A marsh, rare birds, a cursed city, buried pirates treasure, a fjord, a cave with a primitive man and a hermit, an ancient solar observatory - all this just a step from the Mediterranean flurry in the surroundings of Rovinj? Yes! If you choose the trail of Captain Morgan everything will make sense in a while. The departure is from the ornithological nature reserve Palud – a brackish marsh at a distance of only 10 km southeast from Rovinj where you can enjoy rich variety of ornithofauna while listening to the chirping of even 217 registered bird species. Continuing along the road you will come to Bale where you can visit Kaštel Bembo, a magnificent gothic-renaissance citadel. Passing through Stancija Bembo you will arrive to Kanfanar where you can visit the church of St Silvestre. In the year 1714, after the plague in the nearby Dvigrad, a valuable pulpit from the homonymous basilica with the relief of St Sofia was transferred to this church. A few kilometres western of Kanfanar you can catch a glimpse of the medieval Dvigrad and if you climb to the town you can enjoy a panoramic view of the beautiful landscape of the Lim Fjord. On the northern side of the Lim Fjord, far from all main roads, there is a village called Jural where you can visit the church of St Margarita from the 17th century. The village was inhabited by the refugees escaping from the advancement of the Turks in 1622. Just to stir your imagination - you are now in an area where many legends and mysteries based on historical events still live on: that of Dvigrad devastated by the plague because of an ancient curse, of the buried treasure of Captain Morgan’s pirates near the village named after him (Mrgani), of the cave where the remains of the primitive man were found and where, as legend has it, St Romuald used to live as a hermit in the Middle Ages. You will certainly enjoy visiting all these places. Near the point of your arrival, by the village Sošići, there is the hill Maklavun, an astral-archaeological site – tumul from the Bronze Age. Have a look in the sky - you will find here the first most famous solar observatory in Croatia. In the end pass through Rovinjsko selo, a village founded in 1526 by the refugees from the area of Zadar escaping from the advancement of the Turks.
So, what are you waiting for!?
Source: istria-bike.com