Hello diary followers,
We have been in Croatia now for just three weeks. Since the last entry we have experienced mostly lovely sunshine but today we have had a thunder storm which is still going on as I type.
Yesterday John described the Istrian coastline as one large holiday village with the large campsites, hotels and apartments strewn along the coastline with only a fence separating each venue as you walk or cycle along the path. He is right, although the campsites are set in the most beautiful grounds with Cypress trees and overlooking small islands. There are walking and cycle paths that link the small towns and villages scattered along the coastline. However, we are here in October and many of the campsites have either closed or are closing and thats great for us as we can walk and cycle along the paths without seeing anyone and enjoy the scenery all to ourselves. I think it would not be as inviting July and August, but I doubt if we will ever know.
We stayed at the Amarin campsite until it closed on 1st October, we were one of the last to leave. Our nearest neighbours, Susi and Thomas from Munich, were camping in their tent next door. They stayed until the end and went on to the island of Cres. They are a lovely couple ( I know they will read this ) and we enjoyed sharing our travel experiences. We were the only GB van on the campsite, mostly Germans and a few Dutch. Most of the Germans and Dutch speak English and were very friendly.
A few people in the past have said "what do you actually do when you are away" Well here's an idea of what we get up to. One day we walked the hour's walk into Rovinj, had a look around, did a bit of shopping, had a drink overlooking the marina (Aperol Spritz is very popular here) and then caught the ferry back. Another day we cycled into Rovinj and then followed the cycle path (no 103) as far as we wanted along the coastline. We passed through a few campsites including an FKK section (FKK I hear you asking, what's that), well that means its a naturist campsite!! Well you didn't think you were going to read my blog without some mention of nudity did you!! We just cycled through and saw a few bare bottoms but mostly watching where we were cycling.
Another time, we took Flo out and travelled up into the mountains. We visited Motovun, a hilltop town and a big tourist attraction. We walked to the top although we have been here before, and reminded ourselves of the fabulous views. We had some lunch before heading to a small hilltop sleepy village called Oprtalj, less touristy. The village was once full of dilapidated buildings, but they are gradually being restored into boutique hotels and restaurants. We had a walk round and found a wallet on the pavement. We had a feeling we knew who it may belong to and managed to find the German couple who were frantically looking for it. It contained about 100 Euros in Croatian Kunas. They were very pleased to get it back and offered to buy us a drink but as time was getting on we politely declined. We then drove to Groznjan, another hilltop town popular with artists, was once inhabited with Italians but they moved out after WW2. We once started a cycle ride along the Parenzana cycle track on a previous trip from here. There was a flea market going on where everthing from war memorablia, to metal posters of the Rolling Stones was on offer. We drove back to the campsite taking a scenic route back.
Towards the end of our time at the Amarin campsite, we had two grey and white kittens and probably their mother come to visit us hoping for some food. I eventually gave in and fed them for the last couple of days we were there. Funnily enough, I never saw them on our final day, I often wonder what happens to the campsite cats when the campsite starts to close, perhaps best I don't know. What i do know is that I have never seen an old cat.
We left mid morning on the day Amarin closed. We had a long drive, all of 20 miles, north of Rovinj and about 8 miles from Porec. The campsite Valkanela is open until the 15th October. We have a lovely spot overlooking the sea and the village of Vrsar which looks lovely at night with its twinkly lights and church tower lit up. We have been here nearly a week and will stay until it closes too. We have chosen not to go further south as the weather in Croatia is on the turn. We still have some beautiful warm sunny days but it is getting chilly at nights now and also rain is forecast every few days. We are travelling on to Spain later in the month, where the weather we hope will be much warmer.
We have taken our kayak out around the islands and it now has a puncture, we seem to get one every time we take it out, but it is always repairable and this time it looks as if we have a leak from a previous puncture. We manage to go walking for an hour each day and have cycled into Porec. Porec is another popular tourist seaside town like Rovinj. Again, this time of year it is quiet and a pleasure to walk round. During our time here we are going to do more of the Parenzana cycle track which we can pick up from the start at Porec. The track is 130km long, and goes as far as Trieste in Italy. It was once a railway line running from 1902 until 1935 with 35 stations covering Croatia, Slovenia and Italy. it was used for passengers and freight such as olive oil, fruit and veg, wines, salt, lime and stone. It was developed into a cycle and hiking track in 2002. Using the car, we will drive to a section and cover as much as we can. Will let you know how we get on in the next instalment.
So we are up to date, the rain has stopped and its time to do some food shopping. We are noticing everthing is costing more now than in the past, lets hope Spain is better value.
