A stop-over in Losinj, 24-25 June

The island of Lošinj, located in the Kvarner Gulf, has long served as an important center of maritime activity. Its scenic landscape and naturally sheltered bay, protected from all winds, have made it a favoured stopover since ancient times, particularly in light of the Bora winds that frequently affect this northern part of the Adriatic Sea.

Belisama in Mali Losinj marina

And indeed, it has a lot to offer...
The days are currently extremely hot, with temperatures well above 30°C. As a result, the streets of the village remain mostly quiet until the sun begins to set.

The ACI Marina is located just after the opening bridge that leads into Lošinj Bay from the north. If you plan to pass through the bridge, be aware that the current in this narrow, eight-metre-wide canal can be very strong, often flowing against you depending on the tide. You’ll need to go in at full speed, as the bridge operators aim to keep the opening time as short as possible, and they’ll make that quite clear to you! 🙂

An alternative is the Mali Lošinj Marina, right in the center of town. It’s significantly cheaper and offers electricity and water, though it lacks toilet and shower facilities. Since Belisama is fully equipped, we chose this option and found it to be a great location. Just note that you can’t book in advance, and in our experience, no one responded to phone calls or VHF channel 17 during approach. Regardless, proceed toward the quay. If there is berth available, the marineros will signal to you from the pier and guide you in. The marina tends to fill up by mid-afternoon, so it’s best to arrive in the late morning, after the overnight boats have departed, and before the next wave of arrivals comes in.

Below is the church of the nativity of the Virgin located at the top of the village, but without a good view on the bay. So nothing special, but a good walk through the narrow streets of the village, in the shadow!

Church of the nativity of the Virgin

We were struck by the amount of small interesting piece of street art in those streets. See below!

One of the highlight of the city is the museum of the Apoxyomenos, a statue discovered by a Belgian diver just along the coast of Losinj in the 90's. The statue dated from the antiquities, when Romans were importing large amount of art pieces from Greece. How this one ended on the sea bed is unclear, but it was restored in 7 years and is. ow the centre piece of this museum. The museum is worth the visit even though the staff is not that welcoming, as often in Croatia. You are only allowed to spend 5 minutes in the room where the statue is displayed, and not allowed to take any pictures, but through windows from outside with dirty glass with and reflections. As we entered the room, a staff came in aggressively asking us whether we had taken any pictures, which we had not. But the inquisitive tone of the staff broke the magic of the encounter with such a piece of art connecting us across the centuries with our ancestors. Too bad. 

I contacted the museum about the experience, and they apologised, saying the 5 minutes was rather for large groups of guided visits than for 2 visitors like us, and we could have spent more time there than indicated. Furthermore, they indicated that the interdiction of taking pictures was motivated by the risk to damage the statue resulting from visitors wishing to take selfies with the statue by climbing on it, a far-fetched argument as there is always a warden in the room as you enter it. In any case, you can get good pictures of the statue by visiting the Wikipedia site devoted to it in the link above.

Overall, spending two nights in Losinj was a very good experience, with a lot of cultural interest, a nice village centre, and a good stopover to shop, charge the batteries, and fill the water tanks!