LIFE ON MARS
THE ISLAND OF PAG (Part II)
We used the next two days to go to Chista Beach, and just lie around and enjoy the warm weather and sun. And despite the fact that meteorologists daily announced heavy rains throughout the day and cloudy weather, the following days were followed by warm and sunny weather during the day and every evening was followed by summer storms and heavy rains. However, we were happy that we could use the days and go to the beach to sunbathe and swim in the beautiful Adriatic Sea. On the fourth day we decided to leave a little earlier than usual and head to the central part of the island of Pag, and visit Metajna.
The central part of the island is a story in itself. The road leading there was quite challenging, even though it was a two-way road, it was very narrow and every time a car approaches from the opposite side you have to slow down a lot because you are not sure if the road is wide enough for both vehicles. When we entered the city of Metajna, we saw that almost all the main streets in the whole city were being worked on, and you were literally driving on dug-up streets and potholes. The streets are quite narrow and steep, and if two cars need to diverge, one car must move out of the way so that the other can pass. Despite all these challenges, we managed to get to the unmarked parking lot, which is accessed by a dirt road, without a problem.
We parked the car, got water and headed to a place called Life on Mars. The sun was already burning hard, but we didn't think it would be so strong and that it would burn us, so we didn't take sunscreen, which was our first mistake. We started climbing the steep hill, and the moment we hit the first climb, we realized why so many people visit this trail, and why it has this name. The name itself says it all. Even though the road to this amazing place is pretty rough, the final view and the happiness and excitement you feel when you finally get there is worth every bump in the road. When you step here, you have the feeling that you have come to Mars, the only thing that brings you back to reality and you realize that you are on Earth is the blue and pure sea that is visible on the other side. Even though I am writing this text after 10 months since I returned from this trip, my emotions and excitement are still in the same euphoric phase as when I first stepped on this island.
The Life on Mars trail is divided into 4 parts, that is, depending on how physically prepared you are, you can choose a 4-kilometer trail, a 7-kilometer trail, a 12-kilometer trail, and for the most prepared, a 16-kilometer trail. The track officially launched in 2019, and a race called Life on Mars is held every year. In 2020, the via ferrata is included as part of the route, because a 100-meter long section passed through the sea, to facilitate the crossing of this section. It is about the via ferrata, which is placed 1-2 meters above the sea in a length of 100 meters, and is classified as difficult. My main motivation for visiting this trail was exactly this via ferrata. But we underestimated the sun, which was burning quite strongly that day, and we also underestimated the terrain, which I can safely say is brutal, and we decided not to finish the route and go back. Although I was very disappointed, I decided to put my health first and leave this trail and the via ferrata for another visit. The key for this route is to have plenty of water with you, sun protection, good and comfortable shoes as well as light clothes, and if you are not an experienced mountaineer, it is preferable to have some energy bars and fruit with you to be able to recover your energy, because it is still a hard and demanding trail. And definitely don't go with a small bottle of water and without any sun protection like me. We stayed here for about two hours enjoying the amazing view, until the sun started to burn too much and we decided to go down to the car and drive to Chista beach where we could cool off and refresh in the sea.
I can safely say that Pag has become my favorite holiday destination in Croatia, even though it is a small island it offers so many activities, which I didn't manage to do in this short time here, so Pag, wait for me again some other time.
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