Korcula is another fortress town with a now very familiar history (Greeks, Romans, Napoleon & tourists etc.) with one huge exception. Apparently Marco Polo was born here. Now if you are from Venice you will take exception to this and claim him as your own. The locals here will smile indulgently and prove they are right by showing you his home. I'm inclined to agree
with them. After all, Venice doesn't need him to bring in the tourists,
There is a lot more to like about this town. The fact that the best meal (peaches and cream curry chicken) we've has so far we enjoyed in the old city at a restaurant that proudly displayed the title of this blog on their wall. Then there is Surgio. The man who won the right to have us rent one of his rooms. He got us as we exited the ferry. The little old lady who lost out is probably still trying to find us. Then there was the mooring crash we witnessed between a 'Pirate' ship (nicely tied up for the night) and a catamaran with 6 tipsy men who hadn't a clue what it meant to "slow down", "drop anchor" & "back up". Made for an interesting time dockside as we listened to the foreign expletives and familiar gestures. Apparently repeated apologies and the offer of a few bottles of wine won out over getting insurance companies involved.
This is probably one of the only fortress towns that has turned one of the towers in to a bar. That might not seem unusual but the patio at the top must be accessed by climbing a ladder which would be next to impossible to negotiate after having a drink or two. Truth is I had a hard time with no alcohol at all.
This was the town where we learned that the local beer we like is one the locals no longer drink. Korakovajka was once number one but apparently they've changed the formula. We were not told what they put in it...only that the locals won't drink it. Hmmmm...so far we are OK.
Napoleon liked the area so much they named a trail after him. We took the bus to Pupnat and walked his trail back to Zrnovo before making our (by now very hungry) way down to Zrnovska banja. The trail has no markings unless you take it backwards. There was one Marion shrine and a few olive groves with grapes mixed in and a lot of rocks, rock walls and rock shelters. It was a long dry walk which would be a killer for those people who believe the tourist maps and take rental bikes on it. A rough rocky road with the occasional view. When we got to Zrnovo we were first struck by the vineyards. Then we came across the most beautiful garden. Behind the gate was a rock grotto with a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes....one of three that we saw on the island. After a cold drink we took the road down to Zrnovska banya hoping to find a restaurant. Nothing. It was a very pretty walk
along the waterfront but not so much as a general store for a chocolate bar. By the time we dragged our sorry asses in to Korcula we were pretty hot and hungry.
Determined to work off all the ice cream we'd been enjoying we rented bikes the next day and took off to Lumbarda. Not a tough ride though I did wonder as we went through the countryside and saw a sign telling us to watch out for wild boar. Not the kind of thing we're used to in Canada. Pretty ride though.
So we met up with our friends again enjoying the city and a few games of crib and cards. Then we were off to Dubrovnik.
What a culture shock! From relatively quiet towns to cruise ship city. The day we arrived there were two cruise ships. The next day there were four! We were so very lucky to get an apartment near the Ploce gate. If you never go to Dubrovnik stay in that area. The view from our kitchen window looked over the port. We had very few steps to go up (our friends had 130 to their place inside the old city) and then entrance had no stairs. There was a grocery and a laundromat near by and we were steps to the tram. Perfect!
Then, to top that all off, we got to people watch as buses dropped groups off at the gate.... That included watching actors from the Game of Thrones (which was being filmed in the city) as they made their way to the set each morning.
Again we met up with Stan & Doreen enjoying a couple of evenings with them. We showed them
a great bar (not the well known Buza Bar) which you enter by going through a narrow rock passage and climbing down rock stairs to precarious perches on rock walls. Again you don't want to drink much because taking a
wrong step could be pretty dangerous. But it's nice to sit with a glass of wine watching the sun set over the Adriatic while pirate ships glide by full of party goers.
By the end of our time in Dubrovnik we had walked the walls, taken the tram for a spectacular view, tried to get lost, eaten ice cream, watched the Game of Thrones chaos, watched the cruise ship / tour group chaos (I prefer the Game of Thrones), eaten delicious mussels, watched street buskers and even listened to Jose Feliciano play with the Dubrovnik symphony orchastra. Whew!
We also took the time to learn more about the war. To try to comprehend what these people went through only 20 years ago....to try to understand how they are living with the memories. Seeing the photos of destruction. Remembering the news we had back home about ethnic cleansing. Listening...looking...learning... Much more to come. Now we are continuing our journey in Montenegro....