A Week in Terra Magica: Part III Motovun and Rovinj

“I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” – Mary Anne Radmacher Hershey

I can't believe how far behind I have gotten with my blogging. We have been concentrating on home schooling lately, which continues to be lots of fun. We have been studying measurement with Emma and looking at cubits, spans and unches used before modern measurements.

One fun day we decided to measure out on the beach in Makarska just how big Noah's Ark would have been based on the measurements in the bible. Luckily the beach was fairly deserted and Emma had room to measure out her 10 cubit lengths and discovered it would only just fit. We were rather surprised when we found the real thing at a bay in Brac not long afterwards. But now I will get on and finish off the tale of our week in Terra Magica.

Motovun

Motovun is a classic hill town that wouldn't have been out of place in Umbria or even the south of France. The views on an overcast day were amazing so I can only imagine how brilliant it would look on a sunny day.

The day we visited we found a Vespa touring group parked in front of the church. Sadly the church wasn't open, though we would like to have taken a look. You could be forgiven for thinking you were in Italy, and between WWI and WWII you would have been correct. In fact just under twenty percent of the locals speak Italian as their first language.

Motovun is very popular in New Age circles as lay lines run through the area and I must say it was very peaceful. While the road leading into town was lined with cars, and a bus brings those who can't find a car park on the road leading to town, the town itself did not seem at all crowded, though early September is the beginning of the end of the season.

For foodies there are many little food shops and truffles are the delicacy that this area is famous for. There are even truffles festivals in the local towns, last year my sister in law visited and even had truffle icecream. 

There are a number of giants to be seen in as you take a wander around Motovun. Legend has it that giants once inhabited the forests around Motovun, even using its giant oaks to sweep away their enemy's in a battle. These industrious giants were even said to have built the town.

Walking the walls we were treated to views of the river and the very special forests. It was from here that the oaks were taken to build the palazzo's of Venice.

Stopped from exploring by a sudden downpour we visited a little café for a hot drink and great conversation with cousin Sandra, who brought us to this very special place. By the time we had finished our drinks and taken a few minutes to very a lovely shop selling wooden and woollen toys and also sorts of natural products, on right of the arch leading into the town, the rain had stopped and the sun had come out.

It was time to head back for one of cousin Zora's amazing lunches and so we followed the Vespa's out of the town, feeling very glad to have had the chance to visit this special place.

A Boat Trip to Rovinj

Our next adventure took us by sea rather than by land. It was our last day in Istria and the weather was lovely and so we took advantage of the fact and hopped on a half day cruise from Porec harbour to Rovinj and the Lim Ford.

Leaving Porec

 I must say early on that we took a boat to Rovinj but we can not claim to have really seen the place as we stopped briefly had lunch and left again. Our plan was to drive back when we returned to Porec with Rob's mum but we didn't realise she didn't plan to visit, so we learnt an important lesson about striking while the irons hot.

 As we travelled down towards Rovinj we saw many beautiful beaches and coves. We also saw some unexpected sights which was cause for much laughter. Without any warning we saw a little speed boat zoom past packed with about eight elderly people, stark naked. We had no idea that this part of Istria was home to a huge nudist colony. We saw people basking on the rocks, taking a dip in the sea and even fishing from a jetty in nothing but their birthday suits. Julian is now very keen to "get natural", oh my goodness.

The journey was an absolute delight, we saw a number of beautiful towns and finally we could see stunning Rovinj in the distance.

 We were dropped at a jetty and told to return in an hour and a half and we set off in search of lunch. As we planned to return our goal today was delicious long lunch and swim in the afternoon, as the walk to town took a while the lunch was all we had time for.

 At the bottom of the town we found a very good café serving absolutely delicious fish served with Blitva and Krumpir (silverbeat and potato) which has long been a favour of mine but tastes even better here. 

After lunch we agreed to have a little look at the markets and then I offered a choice of a walk to the top of the town or a play on the playground and the playground was the popular choice.

Luckily the market and the playground were side by side and so we were able to spend some time at each. After four months in Europe the markets aren't providing any surprises and this one was primarily a farmers market and along the edge of the market and the street leading to the dockside where our boat dropped us off were many stalls selling the usual tourist tat.

I did manage to take a quick peek into the street beyond the market and I'm quite sure that had we returned we would have found Rovinj to be a real treasure.

After leaving Rovinj we journeyed back towards Porec but turned in at the Lim Ford and travelled up to a beautiful bay where those crazy enough to swim on a mild day enjoyed a dip. I believe this is a case of a picture telling a thousand words so I will leave it to the pictures to tell this part of the story.

After an enjoyable interlude and as the sun sank slowly in the west we made the short journey back to Porec we satisfied that we had well spent our week in Istria, while having barely scratched the surface.