These islands (Korcula, Mjlet & Hvar) hold the popluar vote for their beautiful white stone buildings and churches, blue green transparent waters and scenic coastline.
Makarska was the coastal town of the wedding (never ending procession of hooting cars and 3 days of celebrations, lovely Franciscan Monastery for a wander and a quiet spot of reflection,welcomed by real Dalmatian in the town (4 legged variety, keeping watch over a lovely little terrace home)but very pleased to see us. Lovely fish soup with local bread (3 dollars each)and squid salad. They love to fry everything, including their vegetables which are then mashed to smithereens before they hit the plate (literally). But you could fight many more years of wars on this cuisine, very forifying indeed. Lots more gelati, to cool us down after long walks around towns and coast. G & T nightcap on the beach.
Korcula - famous for birthplace of Marco Polo and a favourite spot of ours, circular hillside city with a high post turret/fort, which had been redesigned into a coctail bar. Marcelle`s expanding derriere is seen descending down the steep stairs, after a marguerita, quite a feat indeed. Val and Cheryl were more elegant after their Pina Coladas,no shooters alllowed.The little Roman town was quite fascinating with its winding little allies and Romanesque columns and courtyards.
Mljet was a national park island with a very scenic little bay called Pomena where we moored for a day visit. This included a boat trip to internal salt water lake with its own island with a monastery of St Mary in the middle, previously a Roman holiday villa. Our first plunge into the bracing waters was wonderful.
Hvar is a real party town, they raged all night, mainly from the boats. The range was extreme - from our humble sail croatia craft to billionaire bracket private yachts and launches. We enjoyed the promenades and the trendy outdoor cafes (to match any international resort standard), and the ancient church procession (led by the bishop of Hvar) for a Croatian festival day of Corpus Christi. The little girls and boys were dressed especially for their first communion in white dressed and robes. Tradition is still very important to these islanders, although they are thankfully quite tolerant of the rowdy tourists. We found them pleasant and helpful on the whole.
Marcelle has booked a local B & B for a few extra days on Hvar, while Val and Cheryl and off to Florence and Nola is further into Bosnia for a few days.
Having a great time
Photos are a little delayed due to download problems and the slow speed of the internet cafe computers in Croatia. We will download when the opportunity arises!
4ofus
