Pleasant Pula
Croatia Stage 15 – Wed 3rd June 2015 – Rabac to Pula (50 Km)
Waking up to another perfect sunny day, with a forecast temperature of 30 degrees, I couldn’t wait to get on the road headed for Pula. Today’s ride was particularly enjoyable, in spite of having to deal with another couple 400 m hills. When I wasn’t climbing using the grandpa gear I was steaming along the plateaux in top gear on a nice smooth road. I decided last night to change my route to the main D66 which made it a 50 Km trip rather than 60 Km for the safer and more convoluted route I originally planned. It worked out well because although the traffic was reasonably heavy the road had a bit of a shoulder in some places. I just kept an eye on my little helmet-mounted rear vision mirror and made sure I was steering a straight line close to the white line on the edge of the road whenever I saw a tourist bus or lorry bearing down on me from behind. Anyway I made good time and checked in at the Hotel Briona in time to skype my dear wife before it got too late in Sydney.
Route D66 took me through some lovely scenery, particularly the fertile river flats near Rasa. I even saw some donkeys along the way. One donkey came running over to the fence near where I was standing and told me what he thought of me (see Braying Donkey). When I stopped at a quaint little village for a refreshing Jamninca mineral water I chatted to a couple of German cyclists who were headed the other way. The cycling fraternity is such that whenever bike tourists see somebody else riding a bike with pannier bags they become instant friends. This is why Warm Showers works so well. The same thing happened when I arrived at the hotel and was spotted by Gerhard and Evelyn, a lovely couple also from Germany, who had ridden about 600 Km to Pula from the other direction. I hung out with them for some time this afternoon and they gave me lots of good tips, such as catching the ferry from Muggia into Trieste rather than facing the busy highway. Then not long after I was chatting to a Swiss couple who were just unloading their panniers. They had ridden all the way from Switzerland.
Pula is the Istrian coast’s largest city and, with its thriving shipyard and Roman amphitheatre, is the economic and cultural centre of Istria. Historical attractions aside, although Pula is a large and busy commercial city on the sea it has managed to retain a friendly small-town appeal.
The Hotel Briona overlooks the beautiful blue water of the west coast of Istria, located with many of the other big hotels about 4 Km south of Pula centar. There are good bike paths everywhere in Pula and I followed one into town for a quick explore, ending up at the Roman amphitheatre which is the main attraction in Pula. It is built entirely from local limestone and, with seating for up to 20,000 spectators, was designed to host gladiatorial contests.
I am staying an extra night in Pula, so am looking forward to a rest day and the opportunity to do some more sight-seeing around this interesting old town. No doubt I will also spend some time lazing around taking advantage of the hotel’s facilities. Who knows I might even take the plunge into that luring blue water if the weather is hot enough.
