Today we toured some of the Fortified Towns. The villages and towns of Istria were all fortified and the first people to build walls were the Histri, an Illyrian tribe who put up defences on the hilltops where they settled.

We would visit three of the hilltop towns today and witness a huge contrast. The first location was very rural and quiet whilst the last town we would visit had lots of tourists and even a shuttle bus to avoid the climb to the hilltop.

First up was Boljun, the village still retaining its medieval walls, ramparts, a tower and a water trough from 1697.

 

 

 

Completely unspoilt, we were the only tourists in the area. A single café / restaurant the only sign of life (save for half a dozen cows sheltering in one of the “houses” on the main street.

More pictures follow along with some aerial photography from the Mavic Pro.

 

 

 

 

 

Next was Roc. The walls around Roc were built in the 14th century and Towers were added in the 1500s.

The Mavic was launched again for some great stills and video.

 

 

 

 

Finally we headed off to Motovun which turned out to be by far the most spectacular of the towns. Despite driving some distance up the hill to the car park, the medieval village of Motovun still towered above us. Too high we felt to be able to get any meaningful video from the drone.

Many more tourists here and even a shuttle bus up to the top of the hill. It’s always tricky for pictures to capture the true breath-taking views which were absorbed at the summit whilst walking around the rampart walls.

Very nice BBQ in the evening but sadly, this was the last of our bacon and sausages from blighty. Croatian food only from now onwards.

Saturday was a chill day with the afternoon lounging at Polidor’s beach. The evening we walked to Zelena Laguna in the vain hope we might be able to watch the FA cup final. No luck whatsoever but we enjoyed a nice meal alongside the sea.

Friday was another relaxing day with a trip to the Polidor beach and a BBQ in the evening.

Thursday and the weather has settled into a perfect pattern of clear blue skies, highs in the late 20s and lows overnight in the mid teens. Today we drove south from Porec to Rovinj.

Rovinj was originally an island port built by the Romans in 1763 but was joined to the coast by filling in the channel dividing the island from the mainland, creating a peninsula.

Definitely worth a visit to explore the old town and visit the church at the top.