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Published: October 30th 2020
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En route to Pula we drove through the Lika region, which is located on the Eastern side of the Velebit mountain ranges. Some weeks ago when we hiked in Plitvice the foliage season has just begun and we could not enjoy the full color festival yet. Now it was in full swing. The deciduous trees presented themselves in great splendor, with all the numerous shades of yellow, brown and red on their leaves. The other mountain range we crossed on this journey to Pula is called Gorski Kotar. The European route E65, which we had to take to cross it, connects Budapest and Zagreb with the Adriatic Port of Rijeka. Gorski Kotar is a scarcely populated mountainous region between Karlovac and Rijeka. Because two-thirds of its surface is forested, it is popularly called the green lungs of Croatia. Teaming with wildlife, hikers may encounter wolves, brown bears, deer, imperial eagle, wild cat, but also smaller stuff, like hedgehogs and squirrels, to name a few. And as we came this forest was on fire !!! The foliage presented itself in its most beautiful costume. We needed to stop our drive and go for a short walk to be closer to this overwhelming
spectacle.
In Pula we had two important plans. None was sightseeing, as we did that already on our first stop end of August. You may remember the blog we did on it. No, we wanted to visit our friend Dario, who we missed during our first stay. We also wanted to do a Covid test before leaving Croatia. Nenad promised this to himself, so he can go home to his parents more relaxed. Dario has some connections in the local medics community, who do such tests, and managed to arrange a VIP treatment, as he called it. This meant no waiting in hospitals, nor needing to go near a hospital. The test was conducted with a mobile kid in a location nearby. And yes, the test was negative !
Dario is co-owner and instructor of a Thai Kick-Boxing studio in Pula. He is also married to a Thai lady, who to Nui's disappointment was not in town when we came. Nevertheless we spent a lovely two days together and were introduced into his world of Thai Boxing in Croatia, meeting a group of good looking and strong guys from the kick-boxing club, so says Nui. But the big
star was the 2 years old son of Denis, the other owner, who we saw "training" in the gym.
Our last stop was in the North of Istria, in its truffle region. The towns of Motovun, Livade, Buzet and Paladini have become famous for their black and white truffles and all sorts of products where these truffles are added, like honey or olive oil. In this hinterlands of Istria, among the dark, dense forests, deep in the soft muddy soil full of clay, an underground truffle mecca can be found. These are some of the richest grounds for uncovering the diamonds of Istria, better known as the white and black truffle (especially white). Only the most experienced Istrians and their four legged companions are capable of sniffing out this potent subterranean fungus. That is why we decided to join a guided truffle hunting tour offered by the family Karlic from Paladini. Istria’s abundance of truffles has been a well kept secret from the rest of the international food world for years, and people are finally starting to take notice. There are three varieties of black truffle that can be found, as well as the more rare, premium white truffle.
The red truffle is also found, but not used for human consumption. The dogs who help sniffing out the truffles eat them with no complaints.
The forests are surrounding the medieval towns of Motovun and Buzet, in the first we chose to dine in the second we decided to stay over night. Not a problem as they are barely 15 km apart. Buzet lies on a 151 m high hill overlooking the Mirna river. Like other towns in Istria, Buzet was once a part of the Venetian empire and bears eye-catching reminders of its days as a Venetian colony. Most of the town's monuments date from the 16th and 17th centuries. Today it is considered to be the truffle capital of Croatia, although locals point out that the better restaurants can be found in Motovun or Livade. We listened and booked with Konoba Mondo in Motovun. Its owner Claudio Mondo (a typical Istrian name !?, indicating the Italian ethnic past of this region, rather than Slavic), had time and we involved him in an extended conversation, with the result that he offered us ALL the drinks of the evening, wine, grappa, coffee, the whole shebang. On top, the food
was delicious, as suggested. What more could we ask for our farewell dinner on Croatian soil !!! One of the most popular ways of preparing truffle by the way is with traditional Istrian pasta, called fuži.
Before this dinner experience we visited the Karlic family. A family business in its 3rd generation, they hunt for truffle with their own trained dogs, sell truffle and truffle induced products (honey, olive oil etc) and make their own truffle based brandies Biska, Teranino, and Medenica. They have customers (mostly high end fine dining restaurants) they ship to as far as Hongkong and Singapore. In their degustation restaurant and shop one can fill up the backpack and the stomach with truffle, truffle and truffle tasting stuff. And then the excitement of the hunt ! End October and November is the high season for white truffles. Our hunter and guide took us deep into a dense forest where the three dogs knew exactly what to do. And the mosquitos new exactly how to find Nenad and spoil his hunt. It is a game between hunter and dog, Once the truffle is found by the dog, the race is on. If the hunter is not
quick enough and the truffle is not deep in the soil, the tdog will simply eat it. This is to be avoided at all cost, as 1kg of white truffle is worth up to USD 4'000 !!! The love for your dog stops right there !!! We were moderately successful on our 2 hours hunt. Three pieces of smaller sizes and a strong suspicion that one dog ate a forth. Our guide explained that this year it is far too warm. Truffles need 5 to 10 degrees and fog, we had temperatures of 18 and above. Truffles long eluded techniques of domestication. Today black truffles can be cultivated, the white ones still grow only in the wild. Truffles are fungi usually found in close association with tree roots. These fungi have significant ecological roles in nutrient cycling and drought tolerance. Pigs were previously used to dig for truffle, but dogs have been found to be much easier to train. For the hunt females are preferred, as they are much more focused on the trained smell of the truffle, whereby male dogs get carried away when sensing a female dog and are not equally good truffle hunters (so we were told)
! Among the best for hunting are the short-haired German Pointer and the Lagotto Romagnolo. The price for truffle is dependent on demand as well. This year as many restaurants have a Covid compromised business, the demand is low and so is the price. Something of course that worries the Karlic. We cleaned our hiking boots from the clay-mud and said goodbye to the family and the doggies.
The next day we will also say good bye to Croatia. 10 absolutely stunning weeks with memories which could easily fill a book, if only Nenad had more talent and diligence for it.
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