Cycling from Trieste to Pula

Trieste - Umag

The exact point of our departure is Barcola, not far from Trieste and where we leave the car; the car park seems safe since many people admire the seafront daily. A fantastic landscape accompanies us as far as the little town of Muggia where we recommend a stop to admire both the centre and the brand-new port. The road that takes us to the Italian-Slovenian border is not very wide and forces the cyclist to be particularly careful. Without even realising it, we arrive at Capodistria (Koper); the traffic becomes heavier but cyclists, to cross the city, can rely on well-kept cycle and pedestrian paths. The road is not at all tiring, always tarmacked and flat, but the stops we make mean we arrive at Umago a little behind schedule.

Since, however, it is the day's destination, we don't give up visiting it anyway; you notice it already in the distance, situated on a narrow peninsula, from where the bell tower stands out surrounded by stone houses, all enclosed within well-preserved walls.

Umago - Rovigno

Having left the campsite behind us, which was very nice by the way because it adjoins the clear waters of the sea, we head towards Cittanova (Novigrad). If the day before the road was fairly flat, today we'll be faced with ups and downs which, if tackled with too much eagerness, can turn the ride into a Calvary. At Cittanova we stop to visit the streets of the town, also medieval in character like the others, which lead us towards the loggia in piazza Slodobe. We start pedalling again, setting off towards Parenzo (Porec) where we have the pleasure of witnessing a colourful procession: today is Easter Sunday and the little town is bustling with crowds of people. We can hardly believe we're across the border when we hear most people speaking Italian; we'll hear this characteristic throughout the whole trip.

Passing through the town of Orsera (Vrsar), we come to what is now declared a marine reserve: the Leme canal (Limski Kanal). This inlet, only 600 metres wide, forces us to pedal 9 kilometres just to reach the other shore, but the panorama that presents itself to our eyes is fantastic: the road, though uphill, runs alongside the mountain walls that plunge into the waters of the canal. By now it's not far to Rovigno and the road, once past the Leme canal, is safe and always downhill. Rovigno, in the distance, presents itself like all the little towns visited so far: the bell tower standing out above the roofs of the houses with their multi-coloured walls. As we pedal along the streets of the little town, we recommend admiring it from the square right on the port. Nearby you can admire the Arco dei Balbi, the ancient town gate, the Clock tower and the loggia.

Rovigno - Pola

Today, the Monday after Easter, the weather is not the best and we believe, right from the start, that it has a few drops of rain in store for us. But today our destination is also the destination of the whole tour and so we don't lose heart. We travel along a fairly flat road from where, near the little town of Valle (Bale), we manage to catch a glimpse of the islands of the Brioni National Park, islands that can only be visited in groups accompanied by local guides. The rain becomes our travelling companion from the town of Fasana (Fazana) where, first we look for shelter in the park in front of the port, then, by now resigned, we head to the main pier - we weren't the only ones!! - from where, on fine days, you can admire the Brioni islands.

We continue towards our destination and, without realising it, we enter the city of Pola; the tree-lined avenue takes us right to the foot of the city's symbol: the amphitheatre. It is immense and the way it appeared to our eyes, first hidden by the foliage of the trees then, suddenly, bursting forth with its majestic appearance, leaves us almost breathless; a sensation that you will hardly feel travelling the same road by car. The sky begins to clear and the rain stops when we take the ritual photo: two cyclists, with raincoats, bikes and panniers, in front of the Roman amphitheatre. The first thing we do, before visiting the city, is to find out about the bus times for our return home, scheduled for the following day; it was very easy, once we had spoken to the driver, at 4 in the morning the next day, to load our bicycles, panniers...

into the luggage compartment and set off back towards Trieste.