Day 13

Adam again!  Today we spent a full day on the Peljesac peninsula which is known for being the best wine region in the country. If you look on a map, the peninsula is right between Split and Dubrovnik. Our Airbnb location set us up perfectly because it is right at the beginning on the peninsula. We woke up kind of late – around 7:30 and didn’t leave until 9 or so. Our first stop was just down the street at the town of Ston. The main attraction in the city is the walls that connect Ston to the nearby town of Mali Ston. The walls were completed in the 1400’s when this area was part of the Republic of Ragusa – a country that was centered in Dubrovnik and reached its peak in the 14 and 1500’s. The walls are so well preserved that you can still walk on them today (if you choose). The problem is that the wall that connects Ston to Mali Ston is VERY steep! But we had to try. While our later departure from the Airbnb meant that we were better rested, it was later in the day so it was already hot outside. This made the initial and steepest part of the climb extremely exhausting. After about 20 minutes of climbing and stopping to catch our breath every so often, we finally made it so the top where the walls leveled out. The walk along the flat portion was easy, however, once we reached the downhill part, it was tricky because it was so steep that we had to be very careful (this was more difficult than usual because our legs were wobbly from the climb up). We finally made it to Mali Ston. Since we had parked our can in Ston, we had the option of going back via the wall, but decided not to and took a flat path down by the road instead. Back in the car, we blasted the AC and headed up into the peninsula. Our first stop was the Milos Winery just a few minutes up the road which was recommended to us by our Airbnb host Stijeppo. We quickly learned that wine tasting in Croatia is not the same as in America. In America the atmosphere is very relaxed – you walk around the vineyard and made a day out of it. In Croatia, they basically just want you to taste the wine so that you can decide which one you want to buy as fast as possible.  Each winery only produces 2 or 3 types of wines, so the tastings go by very quickly. Also, the vineyards are often located separately from the wineries. At Milos, all the wines we tried very amazing, but there was a 2013 bottle of red that stood out, so we bought a bottle at the end. We also were able to try some of the olive oil that they produce, and it was also very tasty. From there, we drove up the peninsula some more and passed a few more wineries which we planned to stop at on our way back. Next on the list to do was to check out a nice beach near the town of Zuljana. We did have to take a questionable unpaved road to get there (which made Jessica very uneasy after yesterdays adventures), but once we arrived it was definitely worth it. There was a very scenic rocky portion of the beach which eventually gave way to a nice sandy beach where we laid out of towels to relaxed for a while. The water was also warmer than some of the beaches we had been to further north, so I jumped in floated around.  Jessica went in as well, but was still a bit too cold for her liking. As I was hiking along the rocks I found a small turtle – see picture below. We named him Steve and took him with us so that we can keep him the rest of the trip and then bring him home with us. Kidding – we left him right where he was. Sufficiently relaxed, we hopped back in the car and drove back the way we came. We stopped at two wineries on the way back. The first was just a local spot on the side of the road. The owner literally took us down into his cellar to try some wine straight out of the barrel. He was selling the bottle for only 25 kuna – which is like $4, so we bought another bottle.  The final winery that we stopped at was Ledenic where we went in a tasted a couple more wines and olive oil before purchasing a nice white wine, some olive oil, and a nice cherry liqueur (also very popular in the region). We made the short drive back to our Airbnb where we relaxed before deciding to go out for an early dinner tonight since we had essentially skipped lunch and only had wine and snacks instead. Not wanting to risk going to a different restaurant, we went back to our favorite place down in town – Konoba Mandrac. Stijeppo (our Airbnb host) was heading into town as well, so we walked down together while he told us about the wine and food from the region and why the olive oil that he makes is the best. At the restaurant, I had some more oysters to start (they were so good last time!), and the we both shared a large plate of the mixed shellfish – clams, mussels, prawns, and another mussel-like creature that we final discovered is called a kunjka. It looks like a rock, and they are always clamped shut, so you have to pry them open (unlike mussels and clams they don’t open when you cook them), but they are very meaty and tasty! We walked back up to our place, and kicked back for the rest of the evening before turning in for the night.