Kicking back in Korcula

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Monday (30/8/2010)
After an unplanned sleep in we packed up our gear and returned to the port for the ferry to Korcula (A larger island about an hour from Mljet). Winging the accommodation again we were greeted by a mob of touts with rooms and apartments. We took up Mr Simioni offer (a passionate Croation man) with a beautiful apartment right in the center of town. We got some lunch and went to explore the town just missing the bus to Normandy beaches opting for a swim where we were instead. The water was freezing in comparison to Mljet hence the swim was short lived and we snoozed in the sun. As the sun began its descent it cooled off so we headed back to the apartment for a warm shower, booked some flights and made plans for our next couple weeks. We cooked some gnocchi for tea and went out for the Moreska show on recommendation of our host Mr Simioni a former Moreska performer. Moreska is a traditional form of Croatian fighting/dancing now only performed in Korcula (and only on Mondays and Thursday’s). It was our lucky day! Unfortunately due to the bad weather the show had been relocated from the old amphitheater to the indoor theater and was delayed by a couple hours. We took the opportunity to explore the old town by night until the rain came bucketing down retreating to a café for a cake and wine? (It seemed like a good idea at the time). The rain let up just in time for us to find the theater. After a musical intro by some local performers (enough to send some of the audience to sleep literally!) the dance started. It was an amazing performance a somewhat unusual combination of progressive like dancing and full throttle clashing of swords. Sparks flew, swords broke and sweat streamed as these guys clashed swords with all their strength even the odd drop of blood with a miscalculated hit. Highly recommended if you ever get the chance!

Tuesday
After a couple ‘snoozes’ we went out for a morning run unable to avoid the hills but the grind was worth it for the beautiful views over Korcula town. We stopped by the supermarket for supplies returning to our apartment for a late breaky. We packed lunch and took a water taxi to the island of Badja the largest of a group of small islands just off Korcula. We wandered around to the sheltered side of the island in search of a place to settle. This was easier said than done as the majority of the island is surrounded by jagged rock. We eventually settled for some relatively flat area for an afternoon of lazing in the sun reading, listening to music and taking a refreshing dip. Surrounded by middle aged nudists on the two boats’ just off shore and a couple who sidled up much too close to us and no we weren’t in a naturalist area!
We took the taxi back at four just in the knick of time as the winds whipped up. We cut our walk around the old town short and headed back to our apartment for tea but praying the winds would settled down before our ferry early the next morning.

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Photos

Postcard Perfect!
Island of Badja