What to see in the Kvarner islands, the story of a boat trip departing from Baska, the capital of the island of Krk, with impressions of travelers on the islands in this Gulf of Croatia.
Tourist information
Housed in Baska, the capital of the island of Krk, in the excellent Corinthia hotel, a few meters from the sea, going out the first evening on the seafront, we are approached by a member of the shipping company, who proposes and illustrates us in detail, in very convincingly, a mini cruise to visit the islands.
The tour includes the departure from the local pier the following morning at 9, with return for 18, the price seems convenient, also includes lunch on board based on fish, we decide to accept. As scheduled, the following day we embark on the Leonora motor ship used for this tourist service.
The weather is good, the night had rained leaving clean horizons, ideal for taking excellent photographs.
Furrowing the waters of the Adriatic, in the area corresponding to the Gulf of Kvarner, we first meet the deserted island of Prvic, continuing the islands of Sv Grgur (San Gregorio), Goli (Calva island) and Rab (Rab).
What see
Goli island: it is sadly remembered for the concentration camp it hosted from 1948 to 1988. This small rocky island, almost all devoid of vegetation, except for a part where trees were planted by the deportees, saw men and women deprived of all dignity , forced to work hard, beaten and humiliated because they are considered opponents, certain or presumed, of the Tito regime.
Their journey began in Bakar, on the coast, where they boarded a ship, with three hours of night navigation they reached the island of Goli.
When they landed on the island, clothes were stripped, beaten and forced to walk barefoot on the sharp and sharp stones of the island for the whole time of captivity, with the outcome for many fatal.
It is estimated that out of about 30,000 total internees, about 4,000 died there, even if their bodies were never found, even at sea, perhaps they were burned.
The works they carried out were of three types: the quarry work, the hardest one (the workers in this work had no shelter to rest, summer and winter were forced to live outdoors), then there was the production of furniture and the production of grit tiles (the workers in these jobs had cells to rest, very tight spaces where about fifteen people could lie on the ground).
In the summer the amount of drinking water allowed was two glasses per day per person, who dared to complain, for any reason, was whipped.
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In the evening after a day of hard work, political propaganda films were shown inside a building and after the screening the unfortunate spectators were questioned about what they had seen and if they could not answer the questions they were punished again.
Obviously, health care did not exist, until common criminals were also interned on the island.
In 1956 women who had been interned in the prison on the island of Sv Grgur were transferred to a part of the island. Unfortunately many of them ended up being abused by the guards.
Rab Island: is famous for San Marino beach, the island's splendid beach, commonly known as paradise beach. The sea in front of this beach is like a swimming pool, to swim you have to walk a long way in the shallow water before finding a little depth.
Island of Sv Grgur: during the return trip we skirted the imposing cliffs of this island, very beautiful, on which we also noticed two goats, who were at ease on the rock overlooking the sea. The hope was to spot the dolphins, which are found in this beautiful sea, but we haven't met them, hopefully next time.
