Just off Pula is the national park of the Brijuni Islands. It is one of the must see places in this part of the world, as it was Tito’s summer residence while he was Jugoslavia’s leader. Although it is possible for us to take our boat there, for various reasons we decided to go on an organised boat trip to the islands, which offered a guided tour while we were there.
The islands are an archipelago just a few miles from Pula and have been inhabited for centuries, there are the remains of a bronze age settlement from the 14th century BC. There are 14 islands in total and all are within the confines of a carefully managed National Park. There is no fishing allowed and stringent rules about what you can and can’t do while on the islands or in the surrounding waters. None of the islands are anybody’s permanently residence, but there are hotels and villas that you can stay at on the largest island. There are also villas that are still used by Croatian government officials at times.
The guide was very informative and told us of the world leaders and celebrities who had been guests of Tito on the islands. These included political leaders from all corners of the globe, plus the likes of including Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Sophia Loren, Carlo Ponti, and Gina Lollobrigida. Very poignantly, there was also a picture of the Queen with Tito. It was also here that in 1956 Tito met with Gamal Abdel Nasser, the President of Egypt and Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India to establish the Non-Aligned Movement.
Many of the visiting dignitaries, aware of Tito’s love of
animals, sent sample of the fauna of the countries as gifts. These were housed
in a zoo on the largest island, but this has since shut and many were sent to
other zoos. Some animals remain, and inhabit a safari park on the island. One
of the two elephants, given by Idira Gandh is still there, but did not seem
very happy, bashing at the gates of her enclosure. There is also a golf course.
We toured around on a small road train. There are no cars on the island, with one exception. Jugoslav emigrants to Canada, sent Tito a 1956 Cadillac, which is still there and in running order. It is possible to rent it, but it is very expensive, and even then you are not allowed to drive it yourself. Apparently it is most often used for weddings, and there was one taking place in a small chapel near the harbour later in the day. We saw the bride and groom arrive by boat.
Tito was also very fond of children and the museum contains
many pictures of him with his favourite type of guest.
The museum also contains a room dedicated to Robert Kock, a German
scientist and micro biologist, who won a Nobel Prize for his work on finding
the causes of TB. He lived on the islands for a year, and successfully eradicated
malaria and cured the sufferers using quinine.
When we returned to Pula, we were treated to port cinema at its best. Being a Friday evening all of the charter boats were returning to base, ready for changeover on Saturday. One was experiencing a few difficulties with reversing up to the pontoon. The guy clearly had not grasped that you have to turn the wheel the other way when you are going backwards. He would get the boat lined up quite nicely, but then turned the wrong way as he got close to the pontoon. The poor marinaro had to send him out 3 or 4 times and then had to shout instructions as he came in, and even then he nearly ended up sideways in the slot. And all this after they had been on the boat for a week. I've no idea how they will have docked if this was the best effort at the end of the trip.
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Steve (and Tricia)
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