I think Rovinj always has beautiful sunsets. Though perhaps my first was best. There are a lot of boats that offer sunset (and also dolphin -or delfin – cruises). Clearly it’s a big deal here and for good reason. Anyway these were sunsets days 1, 2, and 3. I’m combining two days into one blog because I really didn’t do much — I relaxed and had lovely long lunch and a great bike ride along a protected coastal area called Punte Corrente. Lots of pictures. Not a lot of text. Maybe that’s better!! There are tiny beaches everywhere. Not much sand but I saw people swimming regardless. And I read that the water is the clear green shade because of little sand. Who knew sand was the culprit. (Oh btw the reason this oasis exists is due to some Hapsburger, Herr Georg Hutterott, who bought up several islands in the 1890s with the thought of making it into a fancy hotel and spa area — he had the bright idea of medical tourism. And he brought in new flora and fauna and uprooted the native olive trees (?)– I think he wanted things to be a bit exotic. Anyway he died before it was all completed but he’s considered the father of tourism for Rovinj. At least the guy knew a beautiful area when he saw it. And I must say it’s still incredibly popular with Germans. That’s pretty much all I hear from the tourists.)

So funny thing on the bike ride. One of the rock beaches has been turned into a rock sculpture garden. Or I don’t know what to call it. This could be why those poor Scots in Skye are constantly faced with dismantling rock sculptures— like the locks on bridges, people have decided it’s the thing to do. So anytime they see some rocks, they stack ‘em. It is sorta cool and God knows there are a lot of rocks here. I saw a photo of it when looking up things to see/do here so on my bike ride I had my eyes peeled. And I saw this.

It didn’t look quite like the pictures but I thought maybe the Scots aren’t the only ones dismantling the towers. Then I rode some more and saw this. So I guess it’s just spreading. Pretty crazy that people are that into it. Or maybe parents are sending kids — instead of building sandcastles it’s rock towers.

After the long ride I decided I deserved some carbs and had a leisurely two hour meal on the seaside. In the sunshine. Unfortunately the food itself was nothing to write home about (so I won’t) — I just have to add that the restaurant’s reviews are very up and down. Don’t know if it’s a moody chef or they truly rely on fresh seafood and veggies and I just got there on a bad day. Despite the mediocre food and not terrible bill (thankfully), I enjoyed the slow pace and beautiful weather. And nice views. Today’s big plan was to go to the Limska Draga aka Lim Fjord even though it’s not technically a fjord. (According to Wikipedia, fjords are formed by glaciers and this was formed by a river instead.) This involves a 4-hour boat ride — to the fjord and actually boating into the fjord, making a stop or two, and going back. I talked to the boat captain to get the price and time yesterday (supposedly every day) but noticed that his boat, which advertises three different sails, never seems to move out of the harbor. And he’s the only one showing a Lim tour on his sign. So when I went today I wasn’t exactly surprised when he said they couldn’t do one. He said it’s because it’s getting too windy (the wind IS picking up) but I’m sure it’s because there aren’t enough people to make it worth his while. Honestly I don’t blame him. He’d lose money if only taking me. So a disadvantage of being here in off season is that things aren’t as available. Restaurants are dead empty but so are excursions and they won’t run if there isn’t enough demand. I guess I’ll have to go to Norway to see a real fjord one day!

Anyway no regrets. He didn’t run a tour any of the days I’ve been here. Instead I found a smaller boat that just did a quick one-hour trip around the islands. Didn’t get much further than the ferry I took my first day here but we got closer to the islands for better views and it was nice to get on a smaller boat. Although that other captain was right — the wind is picking up and it was a little choppy at one point. Maybe I wouldn’t have been happy in a 4-hour ride today?! These are views of the Punta Corrente where I was biking, just from the water side. It’s really green as you can see. There’s hiking, bird watching, horseback riding, and mountain climbing in there as well as beaching.

Oh, but prior to the boat trip I realized I’d left out one classic tourist visit item. To climb to the top of the bell tower next to the church that’s at the highest hill for the best views in the area. 187 steps. 20 kuna ($3). No biggie. I had 45 minutes before my supposed boat ride. I walk up there, pay the small fee, and head into the tower. And I see this. OMG. Lots of steps I can sorta handle. But rickety narrow open slats of wood for stairs (and they looked slippery to boot) was pretty petrifying. I thought seriously about just not going. But I paid the damn $3 and felt committed. It was awful. I could see through every step! I was clinging to the railing for dear life. It’s a good thing I was alone because any conversation would’ve distracted me in a bad way. Just thinking about it is making my feet sweat again (thankfully my palms did not sweat as I think I’d have lost my death grip on the railing). Might I add that none of the helpful guide books made mention of these terrifying stairs. This was the final bit. Um not any better. And meantime I was still so anxiety ridden at the top I took really quick photos — which better be worth it!— and started the even more petrifying descent. Here are the photos. Cherish them now because I’m never going back up there again!! In any case I’m currently relaxing on a rock like one of these.It’s not quite as calm, warm and sunny as the past few days but I’m perfectly content. There’s a lady in the grotto near me who’s managed to strip down to her brightly-colored underwear for her sunning. And when in the boat, I saw a woman swimming and she appeared to be in the nude (which the guidebooks mention as being common in the further out beach areas)—nice they can tell you about the nude beaches but not about the scary stairway???

Anyway life is pretty darn relaxed here. I don’t know what the crazy mountain climbers, cyclists, kayakers and generally busy people are thinking when they come here. I saw two young couples with a child each (maybe 5-6 for the mt climbers and 3-4 for the bikers) in the Punta Corrente — um, nothing like teaching them young that they can’t relax on vacation?! Clearly not how I raised Luca! I’m getting sleepy just thinking about it. One thing I’m fascinated with is their ability here to incorporate the rocks and water into everyday life. I mean these people’s back terraces are not exactly what I’m used to — people say I have Lake Michigan as a backyard but this is ridiculous. It’s like the place I ate lunch at the first day. You’re literally on rocks a few feet from the water. I guess there isn’t a lot of flooding here because they certainly don’t seem to worry about building right up to the edge!!

I just found out my bus to go to Zadar tomorrow is delayed by 4 hours. At least I got notice this time. So far, A for Slovenian buses and D for Croatian ones! Ah well life could be worse. I’ll sit somewhere near the sea and have a coffee…

I’ll sign off to Rovinj with a few shots of the city from today’s boat ride.