Istria – “Little Tuscany”
Croatia Stage 14 – Tue 2nd Jun 2015 – Cres to Rabac (55 Km + 5 Km ferry)
Mountains of 400 m or higher are par for the course now in Croatia, so when I looked at my topographical map for today’s ride I was not surprised to see such a climb ahead of me in the early stages of my ride to Rabac in Istria. There is no way around so I decided to just allow sufficient time to get to the port of Porozina in time to catch the mid-day ferry for Brestova. Well you wouldn’t believe it but, after not getting out of the granny/grandpa gear for the first 6 Km, I powered up the climb so fast I actually got to Porozina in time to catch the 10:30 am ferry.
While waiting for the ferry to leave I chatted to three UK cyclists who were going in the other direction, starting in Rome and heading for Split. It was good to meet them because I was feeling outnumbered by the 30 or more motor cyclists who were also waiting for the ferry.
The 5 Km ferry ride was sufficient rest to prepare me for the 300 m climb facing me when I reached the port of Brestova. No problem, I plugged away until I reached the top and was rewarded by some magnificent scenery for the rest of the journey to Barac, which is a very pretty little seaside town popular with the sun ‘n’ sea set.
I thought I was descending reasonably quickly down the very steep hill into Barac, but then a young rider in his fancy riding gear and flashy road bike zoomed past like I was standing still. When I rounded the next hair-pin bend I found him sprawled on the road, having miscalculated on the bend. Slightly shaken but undeterred he picked himself and his bike up, dusted himself off, looked at his arm that was missing a lot of skin, re-gathered his pride, then mounted his bike and proceeded down the incline at his original pace. He should be in the Tour de France, but perhaps he needs to brush up on his descending skills first.
Istria is the heart-shaped peninsula of Croatia just south of Trieste in Italy and is sometimes known as “Little Tuscany”. Istria was under the control of Italy until fairly recent times and the Italian influence is quite noticeable. Italian is, in fact, a second language in Istria, while many Istrians have Italian passports, and each town has an Italian counterpart. I am hoping the influence extends to food, but I will find out when I head down to the Hotel Nostromo’s fine restaurant in a few minutes.
