am tomorrow.  The cruise was good and the sea was smooth as can be.

Now it's time for bed.

 I took the above photo whilst catching the car ferry to San Basillio port.

I took the above photo today.  Notice the haze has gone and the picture is much clearer.

Good night Australia.