25 Oct Saturday Rovinj to Gospic

Yes I hadn't heard of Gospic either. Its over the hills from the Adriatic Sea half way down Croatia.
I left Rovinj with great plans. Found my way inland to the oldest village in Croatia, situated on a hill ( aren't they all) with some modest fortifications.
The history of these countries defies understanding. The peoples came from other parts, many years ago, and have been fighting to stay there and not be controlled by a foreign power ever since. What a struggle in a harsh environment. It must have been tough wherever they came from. Thousands of years to fighting to defend their "place". Its a good thing the Maori have never been outside New Zealand because they would have little reason to bitch endlessly that the world owes them something more than the wonderful life they have. These people have been fight for thousands of years. This little town I am in tonight still has houses with bullet holes in the walls. These poor people. But they are not unhappy people they are welcoming and friendly.
So after my small village I headed to the grand coast. Its not the riviera, nowhere else is, but its pretty good. The other thing is they still make things, like boats. The gulf is littered with Islands. Lots of islands. It must be great boating here in the summer. There are still fish, the water is clear and the water temperature today 18c I was told.
The sign to Lukova had me fooled for a moment. We have them on high roads as well and call them a Lookout
The coast was great, but soon I ran into strong winds. A local phenomenon apparently. They call it the Bura and it blows like hell for several days. The sea was white with foam. I changed plans and headed further south and after a patch of calm, there it was again so over the range I went looking for calm and got cold instead. Very cold.
Still I am here in Gospic and pleased to be despite the bullet holes that remain in the walls of some of the buildings. Life has been harsh here.
nzl04