Korcula to Mjet

After a slow morning, we began the 5 hour sail to Korcula.  There was not much wind so we went under motor, and got to enjoy stunning views along hhe way.  The landscape remained very beautiful, and I am still amazed at how sparsely populated the land is considering its location in Europe.  We arrived in Korcula Town in the afternoon, and had enough time for a swim in the shadow of the old walls, and then a nice hot shower at the Marina, before we started a walking tour led by Teo.  He took us away away from the marina, and after one small turn, we were immediately wrapped up in the lovely narrow streets fo the city.  He pointed out a good coffee shop, and also a nice place to buy wine and jewelery.  He then led us to the Massimo cocktail bar at the top of the medieval tower on the eastern wall.  Massimo can only be accessed by steep ladder, and the top was packed with happy internationals drinking cocktails.  My Massimo signature cocktail was better than I expected, and I was very, very happy when we came down and walked through more of the old town.  There are many narrow streets that run east west, and they are designed that way so that a breeze can be channeled through the city on hot days.  I thought that was so clever.

We caught a taxi cab up the mountain to have dinner at a local farmstead.  The wine was so so and I am fairly certain that it was watered, and the food arrived so slowly that we didn't leave until almost 11 pm!  But in my opinion, the real winners of the night was the smoked ham appetizer, the gorgeous fresh grilled sardines of which I ate at least 5, and the frisky cats that were very, very keen on those sardines.

The next morning, we had coffee at that coffee shop, and then had a whirlwind trip through the city in search of wines and gifts.  We were sorry to not have more money to buy all of the jewelery in that store (red coral, lapis lazuli, onyx and gorgeous silver).  But we were also sorry to not have more time to shop for a shirt for Alex.  Luckily, Teo tells us that we can find that more easily, and of better quality, in Dubrovnik.

We then departed again, and Teo prepared a real Croatian goulash for lunch which we ate, with red wine from the winery the first night, in a secluded bay that we had all to ourselves.  Well actually, there was an italian family who left almost immediately after we arrived.  I guess they didn't want to share the bay.   :)  We spent the afternoon swimming and diving off the anchored boat, enjoyed a snack of proscuito and cheese, and then made our way to the small village on the island of Mijet.  We bypassed the main marina, and instead drove right up to the private restaurant.  We were the only sailboat there, and we joked about the commute into shore.  The island of Mijet is covered with trees and is like a jungle.  The national parks were created to protect two species of tree, and the lusy green colour was nice to see since so many of the islands to the south were more barren and rock.

That night we enjoyed an excellent meal that started with oysters.  Fresh squid, and plenty of wine later, we were in a perfect position to the enjoy the local hooch of fermented honey and lemon, or herbed grappa.  As the level of drink in the bottle of grappa became lower and lower, the carob in the bottle announced itself (shall we say) more and more prominently.  There a lot of laughing last night, and somehow we all made it safely across the narrow gangplank that we use to get to the boat.  

This morning, we had a very nice coffee after I took a short dip in the ocean, and then Teo led us up the mountain along a 200-year old path of stone built by the villagers.  At the top was the village of Prodzura.  This village now only as a few families, and the community is quite isolated when it is not tourist season.  Teo pointed out various wild herbs, and we tried wild blackberries, grapes, and figs off of the trees.  At the top of the mountain, there is an old cemetary with beautiful views.

We are now floating in another small bay enjoying an afternoon of swimming and relaxing after a lunch of arugula salad with fresh cheese.  The water is so clean, safe, and deep, and it is just the right temperature.  Soon we will sail a short 15 minutes to the village, and enjoy what I am sure will be another lovely dinner with local cats begging for fish.  Speaking of fish, I have learned a lot of about different types of fish on this trip.  One of the passengers, an Italian woman named Michaela, knows a lot about art, and FISH.  Every evening, she says "I would like a fish" and I think that will be the moto of the trip.  Michaela prefers  fish that live deep and among the rocks  Tonight, I plan to have one of these rock-fish, and will enjoy every bite, because they cannot be found in Canada, and are difficult to find even here.  Divers have to go down in scuba suits with oxygen tanks and fish for them with live squid.

As always, thanks for reading!  

Leslie