Thursday July 9th 2015 Korcula

Dubrovnik to Korcula

The islands off the Croatian Coast between Dubrovnik and Split, where Exotica is now cruising, are a yachting paradise.  Warm settled weather, multiple attractive islands with plenty of small bays and anchorages and fascinating villages and walled towns.  Of course this makes it very attractive and thus busy, particularly with charter yachts and massive cruisers.  Nonetheless we have managed to find quiet moorings and anchorages at least in early July.

Prozura

From the island of Sipan we made the very short trip to the neighbouring island of Mljet where we put into the tightly enclosed bay of Prozura.  Here we picked up another mooring buoy belonging to the Restaurant Marijana.  The mooring is free but one is honour bound to eat at the restaurant.  Here we had a delicious meal of roast wild boar and baby goat both from the island we were told.

Roast baby goat and wild boar, Konoba Marijana

Girls shopping trip!   Julie, Janelle and Kate

Exotica tied up in Pomena

Yet another very short trip took us to the tip of Mljet and to Pomena where we moored against the quay owned by Konoba Nine, a restaurant recommended to us.  This proved to be an excellent choice as the owner of the restaurant, who is also the cook, presented to us a huge grouper he had speared in the morning and which along with lobster (more like a Moreton Bay Bug) and prawns he made into a huge stew – his signature dish.  It came in an enormous casserole dish and was spectacular.

Nino, fisherman, chef and owner

Fish stew, Konoba Nin

Exotica sunset, Pomena

Pomena is situated in a National Park and a short walk took us to two inland salt lakes with an island on which there is a church and a monastery and the requisite Roman ruin.

Last lunch & swim Racisce Bay, Korcula

Korcula old town

All these places were quiet and remote, however our next destination was the island and town of Korcula.  Here we booked into the marina, rather expensive but very secure. When we arrived in the early afternoon it was quite quiet but by nightfall it was packed solid with boats of all shapes and sizes and people being turned away.  Korcula town, famed as being the birth place of Marco Polo (the Italians also claim this) is a neat walled city full to bursting with tourists, restaurants and souvenir shops. On our second night, a Sunsail boat berthed alongside, on board, the Pollards and Connellys, RSYS members!

Marko Polo’s house and tower, his washing still on the line

Exotica in Korcular Marina, taken from St Marks Cathedral tower

Janelle and Kate left us to return by ferry to Dubrovnik and we took off for a quiet night at anchor in a delightful bay – Uvala Luka – on the western most tip of the mainland peninsular.  The water is now so warm that one can just fall into the sea two or three times a day.