We are still in Opatija waiting for the replacement shock absorber. However the breaking news and the good news is that the part has now arrived in Zagreb from the BMW head shed in Germany and it will be in Opatija tomorrow (Friday) Hallelujah! It was promised for Friday but you never know. Our grateful thanks go to our daughter in law Melba who has been on the case and has pointed out to all concerned that Croatia's reputation is on the line here! She is so good that I have made her an offer to come along with us on the rest of our trip as our business manager. If she accepts the next step will to be to buy a side car for her!
So to pass the time of two spare days we rode down to Rovenj on the Istria peninsular for an overnight stay that was not to far way in case ( a) the spare part arrived early or ( b) the shock absorber failed. Both events were very unlikely
Well, what a gem of a place Rovenj was. It was absolutely beautiful. The inner part is blocked off to cars so it was just a case of riding round the barrier arm ( getting quite good at this now!) and the mixing it with all the pedestrians on the narrow and crowded walkways. It is sort of hard to ride a bike through this!
But we get to the hotel without any pedestrians draped around the front wheel!
Then have to park the bike. What a setting. About 50 km across the water as the crow flies is Venice!
And spot our Orlanda tucked up for the night!
We explore the town which to me is prettier that the famous Cinque Terra on the other side of Italy
We wander up the narrow streets at night
Next morning we shout ourselves a Mediterranean cruise ! It is 15 minutes each way to Isola Rossa ( Red Island) where I watch the marine life and spot a mermaid !
Then it is back to the mainland, " on ya bike " and down to the town of Pula where there is the largest standing Roman stadium in the world.
And from thence back to Opatija on a sun drenched afternoon which is like travelling along the French Riviera. On the way we cross the 45 th Parallel which on the other side of the world almost goes through our Queenstown. It is an interesting contrast between the Meditterrean type landscape and climate here of 45 degrees North and the Central Otago climate of 45 degrees South
All in all a lovely two day break. And a new shock absorber tomorrow! What more could a fella want!
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Janet R