Update 30/8/08
We left the islands of Croatia behind and headed for Istria at the top left of the country. We drove to Vela Draga to spend the day climbing but once there the thunderstorms rolled towards us and it looked like it was going to chuck it down! We drove on and arrived at Pula and a rather strange campsite.
Set on a steep hillside with large pine trees in abundance we walked round and round the site looking for somewhere we could park the Mog, be able to put up the roof tent and without being at a serious angle... not a lot of choices for us! We eventually found a spot and became the cabaret while we wiggled the Mog into the space and adjusted and re-adjusted the levelling chocks. Almost immediately a small crowd gathered and stared at us... they didn't go away... they just stared! We checked that we were dressed correctly and didn’t have anything showing that we shouldn’t have or that we had bits in our teeth. We then checked that the lorry didn’t have a big sign saying “stare at us” on the outside of it – it didn’t! So we concluded that it was the Mog! We smiled at people and nodded, even in extreme cases said, “Hello” but they just stared! It didn’t help that the road was level with half-way up the lorry so people were less intimidated by it.
The next day we inflated the canoe, squeezed past the crowd and went sea canoeing for the afternoon which was lovely. Every night a storm would roll in and we would sit in the local bar with a cold beer watching it approach. Once it drew near enough to start to rain we would retire to the Mog.
Now... the Romans also liked Pula – I assume they didn’t drive a Mog and so weren’t stared at as much. They liked it so much that they invested a lot of slave time in building a stunning amphitheatre where they could watch other slaves and captured enemies slugging it out against lions and tigers and generally having less of a good evening than the free Romans. The example at Pula is the sixth largest in the world and one in the best condition, retaining its outer wall in entirety. It was built between 31 BC and 14 AD
We walked round plugged into a free walking tour and discovered all sorts of interesting facts about Pula, the Romans and amphitheatres in general and had a thoroughly pleasant time. What have the Romans ever done for us?... apart from the roads, drains, wine and amphitheatres of course!
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The amphitheatre at Pula - Click to enlarge any image |
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We’d put a message on UKClimbing.com for a climbing partner for Oz on the Croatian coast at Istria and Ollie had contacted us. He is travelling round Europe for a couple of months while he’s ‘between jobs’! We agreed to meet him at Rovinj so headed off that way after a few days on the beach.
At Rovinj we arrived at another vast campsite and were not keen on repeating the staring situation. However, right at the entrance we spotted a sign to another campsite but it had a low entrance barrier so we thought we wouldn’t get in. I ran into the reception to be met by Geert, an ‘interesting character’ and the owner. He showed us a back way in and wonderfully no-one even looked up when we drove in. We stayed in a tiny field with no electricity next to a huge site which we shamelessly visited for groceries, internet and using their swimming pool.
Franz and Edib were also staying there and Franz is a rock climber so it was arranged that the guys would go off the following day. Unfortunately Franz realised that he was missing his climbing boots – a rather important piece of kit! So he went out the next day and bought some! That evening Ollie arrived and the guys went off climbing the following day... and the day after... and the day after that!! Evenings were spent with one or other of the group cooking. I swam, caught up with emails and had a series of rather good massages.
Franz, Edib, Ollie and Oz with the Mog
We waved a sad goodbye to Franz and Edib and drove back to Vela Draga with Ollie and spent the night in the woods with Ollie borrowing our hammock. They went off climbing the next day and I sat with the Mog in the car park only to have one of the local guides shout at me as he thought we were camping which was not allowed in the national park. He became more and more angry the calmer I was and totally blew his top when I asked him to talk to me in a calm and rational manner!! He replied by screaming at the top of his voice, “I am calm and not angry at all!!”... hmm... I didn’t believe him!
That night we left Croatia and drove over the border into Slovenia. Ollie was squeezed into the front (he had been travelling in the back) and I drove to the border post and gave the guard our three passports. He looked at me and said, “Why three passports?” so I, a little confused and thinking it was a trick question, replied, “Because there are three of us!”. “Oh... Ok” he said and we drove on!