After yet another vitaminless, fibreless breakfast of bread, sliced meat and cheese, I set off to try and see something before the inevitable thunderstorm as promised by the forecast. The morning's work was to go over the Vrisic pass and follow the Soca river valley round the Julian Alps. The road over the pass was constructed by Russian POWs in the first world war and from the north side is seriously steep with each switchback bend cobbled just to make the cornering in the wet more interesting. I took it easy and was rewarded with an even twister descent.
I worked my way south along the river then east and then north again to Bled to see the pretty Church on the island in the lake and Bled castle on a cliff overlooking the lot. It is all very touristy but definitely worth a look. At this point, after 4 hours riding I was 32km east of where I started this morning so I thought I better get moving south.
Then all hell broke loose and the monsoon arrived. I pulled up immediately at a bar as I wasn't wearing any rain gear but I was still soaked. The town drunk took an interest as I couldn't get up and run away and proceeded to admonish me that I was running away from my problems by travelling on a bike and they would be waiting for me at home. I decided that it was worth putting on my rain gear and getting a bit wet instead.
I headed south for Pula in Croatia at the bottom of the Istrian peninsula. The whole area looks just like Italy; agriculture, architecture, churches even the people. Pula has the 6th largest surviving roman amphitheater in europe….so they claim. I arrived on the outskirts of Pula and was pretty disappointed to see that it is a normal port town with a sprawling ugly grey communist era flats and a small older centre. I almost ran into the amphitheater on the way in, it is slap bang in the middle of town next to the port. I decided to visit it in the morning and hit for the campsite. The campsite is in a great location out on a spit with sea on three sides. I headed to the end and got this snap of the sunset and then heard the rumble of God moving the furniture round upstairs for the second time today. A race against time to get the tent up before the inevitable deluge.
After yet another vitaminless, fibreless breakfast of bread, sliced meat and cheese, I set off to try and see something before the inevitable thunderstorm as promised by the forecast. The morning's work was to go over the Vrisic pass and follow the Soca river valley round the Julian Alps. The road over the pass was constructed by Russian POWs in the first world war and from the north side is seriously steep with each switchback bend cobbled just to make the cornering in the wet more interesting. I took it easy and was rewarded with an even twister descent.
I worked my way south along the river then east and then north again to Bled to see the pretty Church on the island in the lake and Bled castle on a cliff overlooking the lot. It is all very touristy but definitely worth a look. At this point, after 4 hours riding I was 32km east of where I started this morning so I thought I better get moving south.
Then all hell broke loose and the monsoon arrived. I pulled up immediately at a bar as I wasn't wearing any rain gear but I was still soaked. The town drunk took an interest as I couldn't get up and run away and proceeded to admonish me that I was running away from my problems by travelling on a bike and they would be waiting for me at home. I decided that it was worth putting on my rain gear and getting a bit wet instead.
I headed south for Pula in Croatia at the bottom of the Istrian peninsula. The whole area looks just like Italy; agriculture, architecture, churches even the people. Pula has the 6th largest surviving roman amphitheater in europe….so they claim. I arrived on the outskirts of Pula and was pretty disappointed to see that it is a normal port town with a sprawling ugly grey communist era flats and a small older centre. I almost ran into the amphitheater on the way in, it is slap bang in the middle of town next to the port. I decided to visit it in the morning and hit for the campsite. The campsite is in a great location out on a spit with sea on three sides. I headed to the end and got this snap of the sunset and then heard the rumble of God moving the furniture round upstairs for the second time today. A race against time to get the tent up before the inevitable deluge.
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