LAST DAYS TOGETHER
The date of separation is coming closer :-(
19th May - 22nd May | 2022
After all, packed in and a "Safe Trip" from the misseble neighbour (was like a completely different person this morning!), we were off to the coastal road around the Peninsula of Pula. Along Matulji and Opatija were amazing old houses and beautiful hotels. Reminded us of a bit of a mixture of Cote d'Azur and Italy!
Steffi found a place on google called "Drunken railway", so we went there, a bit tucked away from the coast. That was really funny looking, so we took some pictures. Where we left our bikes, was a table and benches, so we asked the owner if we could have our lunch there, which we were allowed. Lovely place; and in the shade as today is a hot day.
From there we headed back to the coast, and it even included some offroad. James found a wild camping spot on iOverlander close to the bottom of the Peninsula, right next to the sea. As we arrived early, we wanted to have a dip into the sea. James went to investigate the area and found a hurt seagull. Poor thing had a fishing line tied around his feathers and the hook through his leg. James got his towel to throw over him and then we cut off the fishing line and pulled carefully the hook out of his ankle. After that he hobbled away; we hope he will recover!
Then it was time to go into the water, but the whole coastal area is sharp rocks, so it took us a while to get into the water, but we only went to our knees, even though it was so inviting to get in, but we would have never got out again without hurting us!
Whilst we enjoyed the sunshine, Steffi investigated places to visit in Slovenia. This is the plan now, going through the south half of Slovenia with visiting Ljubljana into Hungary! Also in the area of the border between Italy and Slovenia is the famous stud of the Lipizzaner horses, that Steffi is planning to visit.
A good hour later, we took our bikes and stuff a bit further away from the main track, hopefully being hidden for the night. It was really nice to sit in the tent and listen to the waves! We might stay another night here ...
Or maybe not ... during the night Steffi woke up so many times as she thought it was close by wolves howling! She was even too scared to step out during the night...
In the morning James googled it, as we both had the feeling, by the sound, it cannot be wolves, sounded like smaller animals. The answer is most probably a way of communication between Vixen foxes! Never heard that before! It went on during the night about 4 times for 1 minute or so! Really weird, well during the full moon night even scarier!
For breakfast and shopping, we walked 40mins into Liznjan, trying to find a cafe shop for breakfast. Not successfully, so we bought what we needed at the supermarket, including a cafe to go. We found a bench in the shade close by to have our breakfast.
Back at our tent, Steffi had a little rest as "our" beach was occupied by a german nudist couple ;-) James contacted various places in Pula about his rear wheel bearing as he was now really worried about not getting to Germany for the change. He suddenly said, "I am just going to Pula to try to buy them". As Steffi didn’t feel very comfortable at the camping spot as wild camping in this part of Croatia is forbidden, she suggested packing in and finding something between Pula and Rovinj.
In Pula, James found the place straight away for the bearings and they had them: Autohrvatska Pula, right next to the Bus terminal. And the best was, they offered James to use their tools to do it then and there. In the meantime, Steffi walked over to the Amphitheatre for some pictures.
We found through iOverlander the little private Camping site Val Vidal (www.valvidal.com). The owner Zoran, himself a biker, let us camp for only one night as we are also bikers; seems to be an exception even though the place is still quiet. However, a very nice familiar place, which made it to place #2 on our favourite list of camping places during our travels.
After a quiet night, we packed together in the morning, but we could leave the bikes with our gear in the shade as we just wanted to have a stroll down to the sea. It was a nice beach, but we didn´t try to go into the water yet.
Back to the bike, we left for Rovinj to the hotel that we have booked for our last two nights together. It was part of a Spa Hotel, specialised in Rehabilitation. The room was very well equipped, but the place inside still looks like a private hospital ;-) However, a very nice beach, with very easy access. As Steffi starts with a cold, James was brave to go into the sea!
The next day, we went in the morning to Rovinj for sightseeing. We had a nice stroll around the old town. When we got back to the hotel we went to a restaurant just up the road for some lunch. The rest of the afternoon Steffi sorted out her luggage, meaning stuff for James to take home, catching up on the blog, letting pass revue our travel, etc. It is our last night together after 90 days of being together 24/7!! Really sad!
Not that James and Steffi will go separate ways after 12000km together, unfortunately, the famous unicorn always kept an eye on the street behind Steffi, running out of air. It was a great travel companion around Marrocco's, Spain and now this tour - thank you for looking after Steffi and Schimmelchen! And we both were surprised that this inflatable unicorn got so far over the past 4 (!) years of travelling!
Tomorrow our travels will go in different directions. Check out the next blog, how Steffi got along in Venice and James with his mountain passes in Austria.
Places | Cities:
Rijeka, Opatija, Lovran, Vozilici, Sisan, Liznjan, Pula, Peroj, Vestar, Rovinj
Driven km | Trip:
Total: 12205 km
Maintenance | Breakdown:
Rear wheel bearing on Yamaha Super Tenere getting a bit worrying, so James changed them already in Pula.
Health issues:
Steffi has another sore throat and now even a cough.
Special thanks to:
iOverlander to provide us again with perfect camping spots along the coast.