De-Mob Fever

Not long now before I pick up sticks, rattle my dags, hit the road Jack... as is usual at this stage, I am keen to be on the move again. There are still a few chores to complete including selling my bike...this I won't miss...a real cheap and nasty model ... with for-ever-needing adjustment of the brake and gear mechanisms...but it has served it's purpose...just a bit over $100...now even bikes are disposable. I suspect the extras such as helmet and tools will fetch more than the bike. Then there is my traditional apartment clean prior to leaving. Then packing...will be even less this time...nearly all items of clothing are at the throwaway stage so will be discarded on route. The printer will definitely not be moving on this time...and the South African colour cartridge is still being used.


As some of my travels will be a bit arduous in the next 4 months ( in between the soft bits ), I am trying to get as fit as possible now and lose 2 Kg. Out on the bike every second day though the best path around the coast is very busy with other cyclists and hikers.

I visited Pula on a day visit today, to see the town and to make sure I know where I am going when I depart from Pula airport 15 July. The town does have a number of ancient roman ruins dating from around year zero including a well preserved amphitheatre that is still used today for concerts and a large film festival each July. It was originally built to host gladiatorial contests.

 The Croatian province of Istria was important to Rome as a source of olive oil, wine and fish and Pula a major trading port. Today it is much larger than Rovinj and not nearly attractive...very commercial with an unattractive working harbour. I will add some photos later when I get my new internet allocation.

I am rationing myself on the internet as I am so close to my 10G monthly allocation limit and I am not sure what happens when the limit is reached..either cutoff or very expensive. So skype has been shutdown until Thursday.

I will then finalise my travels around SE Asia. I am trying to wait to see if a couple of tours I would like to do go "guaranteed departure" before purchasing airline tickets though within SE Asia, the cost of traveling between major cities is usually less then $100.

Weather here is delightful...bright blue sky and pleasantly warm most of the time. There are lots of tourists in town and I suspect most are from higher up in Europe and have driven down...many have caravans so I guess you can't judge if the GFC is affecting travel as these holidays are likely to be quite inexpensive.