Rovinj

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Rovinj - Day 13 (September 4)

It was an early start, 6 am to catch the Catamaran ferry to Rijecka which was the largest town we’d seen in Croatia. From here we caught a bus to Pula, where we elected to spend a couple of hours on the way to Rovinj, so we could see the Roman Colosseum here. It was about a 10 minute walk from the bus station where we had stored our luggage. As we rounded a corner a mostly in tact Colloseum towered in front of us.

It was the most impressive ruin I’d seen to date, and made up for the ones I was missing by having to leave Italy out of my travels. It was slightly eerie walking around this ampitheatre imagining this stadium as it was used for gladiatorial and other competitions that it would have seen in it’s prime. There was also a dis[play with computer enhanced diagrams of some of the other ruins that are beneath the town, which I think are being left there as there are some quiet impressive Venetian houses above them, which the owners I’m sure don’t want to be knocked down.

It was hot and humid as another storm was in the air, and so I didn’t linger too long in the ruins. The bakery near the bus station had some good pastries, and also custard donought things which we had for lunch. Another stort bus ride to Rovinj, where we were collected to stay in a hotel a bit out of town. It was a huge complex of camping, hotel and sef-contained apartments complete with holiday camp activities quite different from anything we had previously stayed in.

We didn’t have much time here in Rovinj so we quickly went down to wait for the water taxi. We waited eyes on the harbour that was between us and Rovinj old town, watching people being ferried too and from 2 large cruise ships that wre in the harbour. Thw water seemed quite rough with the storm that had been threatening all day seeming to be even nearere now. We decided that the water taxi had thought the journey too dangerous and so returned to the hotel to call a road taxi.

The old town of Rovinj was quite charming and the steps to the church at the top worth the views, and if you wree a shopper you would have found many interesting things to buy on the journey up as the town had encouraged local artists. Of course, I moved quickly past!

The town was alive with people and after dinner we strolled to the other side of the harbour to see if the water taxi was running again, passing a well stocked local market. As it was not running, we called our taxi driver from earlier to take us back. An all too short visit to this town on the Istrian peninsular.

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