Istria, first impressions.
Today, the wife and I flew out to Croatia for a ten day vacation. We are staying in the small town of Medulin, which is just outside Pula on the Istrian peninsula. On our first morning, I had my early morning walk, as I often do. Getting up at six o’clock, which is five in the UK, I was surprised by the amount of sunlight already shining. Clearly, I had missed the dawn and the golden hour but I still took the camera in the hope of getting some interesting images or, at least, some simple snapshot memories.
My walk started along the bay and it was not a good start. It was evident that the bay was a beautiful natural location but, what was more evident, it had been ruined by demands of modern tourism. Plastic boats, fancy rubber rings, jet skis and other ephemera, littered the water. The land was littered too, with the usual detritus such as empty cans, packets, broken bottles and half drunk glasses of cola. Bar upon bar of dirty-looking beer and junk food establishments had been erected upon any plot of land along the front. These tourist traps were interspersed with stands where touts pitched boat tours, jet ski hire, and other ‘excursions’ to passing potential punters.
All in all, it was clear that this once peaceful backwater has now been ruined by the tourism industry.
