Walking on the Sun (Pula - Losinj Island - Zadar, Croatia)

Today is one of the longer legs cruising down the Croatian coast. Our destination is Losinj Island with the mandatory walk through the old town. We weighed anchor at 9am and headed south. The coast line is generally tree covered with the occasional settlement but most of the islands we pass are uninhabited. Sitting in the open area on the main deck is a wonderful way to while away the hours and just enjoy the coastal cruising. This was what I'd hoped for on the European river cruise a couple of years back. Instead we were on the go the whole time and cruised at night. To date we have been docked at night and cruise through the day.

So relaxing.

We stopped for our first swim in the Adriatic Sea, largely to break up the day. The water temperature was probably close to 25° and the level of salt in the water ensured that the less than confident swimmers did not require the noodles they had taken into the sea.

Daniel setting up the exclusion zone for the swimmers.

Jayne is naturally buoyant but appeared to be floating on a board in this super salty water. It was crystal clear and it was easy to see the limestone bottom some 5 or 6 metres below. There were a few small fish and a lot of jellyfish, the non-stinging variety.

We spent about 30 minutes there and were welcomed back on board with a shot of, well, I'm not sure, I think it was rum, curacao and pineapple juice. It looked toxic, a shade of green I can't really describe, but it tasted OK.

A lighthouse somewhere on the Adriatic Sea.

Then it was time for lunch and drinks on the back deck and some more cruising.

One of the many 'pirate' ships.

We docked on Losinj Island around 4pm and had an hour before the walking tour commenced. Much like the others, the old town is a maze of polished limestone streets and lanes that all lead up to the church on the hilltop. Also like Rovinj, the statue on top of the bell tower acts a weather forecaster and swivels with the wind. Once again she was looking out over the water, a good sign for us.

Another weathervane statue.

The town itself is built around the inlet and consists of numerous restaurants and cafés. There are a number of chapels dotted around the town, some with a specific purpose that is linked to a hospital. The population of 5,000 grows to around 25,000 in summer and there are 11 hospitals to cater to the surge in numbers.

The town square.

Following the guided walk, we strolled down the opposite side of the harbour, past the red submarine and the pirate ship. The touts from the restaurants were keen for our business until I told one of them we were from the ship. This information was relayed all the way down the line and no-one offered us a place to drink or dine again.

The chandelier in the church.

Back on board we prepared for another sumptuous dinner. Being a tourist is such hard work.

The moon rising over the island.

Lights across the water.

The routine has been established: we weighed anchor at 9am and left the port for Zadar. As with yesterday, we stopped en route for a swim. We pulled in to the lee on an island, reversed the ship close to shore and tied her off with one rope which also acts as a barrier.

Our swimming spot.

Once again the water was around 25°, crystal clear and heavy with salt. There was a bit more undersea action today. There were trepang, sea slugs if you prefer, sea urchins, numerous small fish and what appeared to be a lot of broken roofing tiles. No jelly fish this time and very little weed or seagrass.

The photos don't do the colours justice.

The shot glass that awaited our arrival back on deck was grappa. I passed and went straight to the bubbles. Some grappa found its way to the sea, I wonder if the fish appreciated it. Back to the cabin to rinse my board shorts and swimmers and then it was time for lunch. I won't bore you with details, dear reader, suffice to say it was as sumptuous as expected.

Zadar.

We arrived in Zadar around 4:30pm and moored on another ship, much we like we had to do on the European River cruise. Zadar is significantly larger than the other ports we've visited so far. The dock area is lined with restaurants on one side, the other has the walled old town, another relic of the Roman occupation.

Up close and personal.

The old town is similar to the others we have visited and is geared for tourism. Shops, cafés, restaurants and churches. There are churches everywhere, each with its own story in the history of Zadar. There are Roman ruins to explore and examples of the ingenuity of the locals where they have used Roman columns to provide the foundations for more recent buildings.

Roman ruins used as foundations.

Roman ruins.

A church tower with weathervane.

One of the gates into the old town.

Sections of the old town were completely rebuilt after the Second World War. Bombing by the Allies destroyed many of the old buildings. The steeple at the Cathedral was added 400 years after it was initially built.

