Yesterday after a circumnavigation of Krk Island, which is really nice, if full of Austrians, Germans, and Italians, we peddled off for the region of Istria the long triangle to the east of Croatia.
In total we covered 97km for the day, a not bad effort that left us tired but fully fit for today.
Istria is a land that has seen 5 countries claim it in the 20th century, as a result its quite diverse, there seem to be more Italians here than Croatians. The coast we are on (East coast) is beautiful, steep forested hillsides dropping sharply into blue water, with small medieval towns dotted along the roads. This place has been the holiday zone for kings and important Europeans for the last 2 centuries, as a result there are beautiful buildings and town centres along the way.
We are on the edge of a national park that comes complete with many cycling paths, its a beautiful place and one we want to spend a few days in. Its hard to believe that this land which has been occupied for over 2 thousand years looks so pristine and clean. Its like New Zealand with history and European trees.
Here also we have the chance to get run over by better quality vehicles, as the tourists are mostly Italians and often rich, there are some head turning vehicles on the roads. This is really a region that would be worth a holiday on its own.
Croatia has been a fantastic place to visit, great people, interesting landscapes, diverse travel opportunities, its a pity that we can only inscribe such a thin line as we traverse it.
Our NZ flag still attracts comment and greetings, it seems that some Croatians have relatives in New Zealand and want to talk to us about that, or they appreciate that we have come from so far away to visit their country. We seem to have a strong novelty value, and with our rumpled worn clothes and unfashionable attire we must stick out among the other fashionable tourists.
Apart from the Austrians, Italians, and Germans there are little other tourists evident, certainly no first language English speakers. Its interesting that although Australians seemed plentiful in Split and south (I imagine) there are none up here at all, the tourists seems to be segregated by region, only the hardy kiwis breaking the mould.
The camp grounds have been a revelation, some are like small towns complete with shops and services, one was like an open air hotel with toilets having marble floors. However they charge like hotels as well. The Bola wind we experienced created considerable news here, with snow to 1500 meters and temperatures down to 0 degrees in some places, and this for early summer. We met campervan tourists who were not allowed to drive on the roads during the wind for safety so had to wait 2 days before leaving their camping places.
Anyway we are off to climb some mountains, and check out some more medieval villages, I think I need a year to see everything in a beautiful area of the world.