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Day 3. Umag to Poreć
Well the day started perfectly. 100% cloud cover, light breeze and the occasional sprinkle of rain. Just the sort of day we wanted, and needed after the heat of the past few days. Then, it reverted to normal - the cloud cleared, and the sun shone, but at least we were about half way through the ride.
The first 20kms or so was mostly along the coast, quite back roads and an incredible number of camping grounds. When I say camping, it was every level from tents to stone cabins and everything in between. We had to ride through the centre of one camping ground and the number of sites was over 5,000.
There must be more money for farmers in camping sites than growing grapes.
A brief stop at a roadside food van for a pastry and drink and then on to Novigrad, a fairly big seaside town where we stopped again for a break from the heat.
After a fairly arduous bit of climbing, around 8kms at 5% grade, we came to Nova Vas, a dot on the map with a minimart that was open, and we were able to get something to eat and some more water. A short chat with some Germans on ebikes brought back some basic German language skills, and after a short break, we set off into the heat again, which is not too bad until you stop.
Then on to Poreć, only 10kms to go, and that was mostly down hill, at last! Save for a detour around the road works on a very rocky road through the scrub, the rest of the ride was uneventful.
Into Poreć, checked into our hotel for a couple of nights and then out to find a cafe that sold food. There are so many bars and cafes but they seem to only sell drinks and gelati, but right at the very end of the peninsula that Poreć is built on, we found an illy cafe that had shade, view, seats with cushions, ( most appreciated) every variation of coffee imaginable, and cakes. A great end to the day only made better by finding an Istrian bar that only served istrian style food, wine and beer. The owner was adamant that he didn't serve pasta, pizza or Italian wine - if you wanted that he said, go to Italy. Very traditional other than for the Spanish music that was playing to go with the tapas, but it was great, sitting out in a narrow lane way in the old city under a spreading grape vine watching the passing parade, we felt very much blended into the local scene.
Poreć first made it to a map in 2BC although settlement goes back to prehistoric times. After the Romans left in 500AD, it seemed it was the place to be, so the Ostrogoths came, then the Byzantines in 540, after them in 788 it was the Franks. They stayed until locals took control in the 12th century. Then the Venetians landed in 1257 and were in charge until Napoleon arrived in 1805. He stayed until the Habsburgs from Austria thought it was a great place to have, and it stayed that way until the end of WW1 when it became part of Italy. That all changed after the end of WW2 when the whole area became part of Yugoslavia, and finally Croatia.
Now the tourists have found it, so who knows who is in charge.
Today is Sunday and thankfully a lot of the shops are closed and the crowds have thinned. We had the option to go on a 44km loop ride out of Poreć and back, but decided to hang around the harbour and wander the old town.
Although the marble block streets that the Romans built can be a bit heavy going at times, it was a fairly easy going sort of day. The sun doesn't really penetrate between the buildings so the narrow streets are reasonably cool. Another plus was that there were no stairs. Shopping thus far in Poreć has been confined to a fridge magnet and food, a cinnamon bun and a salad roll.
One thing that is very noticeable is that the seagulls are very big. Jean tells me they are Pacific gulls, but as they are not the least bit calm, all I can say is that they are a long way from home.
Tomorrow, it's off to Rovinj, down in our notes as a 43km ride with 600m of climbing and half is on gravel roads. I think it's going to be a very early start in the morning.
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