Day 12

Jessica today :) After such an early wake up call yesterday, it was time for some sleeping in today. We went to bed relatively early, and slept in until 7:30! It was exactly what we needed. Since we were just staying the 1 night in Hvar, we packed our things and loaded them up before heading back into the city for some breakfast. On several of the websites I researched, the food item “burek” kept coming up, so it was on our list of things to try. We found a little bakery as we were walking in to town that carried them. There are meat bureks, cheese bureks and fruit bureks. Adam got the meat burek and I got the cheese burek (as if it was even a question which one I would get!) The outside is made of layers of phyllo dough, and then the filling is stuffed inside. We found a nice bench area in the main square that we could relax and eat our breakfast. I had to admit the meat burek was tastier than the cheese, but now it’s another things we can cross off of our Croatia list! We finished off our breakfast and made our way back to the car. The last thing on our list of things to do in the city of Hvar was to drive up to another fortress and have an amazing view of the city, water and surrounding islands. The drive was slightly treacherous, on a dirt path and pretty vertical. I was unnerved at some points, but Adam promised me it was worth it. He did not disappoint. The view was spectacular! We were even able to see the island that we sailed to yesterday. It was officially time to say goodbye to Hvar city and make our way across the island to the ferry port. Adam had to turn the car around so that we could make it down the hill and needed some guidance, so I hopped out to make sure he didn’t back it off the cliff. During this process, 2 very large bees flew into the car. Entertaining for me to watch, but terrifying for Adam. He made it out unscathed. Once the bees were removed and the car was facing the correct direction, we headed down the same treacherous path and bid farewell to one of our favorite cities so far. Our first stop on the way to the ferry was the small city of Milna. We popped out just for a few minutes to walk around and take some pics. There wasn’t a whole lot happening on this Sunday morning, so just as quickly as we arrived, we left. However, on our way out of town, Google maps wanted to take us on the scenic route. Unfortunately, the scenic route did not contain a road that was drivable – the “road” (rocky dirt) led us straight to a cemetery and ended. A few minutes of me helping Adam back up and perhaps another bee in the car later, we were on the road again, this time to another small city with a magnificent beach. Unfortunately, again, Google was not up to date and the road we needed to travel on was under construction. Onward. Since we missed out on the that beach, we wanted to find another one that we could spend some time relaxing at. Very hesitant of Googles instructions, we made our way down a dirt road that eventually led to a place where we could park. A short walk after and we were at a beach! This one had a nice concrete pier that we stretched out on. While we were sunning, we saw a local put on some snorkeling gear and saw him swim out into the water. About 10 minutes later we saw him swimming back to shore. He wasn’t empty handed. He had managed to grab a huge bag full of mussels. I guess that was dinner for tonight because he started shucking them into a pot once he made it to shore. The clock was ticking and we still had to make it to Sucuraj, the car ferry port to get back to the mainland from Hvar Island. We packed up our beach things and drove for 20 minutes before reaching Sucuraj. All the driving had made us hungry. There was a small pizzeria near the edge of the dock and this looked like the perfect place to eat and relax. Adam ordered an octopus “salad” for an appetizer. I say “salad” because it was really just a plate of marinated octopus chunks. A little fishy for my taste, but Adam seemed to like it. I had the greek salad with extra feta cheese, and for our main dish we split a salami and mushroom pizza. We finished eating and took a nice stroll around the city before boarding our ferry. The ride was very quick. We had an hour and a half drive to our next Airbnb, and since Adam had done all of the island driving, it was my turn. About half way there we came across a border check. I didn’t realize it, but mainland Croatia is actually 2 different parts, separated by Bosnia and Herzagovina. We got our passports stamped, drove for about 4 miles in Bosnia, and then got our passports stamped again when we came back into Croatia. Very weird. As we approached our Airbnb, we had to cross this tiny road (I say that loosely) that had water on both sides. There was only room for one car, so if there was a car coming from the other direction, you had to pull over into one of the small turnouts to let them pass. Thankfully we were the only ones on the road. We arrived at our place and were greeted by our hosts. They were very impressed that we found the place (thanks Google…I guess you did something right today). We dropped our things off, made a quick trip into town to get some breakfast stuff and snacks for the next day and when we got back, our hosts were cutting up fresh cantaloupe for us! They invited us into their backyard and let us taste all of their homemade liquors. We tried liquors made with walnuts, blueberries, rose, cherry, and a final one made with sage, rosemary and thyme. Croatian’s love their homemade alcohol! They also recommended a place for dinner. It was a quick walk to Konobo Mandrac. The place is run by a fisherman who catches everything they serve. We ordered a plate of grilled oysters to start, and then mussels and shrimp risotto for the mains. While we were waiting for the food, we saw the owner walk over to the dock, pull up a bag from the water, and take out the oysters and mussels we had ordered! It doesn’t get fresher than that! Another table ordered fish and he took it to the water to clean it right in front of us! When the appetizer arrived, I was a little hesitant. I have never liked oysters, but I forced myself to try one. They were delicious! And even had a little parmesan cheese on top. Perfect. The mussels were equally as good and the shrimps in the risotto were some of the biggest I had seen. We left feeling happy and full, and only had a few mosquito bites. But it was all worth it. We’re wine tasting and beaching tomorrow!