Primorsko-Goranska Županija

Going to the restaurant with the sole intent of paying up for our stay, we finally managed to hand over the 150 kuna we owed, before filling up, emptying and starting out.

Pazin gorge is said to have prompted Dante's description of the gateway to Hell in his Inferno. The castle, teetering on the edge of the sheer drop into the chasm, is said to be that which Jules Verne's character Matthias Sandorf jumped from and swam along the subterranean river to the coast. While this fictional feat wouldn't be possible, we could certainly see why the gorge inspired such dramatic descriptions. It was difficult to make clear the scale in the photographs, but it was huge. We'd visited with the intent of walking down and through the gorge but unfortunately the trail was closed because frequent flooding had washed away some of the path and bridge. There was however a walk down to a viewpoint from where you could see through the trees to where the river disappeared underground with the limestone cave arching over it.

There are a lot of homes in Croatia with beautiful looking facades but Vicky has fallen in love with the ones that look slightly neglected and the abandoned ones, of which there are many.

Returning to the van, we saw people taking a lot of interest in it. Just as we were pulling away, Vicky looked in the wing mirror and was left speechless at the sight of a 10cm spider perched on top. After seeing that huge worm and Will having told her that morning about semi-transparent scorpian like creatures in the toilet emptying hole, she fully believed the spider was real. Upon closer inspection however, it turned out to be a plastic one some joker had placed on there. If they were watching for a reaction they wouldn't have been disappointed!

Leaving the region of Istria and entering the Kvarner Gulf to head south along the coast, the road climbed and climbed. It wound its way up through beautiful beech woodlands, their copper and yellow leaves aglow in the afternoon sunlight. As our route reached its highest point on Mount Ucka, more than 1000m up, we crested the ridge and through the trees the wide expanse of the Adriatic and its spread of islands was revealed to us. It was a stunning sight.

The city of Rijeka took over the largest cove, its white buildings spreading out far in all directions. Passing through and escaping the concentrated urban atmosphere we started on the coast road we plan to follow to the southern tip of Croatia. The bright blue sea, islands and coves, many with terracotta topped towns nestled in them were an amazing sight. We found a gravel car park to stop in overnight and photographed the sun setting over the Krk island.Read more