On the waterfront just outside of the old town, there are three unique attractions. The first is a seating area that is constructed like the keys of a piano. It is a very popular place to sit and admire the view or listen to an art installation, the sea organ. The pipes themselves are under the water and a series of holes in the boardwalk allows the air to escape the pipes. The sound is produced by the water surging through the pipes and varies depending on the tide, size of the waves and passing watercraft. The swell was reasonably sized when we visited and the 'music' from the organ was loud and somewhat discordant.

The piano keyboard seating.

A yellow submarine.

One of the air holes for the sea organ.

The final attraction, Greeting the Sun, is visible during the day but it is special at night. It is a ground level installation that mirrors the solar system. It was installed in 2008 when Pluto had been relegated to dwarf planet status and so commences with Uranus down through the other planets to the sun. The sun is massive and contains an array of solar panels. You know it makes sense. At night the sun lights up, courtesy of the solar panels, remaining that way until dawn - the sun never sets in Zadar.

Disco time.

Back at the ship it was time for dinner, a traditional Croatian family barbeque. So much meat. Then we walked back to the organ and the sun. The sun looked like a disco floor from the '80s and changed colour every 30 seconds or so. There were plenty of people walking on the sun, ah yes, today's title dear reader. Smashmouth from 1997. There were also some disco aficionados dancing. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. Even the two young boys who had bought a deck of cards to amuse themselves while their parents danced on the sun.

The Addams' family house.

Moonrise.

We walked on a little further to listen the sea organ now that the sea had calmed. It was much more melodic. The 10 minute stroll back along the boardwalk back to the ship was very pleasant. Time for a nightcap and bed. We are sailing at 7am tomorrow morning.

Until tomorrow.

Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Rovinj - Pula)

We spent our first night on the Lady Eleganza. The ship itself is well equipped and the cabins are comfortable. Space is obviously at a premium, but there is a queen sized bed (with the weird European doona arrangement), a desk and chair and ensuite bathroom. We have three portholes or pill windows, one of which can open. However, instructions from Cruise Director Nora were not to open the window when at sea and also keep it closed when in port. I guess that means the window stays closed.

The MV Lady Eleganza

The cabins are on the lower two decks. The main deck has the dining room and bar, lounge and open deck at the stern. Above that there are two sun decks, the top one is completely open for the sun lovers and those unafraid of melanoma, and the other has a roof and protection from the sun and contains the spa or jacuzzi. Dinner is sometimes served here. Below the main deck at the stern is the access to the sea. The platform contains two ladders for easy access.

Breakfast is buffet style with cereals, pastries, bread, fresh fruit, bacon and tomatoes, you get the picture, with a separate menu on each table for the egg lovers. The only drawback, dear reader? Coffee. The coffee machine makes the most appalling coffee and the drip filter machine, well, I'm not ready to revisit the 70s unless it's for music.

The town square.

Our first organised shore excursion was a walk through the old town of Rovinj. The old town was initially an island and space for housing was so contested that the channel to the mainland was eventually filled in and Rovinj joined the mainland. We saw ample evidence of the old town wall and gates as we walked the narrow streets. The roadway is constructed from polished limestone blocks and the surface is invariably uneven and slippery when wet.

The first gate to the old town.

Our guide related a history of frequent conquests, from the Romans, through the Venetians, to the Ottomans and the Germans and each new stage has left its mark in both the physical appearance of the place and its customs and languages. The latest iteration is not as a result of a neighbouring conquest, but rather the invasion of AirBnB in which the old town dwellings have been given over to the demands of  tourism and the locals have vacated the antiquated apartments to take up modern residences further away. It might be romantic and quaint to climb rickety stairs to tiny spaces if you are only there for a couple of days but the appeal is not apparent for the modern permanent Rovinj population.   

Now an AirBnB. No lift.

We climbed the narrow winding road towards the church on top of the hill. The main street was lined with shops that were just beginning to set up for the day. There were many outlets selling chocolate and ice cream and a few cafés for the morning coffee and gossip session.

Narrow laneways.

We paused at one point to hear the story of a local man who has been been feeding stray cats for fifty years. As if on cue, he appeared and commenced dishing the most foul smelling concoction into bowls placed near a wall. Naturally, cats appeared from nowhere. The cats are required to keep the rats and mice in check. Allegedly. I've never seen a well fed cat chase anything except a patch of sunshine to rest in.

The cat man of Rovinj.

