Picking up the pace to Pula

When we were doing some basic passage planning (ie. to Canary Islands, the jumping off point to cross the big pond), we realized that we should stop putzing around so much and start making some good distances. And having seen enough of Croatia, we were anxious to head over to Venice Italy and beyond.

So moving with a little more purpose, our first overnight stop after leaving Zadar was at Otok Losinj in Luka Balvanida, still in Croatian waters. The bay we picked was quiet with only a few boats. Snorkelling, we found the water was actually quite warm again and were surprised to find schools of fish we could swim through.

A rare sight in the Med

The next day had us passing an impressive lighthouse, Hr Porer, on a rock island which marks the dangers of rocks and shallows off the southern tip of the Istrian peninsula.

Hard to miss

We then dropped anchor in front of a former Yugoslavian city that now belongs to Croatia called Pula. A close friend told us he lived the first few years of his life here so we wanted to make a point of stopping there.

This large city of Pula is in the county of Istria on mainland Croatia. Its pride is the well-preserved 2,000 year old Roman amphitheater (called the Arena) that could hold 20,000 spectators, no longer hosting bloodthirsty gladiator fights but instead concerts, operas, and film festivals.

Amphitheater from the water

If ghosts could talk

It is visited by almost half a million tourists annually! It is not unlike the famous coliseum in Rome where it has the tall arched and columned perimeter walls. You can also see remnants of the different rooms and chambers around the center fighting ring where animals and fighters prepped for their fate.

180° view

Yep, that's us

When we first entered the large harbour, it was immediately evident that Pula's major economy was driven by its large shipyard flagged by a hoard of ginormous cranes where evidently it was doing a wide range of marine projects.

Serious shipyard

There was a hulk that looked like maybe a huge freighter taking form on the ways, a newly completed oil platform, a tanker close to completion, and even what quite possible will be the world's largest mega yacht well on to completion.

Anchorages:
N44°29.531' E014°30.073' Aug 18 Otok Losinj (Luka Balvanida)
N44°52.942' E013°50.564' Aug 19 Istria (Luka Pula)