Bled to Ljubljana
Well, the receptionist got it right on both counts when we checked in, because it rained in the morning and it was snowing by the afternoon, in fact it didn’t stop until after we went to bed! It had stopped before we got up, but it lay thicker on the ground and, by the time we left Bled at about 11.30 a.m., another light fall had begun.
We pitched for 2 nights on a great camper stop 8km east of Ljubljana at Gasthaus Pri Kovacu in Sostro; it’s a lovely old guest house and is free to stay if you eat in the restaurant, which we did: a 3 course meal, with wine for €10 each. The food was delicious traditional fare, cooked by the wife and served by the husband who mans the bar. The first day we both had pork, which they rear themselves! There is a superb new toilet and shower and an electricity supply, which is listed in the camper stop book at €2, but the owner, a very friendly and helpful man, waived even that charge. He also sells tickets for the bus, which stops right outside, and he was very helpful with details about pick up places on the return etc.
We spent an enjoyable day in the capital, a small city of c.330,000 people; with all its bridges, the most famous being the Dragon Bridge, it reminded me very much of Prague. We wandered around the market on Shoemakers’ Bridge and came across a group of people in traditional dress manning a stall, playing music and singing folk songs. They were being filmed for national television and were promoting the NW area of Nova Gorica; their stall was laden with samples of their delicious traditional dishes, which they were handing out to everyone, so we naturally obliged them by trying several! The snow had almost disappeared overnight and after an hour and a half in the National Gallery we came out to find that the sun had got its hat on. We took the funicular cable car for the return trip up to the castle, which was a good move because we found a lot more step aerobics were needed to see all the sights once we’d got up there!
Back at the camper stop we met two young couples; Quentin and Aurelie from Bordeaux who are taking 3 months to travel around Eastern Europe and Vitse and Iris from Amsterdam who are taking 10 weeks to make a round trip to Mongolia. Vitse told John that they wanted to do something out of the ordinary and their trip will cover some of the stages of the annual Mongolia to London rally, which has to be undertaken in a vehicle of 1200cc or under; they are not, however, copying that part of the challenge as they are in a 20 year old Mitsubishi L200, kitted out with minimal living equipment, but plenty of spare tyres on the roof! We wish them well and look forward to hearing from them on their return.
Ljubljana to Pula
We said our goodbyes next morning (30th) and visited the caves at Postojna on route to Trieste, where we’d decided to head for next, thinking we’d enjoy a few days along the coast in the sunshine and, after finding a spot to park at long last, it was great to stroll along the harbour at Barcola (just north of the main town) during the evening. The good weather wasn’t to last though and May Day was a wet one. After a 2nd night on the harbour we headed down to Croatia, staying the night at a listed camper stop called Agriturizm Jadruhi, where we paid 50kn (about £5), including electricity. We were disappointed though that we weren’t able to eat in their restaurant, as it’s only open at weekends. It goes without saying that I was more than disappointed when I discovered that, since driving into Croatia, I could only use my mobile through What’s App when I could get a wi-fi connection!
On to Porec, on the coast, where we visited the 6th century Basilica of Euphrasius, still in use as a church today, climbing the 120 steps to the top of the bell tower. We then drove down to Vrsar, where we encountered yet more step aerobics, so we will soon be either fit or fit to drop! The day ended at Klostar, at a roadside restaurant (of which there many) called Istrika Contija, where we gorged on their daily speciality of roast suckling pig and then spent the night free of charge in their carpark.
Next port of call was Rovinji, stopping en route to snap some pics of the Limski Zaljev (Lim Fjord) which, according to our Berlitz pocket guide, was the setting for Richard Widmark’s 1963 Viking film “The Long Ships”. In Rovinji we did our daily stint of step aerobics for the climb up to the St. Euphemia church. There are several extremely narrow streets all leading up to it and our path down was via the famous Grisia Ulica. Last stop of the day was at Pula, where we visited the Roman Amphitheatre, used now to stage huge rock concerts etc., before checking in to the Stoja camp site, pleased to be able to catch up on the internet and try to sort out the problem with the mobile.
