Trstenik en route to Dubrovnik

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Our journey started at 7.15 this morning as we pulled out of Markarska, the blue skies were a little late in appearing. Breakfast was the usual time of 8am and our fellow guests were all talking about the restaurant that most of us had eaten in last night. It certainly was a good recommendation and to see our captain dining with his crew just showed what a great team they make.
As we entered the pretty courtyard garden we were greeted with smiles from the captain , chef, cook, sailor & waitress Adriana who having finished her meal went back to the ship to relieve Ljubo, our barman, waiter, anything else that needed doing guy. David enjoyed his favourite dish of mussels, Benita selected Salmon with tagliatelle & I chose grilled veal. Jenni our tour manager joined us and us three ladies couldn't resist the blueberry pavlova which was delicious. Our journey today is heading south towards Dubrovnik, a scenic route along the Peljesac peninsula as the morning progressed more and more ships came into view of all shapes and sizes. A particular favourite was a beautiful clipper that looked so graceful in the water. We passed the island of Korcula and recognised the city walls that we had walked a few days before on one of our stops. It wasn't long before the sun was shining and everyone was enjoying a relaxing morning on board, we had a swim stop in a pretty bay & soon it was lunch time, It was buffet lunch today and we then continued to Trstenik, a village & harbour in the central part of the via set of the Peljesac peninsula.The population is approx 106! The pioneer of world class Californian wines, Croatian born Miljenko Grgich returning to his motherland in 1996 bought land around Trstenik and established his Grgich wine HQ in Trstenik. Taking the steep sloping road to the headland we finally reached the winery where we learnt the history of the site and of course tasted the quality wines that they produce which are for the local market only, not exported. We also heard how in 2015 a huge fire engulfed many of the vineyards, olive trees and homes, thankfully there was no loss of life but we could see the charred remains of trees as we ventured up the hill. A pleasant stroll back into the village & harbour to set sail again for Sipan island, just 11 mikes from Dubrovnik and our overnight stop. Dinner will be served on board this evening and we look forward to our full day in Dubrovnik tomorrow.

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