We arrived here by ferry from the last island and it was one of the most impressive arrivals at a place that I've ever seen. The old town juts out on a peninsula and the ferry swung right around it, giving us a wonderful view from the sea. What a welcome!
We were met at the port by our apartment host, Zvonko. He turned out to be a great guy and we had some wonderful times with him and his wife Maria. Our apartment was right beside the walled town and overlooked the main square, which was actually a circle, plus a smaller circle where we loved seeing all the locals hang out. The other person we often met in the circular square hangout was Mariana who worked in the clothing shop next door. They were a great bunch of people.
We scored a fantastic sunset on our first night.
We stayed here for a week and I could have stayed a year. Our days were filled with fun things as well as lots of computer work. The internet was good here so we organised a lot of our onward travel. It takes ages to plan and book things. We are now hitting peak season so we have to make sure everything is booked in advance.
John took Bruce the Bike on many rides. He had a great time exploring the island. It's quite a large island and he didn't set to see all of it but he gave it a good shot. I hired a bike a couple of times too, but my destination was the same both times - Lumbarda Beach. Although we can swim near our apartment, there is no sandy beach there. Lumbarda was busy but beautiful. It was the only sandy beach we've been on - most are pebbly or you just swim off the rocks. At Lumbarda, I would swim then John and I would hang out in the cafe for a while before riding back.
We explored some gorgeous old towns along the way. The rides themselves were lovely - we rode past vineyards, some gorgeous gardens and old stone walls.
By the time we got home I'd be hot again so I'd go and jump in the sea near our apartment. I loved swimming off the jetties, rocks or small pebble beaches near our place while the stunning old town provided an almost surreal backdrop. The water was still crystal clear. You don't need any goggles to see many metres down. Heaven!
We seemed to time the nightlife magnificently. On our second night on the island there was an oyster festival where you could buy beer, wine and oysters and be entertained by traditional musicians. They really did sound better than they look here!
The third night was the biggie. In true fun island style, the locals had decided that they need some sort of celebration so they invented a half-year party. On the 30th of June each year, there is a huge street party right through the town. It was incredible! It started early in the day with pop music blaring in the circular square right near our room. We prepared ourselves for a noisy night!
We started the evening with cocktails at a bar that is set on top of one of the old towers in the city walls. To get to the the top of the tower you have to climb up a ladder! There is no OH&S officer overseeing this place. After a couple of drinks that ladder was definitely not easy to climb down!
Once you're at the top of the tower, you order your drink. The drink is made inside the tower then is sent up in a basket using a pulley system on the outside of the tower wall!
At 8 pm the parade started. Locals dressed up in any theme they liked and some of the costumes were amazing! The Smurfs were so colourful.
These ladies had cleverly dressed as showering beauties!
One of my faves was the group of 'dead' people from the Titanic. They all wore pale make-up and eerie white contact lenses. The effect was fantastic!
We had never met these waiters before but everyone was in party mood and happy for a photo!
The party kicked on into the night. Here's the scene in our street. See that sign saying 'apartments'? Our room was right above that sign. The music was pumping and so were the young crowd. Things were not looking promising for a good night's sleep!
There was also street food, fairy floss, helium balloons and typical other typical fair products. This was the view from our window late at night.
Then, just as went to bed, fireworks started up! I got up and watched them from our bedroom window then we finally did manage to sleep with earplugs and the aircon fan running.
On other nights we also saw some great music in the bars. Mark, you would have loved this duo where the girl had an amazing voice and the guy got the most incredible sounds out of his guitar! Another time we watched a duo that was very Gypsy-Kings-ish.
One night we went to see a singing and sword-dancing performance. It was set in among the old walls of the city. What a perfect setting! First there were traditional a capella singers. Their harmonies were great and the acoustics in the walled open area were amazing!
Here's a video of some of the singing. They don't sound so amazing on my video recording unfortunately.
Then the sword dancers came on. Sword dancing is a tradition that has been performed here for hundreds of years. The dance started off slowly then got wilder and wilder as two opposing armies 'fought' over a girl. The dancers were really smashing their swords against each other as they whirled and danced. Sparks were flying and the dancers were sweating and panting. The timing had to be perfect or they would have hurt each other. It was great!
And here's a video:
The dance got faster and faster, and more dangerous, until finally the red army defeated the black army and the good guy got the girl!
We had some amazing meals on the island. Our favourite though was a family run place between Lumbarda and Korcula Town. One day we swam at Lumbarda then cycled to the restaurant and had fantastic meals with the best home-made pasta we've ever had. It's a tough life sometimes!
We also ate at a restaurant that was on Rick Stein's show, "From Venice to Istanbul". John had the dish that was featured on the show and really enjoyed it. Sometimes you just have to find your own special places though. I'd prefer to go back to our pasta place above any day!
We often see some very funny spelling of things in English, particularly in menus, but I don't think I would have paid this sign writer's bill! Sightseeing anyone?
The old town was lovely. One day we climbed the church tower. We would our way up the narrow spiral staircase and looked out over the orange roofs. The picture below shows where Marco Polo supposedly lived for a while. There is a lot of dispute about whether this is actually true or not though.
And a final shot just because I thought this scene looked gorgeous!
After we left the island, we flew over it en route to Greece. From the air I could see clusters of small, beach-lined, uninhabited islands not far off the coast of Korcula. I am definitely going back one day......
Cheers!
Heather and John
Glad the enjoyment continues!
ReplyDeleteThanks Rosemary!
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