Stinjan is a small village not far from the sea and only a couple of kilometers from the suburbs of Pula.
I drove about fifteen kilometers to get there and I spent about an hour in Stinjan to collect the photographs you'll see in this post.
Puntizela is a coastal area about a kilometer from the village. I took a walk and spent another hour there. I also took a few more photographs along the way.
In this photograph, you can see the lovely blue shutters on the windows of the most photogenic house in Stinjan.
I'm not sure if this is one building painted into two dramatically different halves, or two differently painted buildings merged to look like one bipolar house. Whatever the case, I like the thing.
This is a small detail found on the blue door.
Here you can take a better look at the blue fence and the blue supermarket brochure inside the mailbox.
The church in Stinjan is a small, inconspicuous building. Especially on a gray cloudy day like this, its grayish-olive greenish color makes it difficult to photograph. I mean, it's easy to take a shot, but I don't know what one can do to make the church look good on a day like this. A lot of Photoshop, maybe.
I saw many churches in Istra. I visited almost every little village through the years. Stinjan too. I mean, before yesterday, when all these photographs were taken. But I never got close to this church, so I never saw a church tower with outer metal ladders built into the wall. I saw this stuff only on military and industrial buildings and on ships in the shipyard of Pula. It's a cool little detail that makes this otherwise forgettable church unique.
The ladders lead to the bells of The Parish Church of St. Margaret
These Euryops pectinatus flowers added a bit of saturated color to the area in front of the church. The plant is native to South Africa.
Behind the church, I found this massive table made of stone that looks like something much older than the church. St. Margaret is a forgettable little church with a couple of surprising details that make it almost unforgettable.
To show you this pattern made of tiles, moss & lichens ...
... I zoomed in on the roof of one of the houses near the church.
This is a scene from the main square of the village. It was a snack break for the people who work on one of the construction sites on the outskirts of Stinjan. The attractive beaches are near, so new apartment buildings for summer rental are constantly being raised.
This is a detail from one of the houses near the square.
Here you can see the duck & the squirrel on the garden wall of another house I encountered on my rambling around the center of the village.
On the other side of this elongated building, there is the entrance to the offices of the municipal council. On the side shown in this photograph ...
... you can see the bus stop ...
... and ATMs.
These stranded boats were photographed in Puntizela.
The sea was near, less than a hundred meters from the boats, but I chose to walk the road that follows the coast from about a hundred meters distance.
That path brought me to some ruins.
These are the remains of a military complex built in 1913. You can see many similar buildings on the outskirts of Pula.
I found some contemporary pieces of artwork there ...
... and I photographed some of them.
This piece of bone was the most iconic thing found on the decaying walls.
The decay itself looked pretty artsy in some places.
Time and elements can create memorable artwork ...
... with a little help provided by the eye of the beholder.
I found more than I expected inside the seemingly empty interior of the large roofless building.
In one of the corners ...
... I found a nice stash of empty cigarette packs.
Here you can take a look at the vegetation on the other side of the road. Soon I entered the car and drove back home.
AND THAT'S IT. AS ALWAYS IN THESE POSTS ON HIVE, THE PHOTOGRAPHS ARE MY WORK.
