Day 18 - Porec to Motovun.

Day 18. Porec to Motovun. 26 km, 2hrs 30.

A short and relatively easy cycle today, although the weather remains cold and cloudy. There are serious storms and floods in Bosnia and Serbia, so we are experiencing the tail end of that weather system. We are still cycling with 3 top layers and leggings. After negotiating all the roadworks deviations out of Porec, we cycled against a stiff wind to Visnjan, where the obligatory coffee and hot chocolate break was called. Then a hilly approach to Motovun through forests and farmland. Motovun is a fortified hilltop village with magnificent views in all directions. Fortunately we found a room to stay halfway up the steep hill to the  ramparts.

Motovun is the culinary centre of Istria. It is surrounded by Istia's best wineries and is now famous for its truffles, ever since a world-record 3 lb white truffle was found in a nearby oak forest in 1999. We were greeted to our accommodation by the yapping of truffle dogs and a glass of Rakija with our host.

We spent the evening exploring the old town. Sunday is a busy day here as Motovun is a popular restaurant destination for day-trippers. While sampling wine, olive oil and truffle pâté at a small shop, we were fortunate to be introduced to Marko Fakin, one of the young guns of Istrian winemaking. He invited us to visit his winery tomorrow, which we are looking forward to as, at a young age, he has gained a considerable reputation for innovative winemaking.

We found a quaint restaurant, Konoba Mondo, at which to spoil ourselves with a tagliatelle with fresh black truffles, a novel experience. 

Approaching Motovun.

Rakija on the terrace on arrival at our sobe.

Where we came from...

And where we are going. The road to Slovenia.