Croatia 11 - a little piece of paradise

---

Suzy had put her boots down and had no intention of moving from her little piece of paradise on the hilltop at Camping Nevio. If there ever was heaven then this was it. No noise but the sound of birdsong. The campsite was empty and as an ACSI site cost 246 kuna including tourist tax for two nights. EVerything was perfect from the blue of the Adriatic to the small lighthouse on the island in the middle of the bay and to the twinkling lights of Korcula town. We didnt want to move and neither did Suzy.

I think she spent the day contemplating how many shades of blue she could see out to sea. Starting with the early morning silver grey it changed to cornflower blue, azure, emerald green and back again to jade. The wind when it came whipped up a shade of blueish white. It was a place of such peace and deserved its award of Croatian Campsite of 2013.

We walked the walk to Orebic town this time using the back roads avoiding the traffic and following the sea coast. We could not even at 8.30 miss the sun which was beaming down upon us as the temperature hedged up towards 28 degrees . The walk probably took a little longer today as we were in no hurry. We had a ferry to catch at 9.30 over to the island of Korcula.

We arrived in plenty of time and could see the ferry approaching in the distance. Then the crowds arrived - if you could call them that. A mixture of locals going over for some reason that we couldnt quite fathom and a handful of tourists. The ferry takes 20 mins to negotiate its passage from Orebic to Korcula and cost 15 euros a single fare per person.The island has an area of 108 sq miles , is approximately 29 miles long and on average 4.8 mile wide

It has a population of just over 16 thousand inhabitants and makes it the second most populated island after Krk. Upon landing everyone headed into the town . We of course go off in the opposite direction and went to have a look at the Venetian walls and forts. Yes its a case of what did Venice do for you again. A few photos were taken and it was off for a double espresso and a cappacino to give us chance to chill out for quarter of an hour.

The Romans settled in Korcula as did the Greeks and the of course it was under Byzantine rule at one poin tin its history. In 998 it came under Venetian rule . Since then it was gifted to the Princes of Krks in 1221 and movd back to Venetian rule following that. A rather chequered history for a small island.

According to local tradition Korculas famous son is the great Marco Polo supposedly born on the island in 1254. Cafes in the town were named after him as were some of the modern shops. We even found a Marco Polo chair. There is of course no proof that he was born here. But who cares it brings in the tourists. Marco Polo was taken prisoner at the Battle of Korcula and wrote of his travels to China whilst in prison .

In later years the French Empire invaded the island in 1806 and by 1815 it became part of the Austrian Crown Land of Dalmatia. From the middle of the 18th century i was part of Austro Hungary. At the first World War it was promised to Italy but eventually became part of the State of the Slovenes , Croats and SErbs and became Yogslavia. By 1991 it was part of modern Croatia and what a little gem it is too.

We spent a few hours wandering the narrow streets, thin and high sided to protect the town from the Bora winds which blow off the sea. We found the small market square with its tat stalls and cafes again spilling into the street. We entered the inner town through the Venetian Land gate . The church was closed due to renovation but several small churches/chapels were open and proved quite interesting as did the Venetian walls and forts.

We caught the ferry back and walked that long walk up the hill back to our little piece of heaven.

The lady on reception told us the next day that she saw very few Brits on the campsite possibly three a day in the height of summer. She thought that people didnt come because they were not keen on a country that was in the past part of Yugoslavia. They dont know what they are missing. We will miss our little lighthouse out to sea flashing and winking at us in the evening light. We will miss the peace and quiet.

.

---

Photos

Korcula
Venetian fort

Korcula
The Land Gate

Korcula
Venetian window

Marco Polo chair
It's a bit big for Sion