Monday, March 11 – The breakfast was a huge affair with made to order omelettes and all kinds of dried fruits so we enjoyed that before a walking city tour of Pula. We walked to the large Amphitheater, the sixth largest Roman arena, and one of the best preserved. It dates from the 1st century BC and used to seat up to 20,000 visitors. Today, it holds 5,000 as the arena’s limestone was plundered by locals in the 18th century to help build the cathedral. I’m sure the summer concerts would be memorable with the sea surrounding you and the open skies above!
We were hosted for coffee and snacks at the office of our host, Uniline Tours. Mr. Boris Zgomba, Chairman/Director of Uniline, has been tapped as a candidate for the Minister of Tourism in the Croatian government. As their economy is largely based on tourism, he would seem to be an ideal candidate.
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| Luisa in the Roman Amphitheater |
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| Gene being attached by bear at rest stop! |
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| Landscape near Velebit mountains |
As we drove south along the coast and inland over the mountains, there are several wind break screens along the road. They look like sound barriers we have in the States but with slats in between. At certain times, the wind (bura) can be extremely powerful for up to 14 days! We continued south on the coast road until Senj and headed into the Velebit mountains. After a turkey cutlet and fries lunch at the Macola rest stop (complete with local stuffed animals), we drove to Zadar. The scenery is rocky, craggy and with few trees. There are tolls along the highway and not much traffic – but it is not tourist season either. Our hotel tonight was the Park Plaza. We ate a nice meal in their restaurant with fresh fish and I also worked on some travel issues – thank goodness for Skype and the computer!
Zadar has a huge basketball stadium and one of the best teams in Croatia! We enjoyed an evening walking tour of the monastery and along the sea front. Many fishermen were out – one even had a long spear for squid!
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| Gene at the basketball Stadium in Zadar |
