It was past ten o’clock when I came to the lower square this morning. There was no-one in sight. Not a soul. Benjamin’s was not yet open, but both Marko’s and Klaudio’s were completely empty. “What is this?” I asked Đurđa Brečević, who was on duty at Marko’s. “Has tourism been abolished?” She laughed. “It’s too early,” she explained. Two hours later, though, there are few people in either place. Motovun apparently emptied in the two weeks I spent in Zagreb. Although the tourist season will surely linger for another month or maybe two, its peak is definitely over before the end of August. Given the balmy weather, this is the time of year to cherish in the hilltown. Motovun at its best, I guess.

Addendum (September 19, 2012)

I was wrong about the tourist season back then. Perhaps there was a lull at the end of August, when accommodation prices drop and somewhat poorer tourists come along, but Motovun is flooded with tourists even today. As a matter of fact, I kept being surprised by their numbers from one day to the next. Is it possible that they are so many of them this late in the season?! The last week or so brought the greatest surprises, though. The lower square is often packed both for lunch and for dinner. And so is the hotel terrace. Busloads of tourists roam the hilltown most days. This season is likely to be remembered as one of the best ever. The crisis in southern Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East has done wonders for tourism in Croatia. Although tourists spend relatively little beside accommodation, they still spend enough to prop up the Croatian coast. Slowly by surely, the money trickles inland and across the entire country, as well. Without tourism, the country would be lost this year.