Istria.
Over the area of around 3500 square kilometres, this peninsula hides incredible treasures.
So far, I have visited Slovenian and Italian parts of the peninsula, and only few towns on the Croatian coast of Istria. A couple of weeks ago, it was my first trip to the inner parts of Istria.
I have heard beautiful things about it, the photographs were showing outstanding beauty of both culture and nature, but still, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Others’ opinions may help find perfect places, but opinions are not facts, and photographs are often filtered, remastered, or skillfully framed to bring only the best from reality.
But I fell in love with it at the first glance.
A perfect blend of marine and mountainous – as I came closer to the seashore, the scenery changed to the well-known Mediterranean landscape. Tall pines, salty air, scarce land covered by bare limestone rocks. A scene so familiar that for a second, I believed I was back on my island.
But a distant giant, Mount Učka, revealed my true location. It stood there, massive and mighty, as a quiet guard of the Istrian peninsula. Učka is the highest mountain in Istria. In 1999, it was declared as Nature Park Učka, along with one part of Ćićarija mountain.
As I left the coastline and entered the inner part of Istria, I met another, completely different side of this peninsula. No wonder why they call it “green Istria”.
Although I am and probably always will be fond of the seaside, the inner part of Istria stole my heart in a second.
Travelling towards the first destination, only cars and well-kept roads gave away the fact that we live in a world full of big cities, factories and massive industry.
I had a feeling that humans and nature live in harmony here.
Fields were maintained, meadows were full of blooming flowers of all colours, and forests were framing our road, making a cold shade on a hot summer day. Bales of hay, sunflowers and flowering meadows made a beautiful mosaic of shapes and colours on a green background.
On the road that led to a tiny village where our accommodation was, we encountered a young roebuck and two female roe deer, and saw hawks flying above our heads – as if they were showing us that humans were only passengers in these woods.
The scenes I had the joy to witness were, to me, were absolutely beyond this world.
Don’t get me wrong – I saw nothing extraordinary or miraculous.
But I saw what I have been searching for for a very long time.
The scenes like those in the old movies, where the plot takes place in a countryside full of pastoral views.
The scenes of beautiful, untamed, healthy nature where it coexists with humans, and humans live and work without overexploiting nature. I met a family that lives in harmony with nature, nurtures it, takes many treasures that nature has to offer, but nothing more.
There are not many places like these, but they do exist – and it made my day.