Place za mel – A sand unloading place

Location: Šilo, N 45° 08.92', E 14° 39.657

The times when sand was one of the things that promised a relatively decent existence in the Dobrinj Region are not long gone. Thanks to the Krk Steamboat Association, founded in Šilo in 1905, the activity of shipping sand (locally known as ‘mel’) from Šilo to Rijeka, Crikvenica, Opatija, etc. became permanently established. What preceded the shipping was the hard job of excavating the sand from Kava (between Šilo and Polje). Afterwards, the sand was transported by a pulled wagon to the waterfront in Šilo and then unloaded onto ‘place’, i.e. sand unloading places, wherefrom the sand was loaded onto ships. Yes, one must sail, but one must also live. And a sailor’s bread is a bread with seven crusts (‘a pomorski je kruh, kruh sa sedam kora’).