The last two days have been relaxation and indulgence. Yesterday (Sunday) morning we took the local ferry to the island of Lokrum, a short distance from Dubrovnik. We visited the old church and monastery, climbed to the highest peak to inspect the old fort (and viewed the Dubrovnik town walls from yet another perspective), meandered through the Botanical Gardens (viewing many Australian natives as well as some unusual cacti), then had lunch at an island cafe to the music of a guitarist who only paused from playing to light yet another cigarette . Back on the ferry to Dubrovnik, a look through the Rector’s Palace and museum, then on the bus at 6pm for an almost-four-hour journey, including a car ferry ride, to the island of Korčula. After arriving at our hotel we went to dinner at a delightful little husband-and-wife restaurant and shared a ‘Dalmation plate’ entree (local ham, cheese, marinated octopus, olives) and then each had a truly wonderful main course – dozens of sardines, or some similar small fish, coated in a very light batter and deep fried. This, with baked potatoes, a fresh salad and a glass of local white, made our day. Our hostess even gave us a shot of the brandy she makes herself, using dried figs.
This morning we awoke to a magnificent view from our bedroom window – we directly overlook the old harbour and beyond – and after breakfast went for a walk around the old town, which is still partly enclosed by walls. Highlights included a visit to the fifteenth century St Marks’ Cathedral and other smaller churches and a climb up the fourteenth century Veliki Revelin Tower for a view over much of the town. We then jumped aboard a local bus for a short trip to the village of Lumbarda and, after driving through the village, the driver stopped at a roundabout in the middle of nowhere, pointed down a narrow lane and indicated that it was a short walk to the beach. So after a pleasant 10-minute walk between the grape vines we came across a beautiful little bay, almost deserted, with crystal clear (but chilly) water, where we had our swim in the Adriatic. Bliss! We walked back to the village and stopped at a cafe run by a woman who spoke absolutely no English but discerned that we needed lunch. She served up the most delicious meals – roast pork, potatoes and a mashed chard , and a seafood dish with the same greens but with, again, a few dozen small fried fish and also a larger whole fish. This was accompanied by fresh crusty bread – it was too much for us to get through (although we did our best).
Then the bus back to town, a visit to the Marco Polo museum (there is some controversy surrounding Marco’s birthplace – opinion is divided between whether it was Venice or Korčula, in fact Encyclopedia Brittanica has concluded that it could have been either, which is not really very helpful), however he certainly had connections with the island and his descendants lived here until relatively recently. It was amazing just to look at a map of the world and see the extent of his travels more than seven hundred years ago.
Tonight we will just have a light meal then an early night for our 6am ferry departure tomorrow for Split and our last day in Croatia (sob).
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