We left Marina Veruda, where we'd stashed Pavlov while we took a road trip to Slovenia, and headed north, trying to escape the high mooring fees in Croatia. Our first stop was just next to Veruda, in a delightful protected anchorage at Uvala Soline. This was a large shallow bay that was just filled with boats. They were everywhere, most filled with naked Italian crews, but it was a nice atmosphere and we enjoyed staying a few days.
 |
| Uvala Soline |
Next stop was the roman town of Pula, famous for its amphitheatre. We anchored out in the far corner of the commercial port, but not far enough from the eyes of the ever watchful port authority, who was soon around to collect his fee.
 |
| Pavlov at anchor in Pula |
 |
| Beautiful Pula buildings |
 |
| Large Roman amphitheatre seats 22,000 |
 |
| Megan in Pula boulevarde |
 |
| Local market |
 |
| Roman gate |
 |
| Augustinian temple |
 |
| Street entertainers |
 |
| These cranes were amazingly lit at night |
Pula was an interesting town, vibrant with tourists but not overwhelmed. I always like the grittiness of industrial ports and Pula was no exception. I did enjoy the light-show of the cranes at night, lit up with changing colours. They looked like giant giraffes. They were pumping time to the rock concert that had filled the roman amphitheatre that night. During this summer season, there are all sorts of concerts and art events in these large towns. We were disappointed that we missed the gladiators fighting in the amphitheatre. I guess Croatia found a (short-lived) employment venue for out-of-work actors!
We are dawdling up the coast towards Italy. Megan's brand new camera failed, so we left it in Ljubljana for warranty repair. This means we'll have to return there to pick up the camera in a few weeks. We thought we'd hang out in cheaper Croatia waiting for the camera, rather than high priced Italy.
 |
| Pula's colourful cranes. |
 |
| Another shot of the Roman temple |
Just off the coast of Pula lie the islands making up the Brijuni National Park. These islands belonged to President Tito who had his summer lodge there. Navigation is prohibited through the centre of the island group, but we snuck up the side for a peek. There is a hotel on the islands, but the fees are astronomical. We'd heard it was 20 Euro per metre per night to anchor in the islands. For us, that's 240 Euro (about AUD$360) just to drop our pick!
 |
| Brijuni National Park |
 |
| Expensive hotels on the island, near Tito's summer residence |
 |
| Only for the massively wealthy. |
Our next anchorage was quite entertaining. All along this part of the densely wooded Croatian coast are large caravan parks. These cater for tourists from all over Europe and so are quite multi-national places. We anchored in a little cove called Pulari. It seems that when Europeans go camping, they vie with each other to see who can bring the most toys. The little cove was overflowing with all types of nautical devices: Kayaks, speed boats, windsurfers learning to steer their teetering craft, water skiers, paddle boards, people snorkelling, people sleeping on floating lilo's. It was a navigational nightmare. Mind you, Pav was the only yacht in the cove, but we are nothing if not adaptable. Besides, there was no one coming around to collect fees.
 |
| Holiday camp at Pulari |
After all this camping and 'life is a beach', we though we'd better head to a serious destination. Rovinj is a large Roman town in the centre of the Istrian peninsula. We did a fly-by through its convoluted harbour before anchoring on the outskirts of town in a bay called Uvala Lon.
 |
| Approaches to Rovinj |
 |
| Roving old town |
 |
| Only super yachts can berth with impunity on the Customs dock |
 |
| Beautifully wooded Katarina Island |
 |
| Pavlov anchored in Uvala Lon |
Rovinj is a beautiful city. It is fringed with lovely wooded parks filled with people bathing and taking in the sun. We walked into the centre of town from our anchorage.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please comment, we'd love to hear from you