The first person to officially complete the Via Apsyrtides route was Bolto Gaberšek.

The project was created in cooperation between the Tourist Boards of the City of Mali Lošinj and the City of Cres. Via Apsyrtides, mountain transversal is a system of pedestrian bypasses that connects and presents the natural and cultural attractions of the islands of Cres and Lošinj, and at its center is a 150 km long transversal path that stretches from the northernmost point of Cres to the southernmost point of the island of Ilovik. 

In October 2011, Bolto Gaberšek, a mountaineer and lover of Lošinj and all its nature, and Dalibor Cvitković, the current director of the Mali Lošinj Tourist Board, walked the current Via Apsyrtides route for the first time. The 150-kilometer route took them 5 days, with an average of 8 hours of walking per day, during which they burned approximately 2.500 calories per day. In addition to logistics, they left unnecessary things such as wet clothes at certain points, and also took food from stage to stage. 

Bolto Gabersek is the first person to officially complete the Via Apsyrtides route. Today, 14 years later, the director of the Mali Lošinj Tourist Board, Dalibor Cvitković, presented him with the first Bypass Diary, which contains all 11 stamps for the 11 sections of the route completed.

"Now it's easier, cleaned up, and organized. Back then, people walked without maps, without marked trails, relying on their own experience and their ability to navigate nature because we knew the island. Dalibor and I were the best experts on the terrain. For years, we walked around it on foot, 'wildly'. Then maps started to be made, and others started to walk around as well. It's always important to know where north is, then you know where to go," he pointed out Bolto Gabersek. 

"We wanted to valorize these roads for tourism. The idea of ​​editing, marking, and digitally displaying this route started 3 years ago. That idea comes from my and Bolt's venture, and here we are, today we have maps, a Detour Diary, marked trails, GPS markers... everything that didn't exist 14 years ago.", he explained Director of the Tourist Board of the City of Mali Lošinj, Dalibor Cvitković and he remembered the great campaign.

"People thought it was strange what we were doing back then. They would be surprised where we came from. When we said "from Mrtvaška", the southernmost part of Lošinj, they didn't know what we were talking about. We would sleep along the way wherever we arrived, wherever good people would offer us accommodation. We were mostly accompanied by good weather, except for a strong bora wind that caught us on Osoršćica. That was the worst, most difficult, but also the most beautiful part of the journey."

Apart from the most difficult, last part of the journey, which they say was a part of walking on asphalt from Križići to Beli (Cres), they also remembered one of the most beautiful welcome in Grmovo when they were greeted with accordions and bellows. In addition to quickly getting used to the sounds of nature, the daily encounter with the 'largest wild boar' was also interesting, Bolto laughs.

Otherwise, Via Apsyrtides contains information about 11 sections with detailed descriptions, GPS tracks, service information, instructions on equipment, arrival, attractions and more, and in addition to trail markings, on the website viaapsyrtides.hr the main rules of behavior in nature are highlighted, which highlights respect for the traditions of the island and introduces visitors to local customs and lifestyle.

Also, on each of the sections (Cape Jablanac- Beli, Beli- Predošćica, Prdošćica- Cres, Cres- Valun, Valun- Martinšćica, Martinšćica- Ustrine, Ustrine- Osor, Osor- Ćunski, Ćunski – Mali Lošinj, Mali Lošinj- Veli Lošinj, Veli Lošinj- Radovan) there are mailboxes which contain stamps, needed by hikers and walkers to fill out their detour log, which can otherwise be picked up at the offices of the Cres and Lošinj tourist boards. 

It's a project was created in cooperation between the Tourist Board of the City of Mali Lošinj and the Tourist Board of the City of Cres. This creative approach to designing a new tourist product that connects two towns on the islands of Cres and Lošinj has further enriched the attractiveness of the destination's tourist offer.

/ / / Synergy: Via Apsyrtides is a new tourist product of Lošinj and Cres

Photo: Mali Lošinj Tourist Board