Nautical Novigrad
Croatia Stage 18 – Mon 8 Jun 2015 – Porec to Novigrad (23 Km)
In contrast to yesterday today’s ride was a dream, under a clear blue sky again, but this time on reasonable condition, sealed, tertiary roads that took me through charming little villages and picturesque countryside. There was virtually no traffic and the only noise was the birds tweeting and the occasional rooster crowing. I sailed along free as the breeze and made the 24 Km ride to Novigrad in under two hours, much too early to check in at the Nautica Marina Hotel. After going for a spin around town, I indulged myself in a gelato and Jamnica mineral water. Then I sat myself down in a deserted cocktail bar in a quiet, shady, corner of the harbour and took out my laptop to pen these words for uploading to my website later.
Novigrad is an attractive old town crammed onto a peninsular, but at this stage relatively unspoiled. It still has a nice harbour but the boats here are working fishing boats, not just for decoration. It still has quaint little streets, but no polished marble here. The houses are brightly coloured rather than made of the beautiful stones that feature in the other towns. But it does have its fair share of gelaterias, konoba trattorias, caffe bars, nudist beaches, as well as a church with an impressive spire dominating the landscape.
Tomorrow is my second last day of riding, with a 44 Km ride to Piran in Slovenia. You will have to wait until the following day for my blog, because the apartment in Piran that I am staying at does not have Wi-Fi.
Sadly, my fantastic adventure is almost at an end.