At the top of the hill was the Catholic church. Croatia is a very Catholic country. The effort required to reach the church would keep me happily in bed on Sunday mornings. The church of St Euphemia has a wooden statue that is covered in copper, adorning the bell tower. Unlike most statues, it is able to rotate in the wind and also acts as a weather predictor. When she faces the sea, the weather will be good, if she turns to the town, the wind is bringing rain and bad weather. Happily she was facing the water today.

St Euphemia is on top.

We went inside the church to see the tomb of the patron saint whose relics will be displayed later this month as part of her feast day celebrations. It was then time to wend our way back down to the main square to reboard the ship, ready for an 11 am departure. Lunch was served soon after we bid the picturesque Rovinj farewell, followed by our daily port talk to fill us in on the afternoon plans for our next stop, Pula.

The ceiling above the tomb.

Love locks and a cannon. Interesting juxtaposition.

We had a leisurely three hours of sailing before we docked in Pula. As we came into the port, the dominant feature was the shipbuilding yard and the rusting hull of a partially completed stock transport ship. Our guide for the afternoon was Nada and it turns out her husband has recently been laid off from the shipyard where previously over 1000 people had been employed. The current workforce is now set at 99, none of whom have the necessary knowledge or skills to actually build a ship - hence the rusting eyesore that now welcomes visitors to the port.

The Roman built arena dominates the foreshore of the town and was clearly visible from the ship and this was our first major stop on the tour. As we made our way there Nada provided a brief history of Pula. Much like Rovinj, there is a history of occupation and shifting borders. In fact, her grandfather was born in Austria, her father in Italy, she was born in Yugoslavia and her children in Croatia - all without ever leaving Pula.

The amphitheatre from the dock area.

The architecture reflected this and there were many examples of Austrian architecture sitting beside Italian and Roman contrasting with the dour building blocks of the socialist period.

Austrian architecture.

The arena, or colosseum as we might (incorrectly) call it, is in very good condition given it's 2000 year history. It is not as large or as grand as the one in Rome but it is one of the best preserved in the world. We walked the sand floor of the arena to tales of gladiators, male and female, and explanations of how the canvas roof worked. In its heyday it seated 23,000 screaming spectators. Today it is used for more peaceful pursuits, opera and music concerts.

The opera stage is to the left.

Underneath the stadium is chamber containing relics, amphora that were discovered in shipwrecks and also unearthed on land. There was also a wine press to produce wine for sale to the spectators. The other major exhibit was a Roman map that showed the distance between destinations, measured by travel time in horse and cart.

The wine press.

Back out into the sunshine, we walked the old town and stopped to observe old town gates and other reminders of the Roman days. Like Rovinj the roads were limestone blocks and some of the side streets were steep and slippery with polished limestone. I could imagine local kids sliding down the streets on wet days. 

Fun on a wet day.

In the middle of the old town shopping precinct sat a café with one table occupied by a seated statue of a man, seemingly enjoying a coffee. It turns out the celebrated author, James Joyce, lived in the building atop the café while he made ends meet teaching English. Apparently, he was not a fan of Pula, which is okay because we are not fans of his literary pursuits either.

The gate near Joyce's lodgings. They should have locked him out.

As far as the commerce of the town goes, there were the usual souvenir and ice cream shops as well as handcraft places and café. The Euro has only been the official currency of Croatia for three years and while its introduction was billed as a good thing for the economy, its people are not so convinced since inflation has skyrocketed by over 50% and wages have not followed suit.

We finished the tour at the City Hall, an Italian construction sitting beside the Temple of Jupiter. And that really sums up Pula, it is a town that represents it historical eras through the architecture.

The Temple of Jupiter.

City Hall.

We took our time walking back to the ship having exhausted pretty much what was on offer except sitting down for a coffee or glass of wine and we could do the latter back on board.

Dinner was served on the upstairs open air deck, a Croatian specialty, squid ink risotto with prawns. Entrée was tomato broth with celeriac and dessert, chocolate cake. You never go hungry on an APT cruise.

The shipbuilding yard is not so ugly at night.

The arena under lights.

Sunset from Pula.

The arena at dusk.

I honour of all the civilisations that dominated Croatia at varying times throughout history today's title, Everybody Wants to Rule the World is by Tears for Fears from 1985.

Until tomorrow.