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Muggia to Pula: Day 1
After picking up our bikes we set off on the first leg - 35km ride from San Rocco to Pula. Unfortunately, it was a late start, around 9:30 and very soon we were riding in the heat of the day, 30C and a headwind. A lot of the riding was on a cycle path right on the sea wall, which was great but then as we turned inland the heat, combined with less than optimal maps ( and map readers), began to take its toll.
With only a couple of U turns required, we found our way into Pula and our hotel, which again, is located right on the sea wall. (Photos to follow soon).
We are here for two nights so that means we will have a day to take it easy and have a bit of a look around.
After another dinner of sweet mussels and grilled sardines and a good nights sleep, today we tried our luck at the bike shop who acts as the tour companies representative here in Piran. The idea being to secure a more detailed map. The outcome was that in the 50 years he has been doing this work, nobody has ever been lost. Apparently, all we had to do was to follow the red line on the page, keep the sea on our right and we will be OK. Our issue was that in the 6 pages of maps that it took to do the 35kms, there was little indication just where on the red line we were at any given time. I guess we will just have to press on and hope we don't need marriage guidance counselling when we get home.
Pula is yet another medieval fortified town perched on a rock at the end of a long peninsula.
While I spent time studying the ceiling of our air conditioned room, Jean went up to the castle, complete with towers, and and took the requisite photos.
All around the waters edge there is access to the water (as opposed to a beach). The rocks come in various sizes, from boulders large enough to restrain a tidal surge to pebbles that apparently pass as sand. But the whole coast belongs to the people of Slovenia so access to the water is without charge. So with that in mind, and the thermometer on the fire station opposite reading 38C, we went for a swim, or more accurately, we jumped into the water, which was pleasantly cool.
Tomorrow is a 40kms ride from Piran to Umag.
So now it's back to the room, pack our bags in readiness for an early start in the morning before the heat.
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