Friday 11th Oct.
We were aiming to get to Croatia, but it was a long drive so we decided to stop on the way.
Once again I got my trusted ACSI books and found one campsite, near Trieste and the border with Slovenia,that was still open at this time of the year. Most campsites are now closed.
We stopped on the way, at lunchtime, as we often do, at a supermarket, to buy some food and use the large parking to have some lunch.
We arrived at the campsite early afternoon. It was near the sea. Thankfully, after being eaten alive by mosquitoes for the last few days, there were less mosquitoes around! Venice in particular had been hell, with so many mosquitoes and so aggressive they would bite through clothes!We were both covered with mosquito bites.
The campsite was fine but they wanted 5 euros for WiFi on one device! The last campsite, in Venice offered free WiFi but it did not work, and the hot water in the shower was wishful thinking only! That was my experience of Italy, shabby, run down and stuff don’t work.
At least that night we had a hot shower.
Saturday 12th Oct. – Novigrad, Croatia
We left mid morning. We took our time as our next stop was not too far. We crossed into Slovenia and stopped near a supermarket to buy some bread. We also wanted to find out if we had to buy the Vignette. You can get huge fines ( up to 800 euros) if you use a road that requires the Vignette and don’t have it.
The lad at the check out told us that for the road to Croatia we did not need it, so we carried on.
We arrived at our destination, a campsite near the town of Novagrad, in Croatia, soon after noon.
The campsite was nice, the facilities absolutely amazing, and the WiFi was free, and it worked! Everywhere! Even in the van! Heaven! Back to civilisation!
After setting camp we went for a long walk along the path that follow the coastline. It was well set up with many cafes, restaurants and sport grounds. All very busy as it was the weekend and the weather was amazing.
We stopped by the metal fence of a large football pitch when we heard a guy on a microphone talking in English. There were cameras and guys with computer screens and electronic stuff, so we were curious.
They game had ended and they were giving the prizes at the end of a competition that included several football academies, among them Arsenal, Rangers, from Glasgow, LA Galaxy, Benfica, etc…. the winner was Red Bull Salzburg, with Arsenal second.
The kids were up to 15 year olds.
After that we continued our walk into the town and the Marina, getting a well deserved ice cream before walking back. The weather was gorgeous.
Sunday 13th Oct., Novigrad
We spent the day exploring the town again and making the most of the WiFi.
Monday 14th October – Vrsar
We packed and stopped by the town of Porec. We went for a walk around the old town. It boasts a basilica that dates back to the 6th century. We admired from the outside as we could not visit with the dog. The town was beautiful with narrow cobbled streets and beautiful buildings and courtyards.
As all the campsites near Porec were closed, we drove then to the small town of Vrsar. As usual, with the help of the ACSI guide books we found one site open.the GPS took us to the coordinates, which was at the gate of a naturist campsite! The place was gigantic. It was also closed. A bit confused I referred to my ACSI guide again, as they usually would say if a campsite was for nudists!
Eventually we noticed a small road through a car park into the campsite we were aiming for! And honest it was not a nudist one!
After picking our plot we set camp and went for a walk. Our campsite was massive. As we followed the walking trail along the coastline, it took us into the naturist camp. The gate was open so we walked through. The place was closed, so no nude people around. However the grounds were open and there were massive! So big in fact we had to turn back eventually. The park as it as now was well kept with sculptures and many (closed) shops, many sandy beaches, a big bridge to island and a well kept park with big olive trees and flowers. I imagine during summer time the place must be packed with (nude!) germans!
Tuesday 15th October
We decided to stay another day to explore the nearby town. It was fine but nothing exciting.
We also discussed our itinerary as we would like to visit Bulgaria before it gets too cold and heading south to Greece.
I would need to do some planning, making the most of the WiFi.
I also will need to dig my russian notes as some Russian will come handy is Bosnia, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Montenegro as all Use Cyrillic characters and the langages are very close to russian. As for Albania, it is a strange language non related to the Slavic group but I guess russian might e more useful than English! Time to study again then!
That is all for now.