Highlights
Being stopped by the water Policija
The Pula Colliseum view from the water
AC in the marina shower
Lessons
Stop being polite
We left Rovinj early for another long sailing day. Today we actually sailed - I thought we were before but today we put out both the sails and actually had enough wind to play around with speed and adjustments. It’s been an interesting aspect of the entire trip really - I’m sure most people have this reaction but - I now really want to buy a sailing boat. Guess I need to buy a skipper too...
We were on our way through an area that had a park along the shore, when we saw a boat coming directly towards us. I’m not familiar with boats and different kinds but I could see Jose was concerned. Once it got closer we could see why - it was the Policija. They asked us what we were doing - and without being too curt - we said sailing; they then asked where we were going, which we said Pula. They sternly noted we were in military waters and under absolutely no circumstance are allowed to continue and must immediately turn around. We were a little surprised but on our way out of the area - I think I know why it was so top secret... I’ll let the picture below explain.
We continued on and had another little detour when we tried to tie in to an area for a swim. We got all hooked up - which is quite a process - when we were approached by a boat asking our purpose which we said simply to swim for an hour or so - he told us for one hour it would be 1,000 Kuna. Now, conversion has been difficult with CAD to Kuna but I knew this was ridiculous - turns out to be $200 CAD. So we promptly left.
Eventually we did find a nice little spot for an afternoon swim. From which we made our way to Pula. The marina here was incredible very clean and central, with showers that yes, had air conditioning! This seems like a small thing to highlight but there’s something beyond words about exiting a shower and not immediately sweating and feeling dirty all over again. I would relate it to having a shower and then putting muddied clothes back on, somewhat pointless.
After cleaning up we were just moments away from the beautiful Coliseum. There was quite a bit of industry located along the water here and we found later that these large ship yards are actually lit up at night becoming these beautiful alien like structures. Great marina to be at.
We walked through Pula and enjoyed some of the historical sites, all still in quite good condition. We were early for dinner so sat and enjoyed a beer while some performers did a show in the square we were in. Seems very common also for live performance on the street within these port cities. The squares are still the central location for events, in that way, things haven’t changed much.
Our dinner reservations were at a restaurant just off the square - recommended by Jose. They only had a handful of items on the menu and yet it was still hard to choose. I decided to go with a traditional Croatian dish called Pasticada. It has stewed beef on polenta with beets and pears. I keep saying this food is amazing - and this of course - was more incredible than the last. It was so creamy the polenta melted away with the savoury beef that marinated over 12 hours the server said. Must learn how to make this...
Following dinner we toured a bit through the streets and the girls stopped for another drink, but I wasn’t feeling the best and kept on my own walking. I ended up moving along a few streets and made my way back to the coliseum area where a huge concert was taking place inside. It was incredible to see it all lit up and hear the Croatian musicians filling the historic area with contemporary rock music. I couldn’t understand much, but what I did catch on to was that it was ending and I figured I wouldn’t want to be around when that flood of people came to the street. I made my way back to the boat, enjoyed a quiet moment on the water and made my way to sleep.
My amazing dish with the beef and polenta and.... mouth pleasure as JR would say.
Guess I haven’t put any drawings up for a bit, today I did quite a few as I wasn’t feeling so great. This is Antonia ‘baking’ on the front of the boat.
This was the image captured after being told to turn back by the Policija.
Candid dinner shot of Antonia and Kathleen.
Walking through Pula - really magical in many ways but also commercialized in others, this apparently is a popular stop for tourists.
View of the coliseum or ‘Destroy House’ as one of the American girls noted it had been described as by a friend at home, on our way into the city to dinner. More to discuss on this in my next post - we had the opportunity to tour inside!
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