Sam Worthington; Istria, Croatia on the Mediterranean

It was about this time last year, when Easter was creeping up on us, that Biggles cornered me and harangued me about the wonders of his baby aeroplanes. The result was that a few weeks later I found myself cramped into a tiny aircraft with six drunks and two pilots. My companions whooped as Indicator's Cessna aircraft bounced up and down cloud pillars. I was hoping to get the other end without being ill! When finally we dropped down through the clouds the islands of Croatia’s Istria peninsular looked well worth the uncomfortable two hours. The sun was shining as we arrived at the old villa that is the Alhambra hotel (Malli Losinj. Tel: 51.292022). It is located on an inlet with clear blue waters and we congratulated ourselves for being on this idyllic Mediterranean island. Unfortunately the weather promptly turned cold but this did little to dampen the party’s enthusiasm as we wandered the inlets, and savoured the faded Riviera style grandeur of the older buildings whilst trying to not see the communist era additions. The fresh fish, the molluscs and the lobsters were fully appreciated. Nearby Welli Losinj harbour is built into a narrow inlet and has sheltered a tiny fishing village for centuries. It was here that we had a memorable lunch in the fish restaurant at the harbour’s entrance.

The other weekend with Lord Toad as chauffeur I took the surface route to Istria. Departing at eight in the morning we went via Zargrab, which involves a very picturesque drive over mountains from Zargrab to Rijka. Three hundred and fifty miles (600 kms) later we arrived in Opartia at four in the afternoon.

When we returned, we took the easier, but less direct route, via Lubijana, and Graz. It was about 50 miles (80 Kms.) longer and took an hour less. With considerably cheaper petrol in Slovenia driving this way saves money at the pumps.

Opartia must have once been an impressive resort. The palm lined shore and the elegant villas built late in the last century are reminiscent of parts of the south of France that charges an awful lot more. There are plenty of hotels and generally the rates are reasonable and a great deal cheaper than Balaton! We stayed at the privately owned Hotel Galeb (Tel Croatia 51.272311) for $40 for a single room. The high season (July/August) rate would have been $50. This looked one of the best three star hotels being in an attractive villa over looking the sea front and right in the centre of town. The top hotel is the Mozart (tel.: 51. 271877) which claims five stars and charges $70 per person the year round. The four star Kvarner (tel.: 51.271877) is right on the beach and has a mature garden. Opartia centre is the resort area, but there is the old Opartia which features narrow streets and stepped alleys running up the cliff from the small fishing port. We ventured there in search of good food but found nothing. Later we found the naffly named Gastro restaurant (Radnicku 4 Tel: 51.711024) which was signed off the main street (M. Tita). From the outside there was little to encourage us to enter. But peering through the window we saw a restaurant full of happy looking locals. It turned out to be the find of the trip. The owner was very hands on and more than helpful. That first night we had a delicious seafood salad, really fresh bream with potatoes mixed with spinach, cabbage and olives and a pud to finish. We washed it down with two litres of local wine and happily paid the bill for under $40. The owner insisted we had a final drink of the local brew. Pelinkovic reminded Lord Toad of syrup of figs mixed with unicum. Not a bad description and that was the first of many consumed over the next few days.

The coast line of the Opartia Riviera is very similar to that much better know Riviera. The road runs up and down, around inlets most containing a small village. We drove down the coast to Brestova, which is about 35 miles (60 kms), and watched the ferry that leaves, during the day, every hour, on the half hour, to the Islands. However we felt that Losinj might be a little quite at this time of the year for a rampant Toad and returned the way we had come. Just before Opartia we spied the Hotel Restaurant Ika (Ika 51.291 777) lurking at the end of a small bay and next door to a one man boatyard. It looked tempting so a lunch was declared. The lunch was very ordinary and somewhat overpriced. However it was here that the event that coloured our trip happened.

Lord Toad decided that he wanted a lobster. The waiter, who was condescendingly over helpful, rushed off and reappeared with a lobster pinched between his thumb and finger. The lobster was clearly alive and waving it's pinioned claws about. As Toad was inspecting the lobster, the lobster clearly became aware of Toad. Perceiving the possibility of becoming Toad food the lobster rebelled and kicked out twice with his tail. The waiter was caught unawares and dropped the beast. Landing on our table the lobster continued to kick out and without much trouble launched two glasses into space before jumping into Lord Toads lap. But for the pinioned pincers this may have been a very sad tale indeed. However frustrated in his assault on Toad the lobster jumped onto the floor and headed off in fast hops. The scuffle alerted a lady on another table. She turned round to see a lobster charging towards her and promptly leapt to her feet, without bothering to move back from the table. Fortunately her elderly dining companion was still sitting and thus stopped the whole table from going over. However the bottle of red wine and the glasses were not so fortunate. Sadly the lobster was recaptured. However Toad declined the offer of him for lunch, selecting pork instead and insisting that the very red faced waiter did not produce the pig for inspection. I am sure that by now the lobster has gone to the great stomach in the sky, but at least he went with a fight.

The next day we drove 100 miles (170Kms) to Pula which is at the end of the Istria peninsular. This is wonderful old Roman town with plenty of Roman architecture still about. We stayed at the privately owned central motel Omir (Serdo Dobric 6. Tel: 52.22019) for just under $50. Most of the hotels are out in a nasty modern complex west of the town, which over looks one of the largest marinas either of us had seen. However we preferred the town where we could wander around the bars in the ancient street which runs around the old citadel and drink in the modern Bounty pub just off the fish market.

For a good lunch the owner of the Bounty sent us 8 kms out of town to Bodulka restaurant (tel.: 52.574.704) in the village of Sissan. Here we had a splendid meal of lobster and monk fish. All wonderfully fresh, beautifully cooked and in a classic elegant but rustic restaurant. Several bottles of wine and a couple of pickled, in brandy, figs later we paid $80 for a meal that would have cost three times that in nearby Italy. Just north of Pula there lives a wild elephant herd which is descended from elephants imported by the Romans and is now the only truly wild herd in Europe.

Istria has a great deal to offer either for those who want to sit on a beach, or those who want to tour round and an awful lot for those who just want to toad out.

C YA