Pula to Dubrovnik
Well, mobile problem won’t be solved, Life mobile say it’s down to local providers, so now I’m hoping that I don’t have the same problem when travelling in Hungary and Poland; we didn’t leave the camp site until midday the next day because I’d spent all morning trying to sort it out. It then turned into a long day on the road; we made our way up the eastern Istrian coast not managing, because of the chaotic traffic, to visit Rijeka as we’d hoped. We couldn’t help but liken Rijeka to Madeira; as we drove through the style of the houses, and the condition of some of the old ones, reminded us very much of the main street through Funchal. We also had a job to find a pitch for the night because we went in search of a couple of places listed in our Camperstop book, but after going round in circles, off the beaten track, we checked in to Camping Selce, an ACSI site, but we were led a (not so) merry dance en route to it as there were road works and diversions in the way.
Just to round off the day, I got out at Reception to check in as usual and somehow trapped my left thumb in the cab door whilst closing it with my right hand. I have no idea how I did it, but I can tell you it was painful and I did dance! After settling onto the pitch John wrapped it for me and we went off a few metres along the waterfront to find some food. We’d decided to have 2 days there so we could unwind after the day’s drive, but some of the next morning was spent at the local surgery getting the thumb checked; I came out having had it dressed and receiving a tetanus jab and was pleasantly surprised that there was no charge, thanks to my E.H.I.C. card, so Croatians presumably visit the doctor free of charge, as we do at home.
Feeling refreshed, we set off again the next morning (Saturday 7th), still soaking up the glorious weather which we’ve had for a few days now, keeping to the spectacular Dalmatian coast road for most of the day. After scenic roadside stops for coffee and lunch we drove into Sibenik, parking on the harbour, to visit the Unesco listed cathedral. It was open to view, but the visit was overshadowed by extensive roof repair work. We later checked in at Camp Adriatic in Primosten, another ACSI site in another beautiful setting. The site boasts the best facilities we’ve seen anywhere, especially with their en-suite style wet rooms for the disabled. Hello to Jean Yves and his wife, from Finistere, whom we met there.
We continued the coastal drive next day, arriving at Ploce at 1.45pm, delighted to find that we could get a ferry crossing to Trpanj, on the Peliasac peninsular, at 2.15pm. I paid 274Kn (less than £30 even at today’s exchange rate) for the one hour crossing, which we have chosen to do to avoid having to drive through the Bosnian “corridor”, which would entail buying vehicle insurance at the border, not a problem in itself but it would be only 3rd party cover and, although the distance is only about 10 kms., we’re not prepared to risk losing our motorhome. At the ticket office a very friendly cashier told me that “the Antony Boy Campsite at Viganj is the best on the island”; I took this with a pinch of salt, but told her that as our grandson is called Antonio we would certainly check it out! We found it to be in yet another beautiful setting right on the waterfront, with decent, clean facilities and a very friendly receptionist (Marta), so we stayed, but not before I’d got a discount off their normal tariff having pointed out that there two ACSI sites down the road, both cheaper. The pitches here are terraced, which seems to be the norm along this coastline and we find them to be very reminiscent of sites we used on Sicily.
Marta was so helpful, she found the information we needed for the Korcula crossing and, when I said that we wouldn’t bother because the motorhome made it too expensive, she told me about a small ferry for foot passengers which went directly into Korcula town and printed off the timetable for me. We were so pleased she did as, next morning when we left the site, we drove to the small harbour, parked the ‘van at no charge and paid our 12Kn each for the 15 minutes crossing, along with many of the peninsular residents, who seem to use Korcula as their main shopping venue. We stayed in the old town, spending the morning as typical tourists by first having a coffee accompanied (as one must do!) by their local cakes followed by a walk around, snapping everything in sight; I realised back in Bad Aibling that we have a lead with us which allows the Samsung mobile and the Linx tablet to talk intelligently to each other, so now I’m able to include a few photos with the blog. After a quick lunch we drove along the attractive peninsular wine route and through Ston with fortifications looking a bit like the Great Wall of China we thought! We will stop to take a look around on our way back, particularly as they are famous for the mussels they serve so John’s lunch is already sorted for that day! After a drive of around 3 hours we arrived at the village of Orasac, about 20 kms. North of Dubrovnik and checked in at Camp Pod Maslinom, a good ACSI site which, at €11 per night is also the cheapest one in Croatia. We have now reached our furthest (driving) point south on this trip, as we will use a local bus to visit Dubrovnik.
