Day 14

It’s Jessica again! We had another great night of sleep, hopefully building up our energy for the last few days of the trip. Adam made some coffee while we munched on leftover snacks from the previous days. We packed all of our things up, said goodbye to our great hosts, and were on the road to Orebic, the city of departure for the ferry to the island of town of Korcula that we would be taking later. Our first stop along the way was the Grgic Winery (who we found out also has a location in Napa). They were under construction, but that didn’t stop them from offering us a tasting. Both wines were excellent, (Plavic Mali and Posip) but we went with the Posip (white) as we had bought 3 bottles of red wine yesterday. We continued on our way to Orebic, but made a quick pit stop in a small town called Trpanj. There wasn’t a lot to see, just your average small town on the coast, but it gave us a few minutes to get off the windy roads and stretch out our legs. We left just as quickly as we had arrived and made it to Orebic in about 20 minutes. With our car waiting in line for the ferry, we spent just a few minutes walking around. There wasn’t a whole lot to see here either. Once we were boarded, we said goodbye to the mainland, and made the short journey to Korcula, or better known as Marco Polo’s birthplace. (The research is fuzzy on this, but there is a house on the island claiming to be his birth house…) Once we landed on the island of Korcula, we needed to drive about 2 km to the city center. We found some parking at a supermarket, which was perfect because we needed to do some shopping before we checked into our Airbnb. We started the descent into the city center and soon walked through the old city gates into the town of Korcula. St. Mark’s church and bell tower stand in the center, while different side streets lead out to the water. We wandered around for a bit, but soon decided it was time for lunch. After walking up and down a few side streets, we settled on a Konoba (tavern) near the center. Adam ordered a spaghetti dish while I got chicken on skewers. Both were very tasty and surprisingly filling. We left the restaurant and walked around the town a bit more, making sure to see the waterfront. It was almost time for check in, so we walked back up and out of the city center (our legs were a little wobbly from yesterday’s wall climb) and popped into the grocery store for some essentials. Our drive took us through a very pretty and scenic park overlooking the city, so we decided to stop and enjoy the views. This must be a common thing because there was a big group of tourists nearby and a bench just asking to be sat on. We waited for them to leave before claiming the bench as our own. The view of the town below and peninsula in the background was perfect. After a nice rest, we got back in the car and made the short drive to our apartment. The check in process went smoothly. One of the highlights of this apartment was the incredible view it had from the balcony overlooking the ocean. We spent some time on the balcony, perhaps even closing our eyes for a few minutes. Although we weren’t terribly hungry, we wanted to go back into town again and grab dinner so that we could get back in time to enjoy the sunset from our balcony. The walk was quick and easy. We spent some more time wandering through all of the side streets before settling on another konoba for dinner. In all of my research, I found one dish in particular that needed to be tried when on the island of Korcula; Zrnovska Makaruni. I ordered that, while Adam got a plate full of mussels (his favorite dish!) The makaruni consisted of long tube shaped noodles (I imagine they were handmade in the restaurant), pieces of beef, and a yummy beef sauce. Adam and I both agreed that this was among the best dishes that we had eaten so far on our trip. We wrapped dinner up and briskly walked back to our apartment for the sunset. Although it was setting behind a bunch of clouds (and a mountain) it was a completely perfect end to our night.

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.

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!