On the Istrian coast

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011 Istria
After another great meal (only 20 euros) at Fontana’s just down the street in Piran on Sunday night, on Monday morning we checked out of our room and caught the local bus at Tartini Square for the 15 minute ride to Portoruz. The bus to Porec was supposed to leave there at 11:20, according to the tourist information office in Piran, and we were there in plenty of time. There was no bus station, just a stop, and our bus was not listed on the board. By 11:30 we were starting to think that we’d be sitting in the park waiting for the next bus at 4:35 pm. However, our bus finally showed up and we left Portoruz behind. Portoruz is strictly a modern tourist town. It’s pretty but busy and tacky. We were glad we hadn’t stayed there.
In a few minutes we got to the Croatian border. Slovenian border guards checked our passports and then 50 metres later we stopped again and Croatian border guards checked them. This only took a few minutes and then we got on the 4 lane toll highway to Porec.
We were following the map as we went so when our bus turned off the toll highway and took a smaller road through a town we recognized, we knew we were close to the area where we had reservations. Originally we thought we’d have to go to Porec and then double back on a local bus. But as we approached the next crossroads, where I knew we should turn off to our resort area, I asked the driver to make an unscheduled stop there, which he did. He spoke no English but he got the idea, stopped the bus and got our packs out for us. I’m not sure this would happen in Canada.
Anyway, we were at a gas station and little tourist booth at a crossroads. We knew our hotel was 3k down the road to the west but it was blazing hot and we didn’t want to walk. So we asked about a bus, which would be a while. For 10 minutes or so we tried hitchhiking but that didn’t work so we resigned ourselves to walking across the highway into a little village where the bus stops at the post office.
In a few moments we saw another tourist agency and currency exchange. Realizing we had no Croatian money we went in and switched our last $170 Canadian into Croatian kuna (5 kuna = $1 Canadian). The lady was very nice and knew a little English. As we chatted, she decided on her own to call our hotel and get them to send a car for us, which they did in about 10 minutes. So we got a ride right to our resort.
The coast here is lined with hotels and trailer parks but it’s okay because there’s so much space. Our hotel has rooms in a number of 2 storey buildings. We have a great upper floor room with a balcony, facing the sea but you can’t see it for the trees and the other buildings. There’s a long beach front (sloping rock and some pebbly beach) and lots of trees. The sun gets very hot in the middle of the day but it’s easy to stay in the shade.
We’re paying about $140 Canadian per day for a beautiful room and buffet breakfast and dinner (including beer and wine). The food is quite good. Last night was a traditional Croatian theme so we had lots of different stuff including pasta with truffles. Istria is famous for truffles. Excellent!
After dinner there was a Croatian pop band playing on an outdoor patio. They played lots of old rock and roll so we danced for quite awhile by the seashore. Nice.
We’re just relaxing here until Friday morning when we’ll take a local bus to Porec and then another one to Rovinj. Anita is regaining her usual spark and hasn’t had any real breathing problems. It’s really hot but it’s dry so maybe that’s good. We’ve had nothing but sunshine since we got to Ljubljana. We haven’t had our running shoes out of our packs since we got off the plane. We’ve already walked many kilometres in our flip flops. Teva should pay us to advertise for them.
We have reservations in Rovinj for 2 nights and then Opatija for 2 nights. After that we had planned to take the ferry to Rab island but it’s really hard to get a reasonably priced room there so we’re thinking we may just bus down the coast to Zadar. After that it’s not too far to Split and the islands of Hvar and Korcula, which should have more accommodation in our price range, we hope. Being here in the high season is a bit of a challenge to find accommodation at reasonable rates.
Thursday July 14th
Yesterday afternoon we made a reservation at a beachfront guesthouse just outside of Zadar. So now we have Friday and Saturday in Rovinj, Sunday and Monday night in Opatija and Tuesday and Wednesday night in Zadar. We’ll bus the first 2 legs but we want to check out the ferry from Rijecka, near Opatija, to Zadar to see if it’s possible. Otherwise we’ll bus down the coast. There’s internet access only in the reception building here so we go there every afternoon for awhile to check things out. Sometimes the internet is really slow though. That's why we'll wait until the next stop to post any pictures. It's just too frustrating.
Last night we stuffed ourselves with calamari again. It’s not a huge buffet selection here but it’s really good and Anita is eating tons of salads to get her veggies. We’re being lazy and fattening up for the next travelling.
Last night there was a guitar/bass duo playing at the pool area. They played lots of Pink Floyd and Pearl Jam etc in an acoustic style. They were good so we listened for awhile and then sat by the sea in the full moon. It’s warm here every night and there are no mosquitoes so we can leave the French doors to our balcony wide open all night for the breeze. We have to get up about 4:45 every morning and close everything up so we can get a little more sleep because the gulls are incredibly loud early in the morning.
We haven’t heard any conversations in English since we got here. Most people seem to be Germans, Austrians, Italians, Slovenes and Croats on the coast for summer vacation.
Off to the lobby to check our email and post this. We’re staying at the “Rooms Montalbano” in the old town of Rovinj tomorrow night so I can’t remember if there’s internet access there or not. Thanks to everyone who sends us emails. We enjoy news and contact from home at abboles@gmail.com.