Off the Beaten Track

Croatia Stage 17 – Sun 7th June 2015 – Rovinj to Poreč (42 Km)

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Perfect riding conditions again today, with full sunshine, no wind and an expected top temperature of 32 degrees. I certainly have been lucky with the weather.

Getting out of Rovinj was no problem, I just followed a bike path that led me onto the main D75 road. But the traffic was heavy even so early on a Sunday morning, so I elected to turn off on to what is marked on the map as a bike path. Big mistake! The path became progressively worse until it petered out altogether, becoming impenetrable bush. Retracing my steps I came across a gravel track that led me to another dead end, just a telecom tower on top of a hill. It was there I met a lovely group of four riders on mountain bikes who came to my rescue. I rode with them to the next little town, where they pointed me in the right direction back on to the very welcome D75.

The rest of the journey was fairly uneventful so I arrived at the Laguna Mediteran Resort Hotel about 12:30 pm, fortunately being allowed an early check-in. After a quick freshen up I was on my bike again headed in to check out the town about 3 Km away. What I found was yet another stunning little seaside town, which follows the same format as most of the others … spectacular harbour full of boats, caffe bars, restaurants, gelato bars, immaculate buildings, and those polished marble paving stones. It was fascinating to watch one lady navigating the stones wearing six inch high stilettos (check out the photo).

Poreč is pronounced Porech, but it sounds more like Porridge when some locals say it. In Croatian that funny little symbol on top of a č is pronounce “ch” and when on top of an š is pronounced “sh”.

That is all for the language lesson, now for some history. From 539 to 751 Istria was under Byzantine rule, the most impressive remnant of which is the Euphrasian Basilica in Poreč, with its stunning mosaics warranting lots of photos.

By this time it was about 3 pm so I returned to the resort to take full advantage of the fantastic facilities. The salt-water pool was warm enough even for me to swim, so I stayed in the water for ages, then went to sleep on one of the pool-side sun beds. What a life!

But wait there is more – a great concert going on right now pool-side at the resort. Melveta would have been on the dance floor if she was here, particularly when they sang her brother’s song Rivers of Babylon or Let’s Twist Again (she danced this on stage with Chubby Checker once).