Friday, June 3, 2011; Cres to Rasa Estuary.

It is but a short hop of a couple of hours from Cres to the Ria or drowned river valley estuary of Rasa. It is a deep inlet of limestone covered in forest down to its shores. There are no beaches and almost no houses. A few small boat moorings and the occasional rickety jetty line the shore. The place has a dejected and abandoned feel to it, perhaps even a bit spooky.

We wind our way slowly into the recesses of the estuary until we come its head. Here, there is evidence of industry or at least stone quarrying; a large bulk ore-carrying vessel lies empty and at anchor, it is called appropriately, “Stone”. Kalani anchors opposite the only settlement, a tiny hamlet called Trget.

I call the guide whose name I have for the town of Barban. She tells me that she cannot meet us as the road is blocked and it is now a journey of over 100 kms to make the detour. The ancient town of Barban is about five kilometers upstream from where we lie at anchor.

Nothing daunted, I decide that we will try to reach Barban by tender. The first obstacle to my plan is the lagoon where we have anchored. It becomes shallow close to where the river enters and we soon run aground. Nosing forward cautiously, we find our way into the river mouth, our propeller kicking up a great deal of mud behind us. The water deepens once we are in the river and we set off along the reed-fringed stream at top speed. The left bank has the ugly remains of some vast industrial complex now abandoned to dust and weeds; it is probably associated either with a nearby quarry or perhaps with the local timber industry? There is nothing else to catch the eye as we progress up river, certainly no bird life. For about two kilometers the river runs alongside a road that has plenty of traffic on it. Four young men on garishly painted trail bikes race us – they waive enthusiastically as the burn past.

After about two and a half miles we see an obstruction ahead. We have come to a wooden pontoon that entirely blocks the stream. On it stand a group of workmen building a road bridge over the river. The workmen carry on without paying us the slightest heed although we are the only craft on the river. We have no choice but to turn back so we retrace our steps and speed back towards Kalani.

Once back at Trget, we pull into a tiny jetty that belongs to an attractive looking waterside restaurant. We enquire if there is a local taxi. They confirm what we have already been told, it is 100 kms to Barban. As the restaurant looks so nice, we decide to take all the crew out for lunch tomorrow before we head for Pula.

Back to Kalani for a rest and a bath then dinner in front of the TV watching Jean de Florette the French classic from the 70’s.

Saturday, 4^th June, 11; Rasa Estuary to Pula

We enjoy a convivial and delicious lunch at “Martin Pescador”. The crew must limit themselves to a glass of wine; they will be on duty all afternoon. We all choose seafood, the restaurant’s specialty. All that is, apart from Alex who will eat no fish or shellfish except tuna, he is happy with a big juicy steak.

While Derek and I have a rest, the crew raise the anchor and we set sail for the City of Pula some five hours sailing time away.

Sunday, June 5, 2011; Pula

We are anchored in the sheltered bay just outside the town where we have an excellent view of the Roman Amphitheatre that is just yards from the shore. Its stone takes on the colour of oaked chardonnay in the morning light. It is the sixth largest in the world and one of the best preserved. It was built by Claudius but enlarged by Vespesian in 79 AD in order to stage naval battles. It is a truly impressive piece of architecture and I am looking forward to seeing inside.

But first we walk into the center of town to find an Orthodox church. The only one in town is 6^th Century Byzantine but it is padlocked despite declaring that it is open for Sunday morning service. Perhaps the congregation has departed and the priest did not feel there was any point of holding a service with no congregation – we are disappointed.

It is a hot and humid morning but we continue up the hill to find a Franciscan church and friary that is open. We while away some pleasant minutes in its 12^th C cloister watching a family of tortoise that includes a baby no larger than a golf ball. Just before 11 am a male choir arrives, some forty strong all dressed identically in short-sleeve white shirts and bright red ties. They are on tour from Bavaria. We spend an hour listening to their beautiful singing but an uninspiring choice of songs.

Next, we head for the forum and the center of town to have lunch and see the exquisite small Roman Temple of Romulae and Augustus. The latter is a good deal tastier than the former. Bruce has spoiled us for anything but the best.

By now we are tired and hot but cannot miss the amphitheater. It is not far to walk but it is hot work for Timot carrying his camera and tripod. It is well worth the trudge. The oval amphitheatre was built to seat 23,000 spectators with cells and cages below and three tiers on the harbour side that tower some 80 feet above us. The sheer scale of it takes our breath away but there is a mystery why a town of only 30,000 should have needed a theater of this size.