Yesterday was predicted to be overcast with some rain, so the plan was for Sarah to go riding at 9 am for an hour and for us then to visit nearby Zadar. However when Sarah went to the stables at 9 the owner said, that because of overnight rain, she would have to wait until 11 am.
At 11 am we all traipsed the half a mile or so to the equestrian centre, me with my camera to get a photo of Sarah astride her trusty steed. Unfortunately this time the previous riding group were running late and so Sarah was asked to return in 30 minutes. She did so alone, because the dogs and me had retired to Basil to get out of the drizzle that had by then started.
When Sarah returned at 1pm, she was hobbling. She had had a thoroughly enjoyable time, but while cantering she got out of synch with the horse and as a result the horse’s back had come up just as Sarah’s behind was coming down, causing her to damage her back. Sarah thinks its nothing serious and so we will see how she improves. I have had to undertake dog walking duties with a Mabel who is none too happy that her pack leader has been substituted by the lowest member of the pack!!
The next couple of days didn’t look great weather wise and so we decided to take the opportunity to travel north to the Istrian coast. We could have made the 200 mile plus journey in one day by motorway but decided, partly because of Sarah’s back and partly because of the scenery, to take the slow coastal road.
North of Nin the mountains run along the coast with the result that the shoreline is rugged, uncultivated and with few settlements. I suspect that the road has not been in existence for very long and considerable engineering difficulties have been overcome to build what the Rough Guide calls the Corniche Road. Unfortunately, with heavy skies and intermittent rain, we did not see the coast at its best but it was still very beautiful accompanied by views of the island of Pag out to sea. In sunshine I suspect this is probably one of the most spectacular coastal roads in this part of Europe. Others clearly agree because at one point we were stopped by Police for 10 minutes while a film crew undertook some filming.
We finished our journey in the small town of Senj, which, being a little off the beaten track, has only limited trappings of tourism.
A popular saying of the Venetians apparently was “May God preserve us from the hands of Senj”, because in the 16thCentury a warrior group known as the Ushoks, took over the town as they fled from the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia. For nearly 100 years they raided Venetian ships as they travelled along the coast, partly with the connivance of their nominal overlords the Hapsburgs. Eventually the Hapsburgs made peace with the Venetians and resettled the Ushoks inland.
We have parked on the quayside, hoping the police will not turn us off and we can stay overnight. I have been for a walk around the town and near the sea the buildings are well maintained and again somewhat Italianate. When I started wandering around the alleys in the heart of the town there were some houses, that although appearing to be occupied, were seriously decrepit. There are very few reminders of the Hapsburgs and even the Cathedral is a ‘Johnny come lately’ only constructed in 1881.
If we survive on the quayside until the evening then we plan to eat at one of the very reasonably priced restaurants in town. We like to give something back to communities where we have stayed without use of a campsite.
