Day 9 -- Leave Eastern Slavonia for Istrian Peninsula

Colin: No one is sorry to be leaving Osijek for the Adriatic Coastal portion of Croatia today. Six days of very cold and wet weather are more than enough for anyone. We are cold, and tired, and are getting on each others nerves (and getting each other sick). But as we drove West towards the coast, the weather warmed, the sky cleared up, and at a rest stop the mood started to brighten as well. People started to laugh, kick a soccer ball back and forth near the bus and generally appreciate the change. We have left Eastern Croatia behind and have moved onto the second part of the trip.

Istria (pronounced IST-ree-uh) is a peninsula that sticks out into the Adriatic Sea and contains the oldest Roman ruins in Croatia. The climate is one more like the Greek islands and less like that of Central Europe. The local diet will be one more based on fish, olive oil, and figs, as opposed to the Central European-influenced meat (especially pork) and potatoes that we have been eating for the past nine days. However, we had one more meal of it as we dined for lunch on venison and dumplings at a restaurant in the small town of Fuzine, and afterwards we took a side trip to the cave that was discovered in the 1960’s but had been sealed for 100’s of thousands of years.

When we first saw the sea a great cheer went up on the bus. Our bus driver is named Franjo (pronounced Fran-YO) and we have become very impressed with his skill as he maneuvers the “Purple Horse” through a variety of locations with much skill and acumen. We have started to refer to ourselves as the “Purple Horse Gang” and have become one big happy, dysfunctional family. [Ben - the "Purple Horse" (of course, of course) refers to our gigantic purple bus.]

As impressed as we are with Franjo’s driving skills, we are less impressed with the skills of other Croatian drivers. Motor Vehicle Crash deaths and injuries (including those to pedestrians and bicyclists committed by automobiles) are the leading source of Emergency Room visits in Croatia. Many of the safety standards that we take for granted in the U.S. regarding mandatory safety equipment and speed zone enforcement either do not exist in Croatia or are not enforced. We are glad to be in the capable hands of our expert bus driver.

Our destination for the evening is the hilltop town of Motovun (pronounced Mow-tow-voon), where a group as large as ours cannot even be taken all the way to the top because the bus cannot climb that high, but must walk the last 500m up the narrow cobblestone streets to the Hotel Kastel. The town has a spectacular view of the valley below and many folks celebrated late into the night and were very happy with our new surroundings.