Just as the sun was setting and the coliseum lights brightening, a fast catamaran ferry zoomed into Pula harbor and Craig zoomed even faster in our dink to greet our friends Dave & Merry. They had traveled all the way from California to sail the Dalmation coast with us for a couple of weeks, having left their Amel (s/v AirOps) in Puerto Escondido, Mexico, where we met them in 2002 and had toured Venice for a few days before crossing to Croatia for a holiday aboard Sangaris.

The fresh market was the first stop on the next day's itinerary ~ yes, we do a lot of provisioning, but usually just what we can hand carry back to the boat. The old town's shops and cafes beckoned and we were all pleased with typical Croatian fare for lunch. Although the heat was at its peak we decided that the coliseum was a 'must-see' and proved to be well worth the 40 Kuna entrance fee.

An immense amphitheatre, Pula's Roman coliseum with its huge grey connecting arches was built towards the end of the first century. It is the sixth largest amphitheater in the world and reportedly the best preserved. Once inside we explored the rooms underneath which would have been used for keeping wild animals but are now housing a display devoted to Roman-era wine and olive oil making with a collection of olive presses and crusty amphorae with their pointy tips. The rest of the underground museum fascinated us with computer generated renderings of what the coliseum and nearby Roman temples and buildings would have looked like, based on archaeological evidence. Entitled "From Fragments to Reconstruction", it was pretty amazing stuff!

Cruisers Note: While the anchorage in Pula's main harbor is not free (we paid 104 Kunas/$20 per night on our own anchor) and the water is not clean for swimming, the holding was great, the provisions ample and transportation convenient for guests. Our friends ferry from Venice was a 2 ½ hr trip (venezialines.com). There are also train, bus and airport connections to this mini transportation hub. The ACI marina has a "water stop" rate of 9 �'� to fill your tanks and wash down the boat. Good deal.