David's Diary: Wednesday, August 28, 2002

Pula, Croatia

Yesterday we left Venice and traveled back across the Adriatic Sea to Croatia. Rather than do an overnight passage, we left early so that we could cross back to Croatia in a single day. We attempted to leave at 06:30, but the tide was out and the spot we were in at the Sant Elena Yacht Club wasn't deep enough for us to leave. We got stuck on the mud. There was nothing we could do, but wait for the tide to raise. I did take the opportunity to calibrate our depth sounder -- it had been over reading just a bit. We discovered by just how much this morning when we ran aground with what appeared to be a safe depth reading.

David in the Roman Amphitheatre

We finally left Venice around 08:00 yesterday and arrived in Pula at 19:00. We moored at the marina and today we are going to explore Pula. Standing up above the city and making an impressive sight as we entered Pula yesterday is the Roman Amphitheatre. The amphitheatre is one of the largest in the world, built to hold 22,000 people. Historians are unsure about why it was built so large as the population of Pula in the first century BC when it was built was only around 5,000.

Roman Theatre

After touring the amphitheatre we were off to see the small Roman Theatre which sits in a small park near to the Archeological Museum. We skipped the museum, deciding to walk up the hill behind the theatre and take in the views back towards it.

Allen at the Fortress

The hill then led to the seventeenth century fortress. From here we could see the industrial part of Pula with its large dock yards and ships in dry-dock having work done to them. Inside the fortress is the Historical Museum of Istra. There were displays on the local shipbuilding industry and lots of models for Kevin, Allen, and I to enjoy. The models were large, detailed, and complimented with historical displays such as menus and dining displays from elegant cruise ships that used to travel up and down the Adriatic.

Pula Harbour

Climbing the fortress walls we had a broad vista of the fully enclosed bay at Pula. This is one of the most protected bays on the whole Croatian coast.

Roman Mosaic

We found a place to have lunch and then afterwards wended our way through parks and behind apartment buildings until we found the Roman mosaics. These mosaics were not discovered until the Second World War when Allied bombing raids uncovered them. They are now located immediately behind an apartment building and unless you knew to look for them; you would be unlikely to find them. Our trek was worth it to see the 2,000 year-old treasure beautifully preserved.

We spent more time in Pula doing some shopping and looking around. A mid-afternoon rain storm got us all soaked by the time we returned to Dragonsinger. As the rain poured down outside, we curled up with some books and enjoyed a well deserved rest. In a week we have traveled across the Adriatic Sea to Venice and back.