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I have probably been subject to the "expensive for tourists" scam but I have a nice apartment for my 3 month stay in Rovinj though it's not in the nicest part of town. It's near supermakets but a nearby construction site will be a bit noisy.

Rovinj is a small tourist town...population about 15,000 but this increases by 20,000 in the summer due to the influx of tourists. The old town is quite charming and the fishing harbour is still a real one. The town is so small that I was able to walk to view possible places to live. I initially thought getting an internet connection would be difficult and expensive so specified apartments that had internet installed. During my search, I met that usual chancers, spivs, the greedy and the drinkers ( the accommodation industry is perfect for someone who likes a drink and can have his own bar ). It came down to 2 possibilities, one with internal wireless internet coverage in a quiet location but quite small and far from the shops and the other twice as big, no internet but very close to supermarket and a busy location with a budding building site nearby. Monthly rent was about the same and both were equal distance from the town centre. The owners of the former, 2 teachers were smart enough to investigate all the possibilites of getting online including the 50% discount they get as teachers but did discover that one of the suppliers have a special 90 day 3G wireless package for foreigners. Their apartment, though a bit spartan is nearly new and the appliances are modern. So I took this one and will go off exploring when the noise gets too much.

As I have a rental car for the remainder of this week, I am now exploring further afield and visited the towns of Pazin and Gracisce today. Pazin has an old castle and a river that disappears into a cave under the town. The geology of Istria is mainly karst, a hardened form of limestone and there are many sinkholes and chasims under the land. Gracisce is a small medieval town.

The countryside is not very scenic at this time of the year. The many deciduous trees are just starting to bud and the grape vines have no buds at all yet. Grapes and olives are the main crops. There are many small villages scattered across the countryside though some houses appear to have been abandoned or could do with some loving care. Fertile ground is only found in the valleys and the karst seems to stunt the growth of trees. It looks like a tough land to earn a living as a farmer. The sea is crystal clear, no surf, and will warm up shortly. Most of the coast is also karst rocks with a few artifical sand beaches. There are some extremely large hoilday camps along the coast. Totally void of customers at the moment but I guess fill up with excited families on their package holiday by the sea in a few months.

My apartment has two bedrooms/2 bathrooms so can accommodate visitors. Bookings are open and the first couple will arrive Sunday.