Learning Adriatic winds the hard way, 3 December 2023

Winter is finally here with temperatures ranging from 3 to 10 degrees Celsius. Today, went to Rovign, probably the most touristic place in Istria (see see previous post). The wind was blowing at gale level from the west-south-west, with occasional showers. It is interesting to note that there is still a lot of fishing going on in Rovign at this time of year.

Looking out to sea to the west is not very impressive on the picture, but I can confirm that it is difficult to walk in the streets of Rovign when the wind is blowing in your direction! This is either the Pulenat or Lebić wind, both coming from the west/southwest and reaching gale force.  Quite an impressive wind!

The Pulenat wind is known for raising the sea level in the harbours along the coast. 

Below is the forecast for Windy. Yesterday at 16:00, southwest winds were gusting to 24 m/s (86 km/h). Today, the forecast is for northeasterly winds gusting to 22 m/s. Quite a pair of slaps in a few hours!

At the beginning of November, while I was working in Egypt, the storm Ciaran reached the Istrian coast with some force and completely tore apart the canopy of Belisama. A lot of sewing to be done A lot of sewing to do before the next season starts. By the way, we already have a reservation for a berth in the San Giorgio harbour, the best located in Venice, for 3 nights at the end of May 2024! 

For the rest, the season is good for spending time in the bars, the oil bars of course, as there is a festival in Vodnjan to celebrate the new oil harvest! Quite an interesting learning and tasting experience.

In addition to the new oil festival, Vodnjan is also known for its church of Saint Blaise.

Saint Blaise church, Vodnjan

The church has an amazing collection of mummies and relics that you would not expect to find in a small town of 3000 inhabitants! The reason for this is Napoleon, who in 1797, while fighting the Austrians in the area, supported the Venetian revolutionaries to overthrow the Republic of Venice. As a result and to avoid looting, the holy (fake) relics from the Venice Cathedral were moved to the Church of St. Blaise in Vodnjan, in the southern part of Istria,  where they are still kept. 

The church houses a copy of the shroud used to wrap Jesus' body after his crucifixion, which is kept in the Cathedral of Turin. Although radiocarbon dating indicates that the original in Turin dates from the Medieval Ages, it is still revered as authentic by most Catholics. And any copy of the shroud that has been brought into contact with the original in Turin has the status of an 'official' relic. There are also two a thorns from the crown of christ and a drop of his blood among many pieces in the collection.

Finally, a year after having ordered a pellet stove for our house, we got it installed last week. The chimney had to go through the living room roof under the newly built terrace, where for 2 years, we have had water leakages whenever it was raining through the opening that I asked to construction worker to keep and close.

Very nice feeling now, with "quality" heat in the heart of our place. This corresponds to the end of the works that we initiated after buying the house four years ago in Štinjan.