The middle of summer
on Tina's Journal (China), 20/Jul/2012 13:23, 34 days ago
When doing any physical exercise outdoors this time of year I prefer to do it early in the morning because of the heat. I do a morning run, not everyday, at about 6.30am. It's so lovely and fresh at that time with the sun low in the sky just beginning to rise. You come across the same people either walking or running with the same idea..exercising whilst it's cool. I find though with cycling I can do it later in the morning or early evening as you can build up a breeze from the peddling. It's a nice challenge climbing some of the inclines at the back of the town where I live rising up from sea level into the mountains and appreciating the views when you get to the top. If I try and do that though in the middle of the afternoon I'm going to collapse from heat exhaustion.  The coast from Villa San PietroOn some of my local cycling routes I get quite a bit of diversity in the views. At the end of Nora you come across an old Roman archaeological site which is definitely worth taking a tour around.Entrance to Roman ruins siteNora beach is particularly popular for the local people of Pula and this time of year it's full of bathers with their beach umbrellas.Nora beachJust listening to the sound of the sea in a spot where few people are around is really soothing, take a listen... On the way back in land from the coast you get delightful views of mountains, different shrubbery and a few animals on the way.Enjoying the shadecactus growing prickly pearsWe are in the heart of the summer season but still for this time of year there aren't as many tourists as they used to be. In some ways it's nice for it not to be so busy but on the other hand it's not so good for the local economy. I was surprised the other night that in our local town in Pula which in the summer has entertainment on most evenings, wasn't as busy as usual. There were people around but I particularly noticed there were fewer visitors than usual. On a lighter side I was pleased you can now get Guinness in the local Irish Pub but as I was driving had a miniature glass of the stuff. This is supposed to be half a pint but is actually a 0.20L and cost€3!