Minimal breakfast in our Taverna at the marina in Umag and dinner was the last of our emergency rations. I was still carrying some oats and we’d managed to get some milk at a garage , so we sort of had porridge, we hadn’t had the energy yesterday to cycle several kms to the supermarket and all the small ones were shut being Sunday.The Taverna was open till midnight so they weren”t going to do breakfast!It was only a short ride into the main part of Umag for coffee and croissants to supplement the porridge however and a pleasant ride seeing all the fishing boats unloading.We weren’t allowed to park at one Taverna, bikes not allowed on the grass my boss won’t allow it, we just think he didnt want to do any work!

We enjoyed our morning ride vaguely following the coast and through little villages and somehow through a vast campsite, it went on for kms with all sorts of accomodation from campsites to glamping to cabins, waterparks, minigolf , tennis etc amazing. Looked pretty empty so a good time to go camping in Croatia!The cycle path occasionally went next to the road and looked very new. And quite a few cyclists around but very few with luggage.We headed into Novigrad for an early lunch and to look at the picturesque town.

We are taking our time in adjusting to the cost of Croatia after the cheapness of Hungary and Slovenia, in fact looking at the price of meals on the seafront we were aghast. We did find a menu of the day place for a reasonable price. The owner said she was loving the sun finally summer, and it had been the wettest May in 60 years! That beats the Slovenians who said it was the wettest May in 30 years. I would have just used our card and eaten at a lovely fish restaurant but it didnt open till 12 and we were a tad hungry.

We peddled on to Porec and the next 15kms were seriously hilly and on the road! One section was going up hairpin bends continuously and just when you thought you were at the top it rose again to the final summit.My legs had a bit of a shake after that one.Hubby had had a breather on the way up I couldn’t stop or I wouldn’t get back on my laden bike when its that steep.Porec seemed quite busy even though full tourist season doesn’t start till July / August when the population of 17,000 swells to 70,000!Our studio appartment owner told us Porec is still drying out, many of the old buildings couldnt cope with all the rain and indeed in tne entrance hall to the appartment all the plaster has fallen off with the damp, so healthy…

This town is the end of the Parenzana trail through the mountains, we had thought we would hire an ebike and cycle up a bit from tnis end but guess what the season hasn’t started yet so the ebike rental place isnt open yet!So a chill day tomorrow just cycling off to a nearby beach for a swim and seeing a few of the sights. Poric is a great small town to wander through with its maze of small streets and surrounded by sea so beautiful.

We take the 3 hour ferry to Venice on Wednesday, yes we know bikes are not allowed in Venice so we will be staying on the Lido island which you can cycle on. How do we get there ?I’m unsure a speed boat I believe from Venice will take bikes. Friday we start cycling to the river Po which runs across northern Italy to Milan, so till Friday blog readers.