Rosie and The Operator waved good bye as we walked past towing our suitcases to the girls at Konoba Feral Pizzaria in Split, we had some cracking times here during our stay and felt like real locals. We are off to catch a late afternoon ferry to Korcula Island.
The ferries run like clock work and in order to get to Korcula we stop in Hvar for 15 mins to allow passengers off and on. Watching from the window it was like coming home. We spied another couple enjoying the splendid view from our apartment balcony overlooking the bay and look, said The Operator there is The Poodle Lady, taking her dogs for a walk, we saw her everyday when we were on the island. Every poodle had little pigtail bunches of curly hair on there silly looking heads.
The Operator also pointed out that the fisherman we watched out for everyday hadn’t come back home yet, his dinghy was still moored in the bay. Rosie looked at the time, nope he is still an hour away from coming home.
Off into the waveless sea the catamaran ploughed, the sun was setting and the horizon glowed the lovely shade of pink that we are so used to now every night. The sun had fully set when we pulled into Korcula Town at 7.00pm and the half moon was hanging over the city not casting much light.
The city lights were twinkling and casting their reflections on the harbor as did the giant boats moored there. The shadows were deep and there wasn’t much street lighting as we trundled the bags around the curve of the bay away from the Old Town and towards our apartment. We were greeted at the roadside gate in torchlight by Rafael and Viki, the husband and wife who owned the apartment.
Right! The apartment is at the top of those stairs said Viki. Serious?! Yes they were, by the light of our cellphone we walked up 6 flights of outdoor garden stairs through their property which stretched from the roadfront where they lived, past another house where his sister and yappy bichon terrier lived, past an old outbuilding which used to be the original family home and then through the family orchid of fruit trees to the top of the section where they owned the tiny apartment we were staying in. My goodness that was a climb…well for The Operator anyway….who had to take the suitcases.
Our lovely hosts had left us some welcome home baked biscuits and delicious orange liquor they made themselves from the fruit of the medlar tree in the orchid. We had bought supplies and had a supper up on our terrace looking out over the dark, silent harbor. We didn’t really know what to expect with this town we would have to wait till morning to explore and see what it actually looked like.
Well, Rosie can tell you, we may have arrived in the dark, but we sure woke up in paradise. Korcula is achingly beautiful.
The tranquil calm waters of the Adriatic stretch out in front of us and across the channel is the mainland of Croatia.
Small villages are like shining white pin points across the bay, large stone houses and churches sit high up on the towering hills that rise up out of the water.
Follow the curved bay towards the old town and their are small moored boats tied to tiny concrete docks and there you have Korcula Town in all her shining morning glory, getting bigger and more detailed the closer we got to it.
Korcula is an ancient town built on a tiny peninsula surrounded by a large defensive wall with orange rooftops, beige walls and a pointy bell tower peeking over the top…..its a pretty similar recipe to all of the other Venetian built towns we have visited.
Rosie and the Operator retrace our steps from last night and drink in the scenery, this town and the road is so quiet.
The water of the bay shimmers aqua and you can clearly see the pebbly bottom where schools of fish come and go.
Every house seems to have its own swimming area and access to the water in front of it, most have steps leading down to a craggy shelf and some, like ours, has a tiny sandy bay. Rafael said he goes swimming every day of the year….that was a challenge for The Operator, that afternoon he went for a dip too….he thought the water temp seemed to be about 22c and when he emerged, his eyes were bright red from the super salty water.
Harbour side, boats have been pulled in from the sea and are being cleaned for winter storage, some are being reconditioned and groups of guys work together on the sanding and job in general, chatting and laughing away, what a great office to work in!
Korcula is the second most populous island in Croatia and does not have a bridge link to the mainland. 15,500 people live on this island and its land area is 46km long by 7km wide. Korcula Town is the largest settlement and 5,600 people live here.
This town is stunning, a huge flight of steps lead you up and into the old town, this used to be a drawbridge back in the day and everybody only lived with in the defensive walls. Below the sweeping stairs is a small tourist market.
The square you enter is a small cramped place, but still breathtaking in its compactness.
Narrow streets branch of it where, leaning off your balcony you could almost touch the balcony of your neighbor across the street. The streets are polished smooth with age and like most Venetian designed towns, they were built in the form of a fish skeleton. A main street runs down the middle with a gate at each end representing the head and the tail.
The streets curve off the central spine on either side representing the ribs of the fish. The ancient town planners were so good at orientating the towns for cooling breezes off the sea in the summer down the streets and when the wind changed in the winter, the curve of the street kept the warmth in by not giving the cold wind access. Genius!
In the picture below is a covered stone bridge with a window in it, linking one house to another. The master of the house would often take on a mistress, he wanted her close by and because the town was so small and everybody knew everyone else’s business…..the master would buy the house across the road, set up his mistress and build the bridge in order to keep his comings and goings ‘private’.
Rosie and The Operator have walked past this wine bar below, multiple times, there are no hours displayed in the window or online, we have heard it is very good. Because all the barrel seating is still out we are hopeful it may be open tonight…hopefully they haven’t shut for the winter. We will keep trying, things do not operate regularly on the islands and you just have to go with the flow.
The style of the houses in the Old Town of Korcula are mainly Venetian 15th century, the townspeople were real snobs and the higher classes like to refer to their modest (by true Venetian standards) homes as Palaces, just like in Venice. The family Palaces more often than not also had a private family chapel built next door that the family could privately access. Like this one here. Our guide also asked us why the balconies on these palaces were partially enclosed underneath and on the sides to a low level….it was for modesty, so the rabble beneath on the street couldn’t look up the ladies dresses.
There was not a lot of crime in the ancient city as anyone breaking the laws of the town were tied to the pillar of shame in the square and the whole town was able to witness and ridicule and chuck rotting food at them. The more serious crimes of murder and rape…you were instantly hung, the crime of stealing livestock, boats and fraud…you were banished from the town never to return again in your lifetime. This is a fate worse than death to the proud peoples of this city…hence the low crime rate. Today crime is low too said our hosts.
This town is also the (often disputed) birthplace of the intrepid 13 century explorer Marco Polo, although there are at least three other cities in the world that claim this too. The picture below shows the tower of his house (in the worst photo ever) behind the church….which I found more interesting.
The story of Marco Polo himself on the other hand is very interesting….Rosie is going to read his cell mates memoirs me thinks from the time he was in jail. Anyway he seemed like a bit of a rascal as the story goes and was about to be imprisoned for gambling till his father negotiated with the magistrates for him to go on ‘an expedition’, kind of equal to a lengthy exile….and the rest is history…..he travels on the newly discovered Silk Road, uncovers China and all its secrets and befriends the mighty Kublai Khan…now that’s a mighty travel blog!
St Marks Cathedral is certainly the centerpiece of the small town. This beautifully crafted church from the 16th century owns its small square and you crane your neck looking up at the yellow stoned beauty. The stone work is particularly intricate and resembles that of southern Italian churches.
As you walk around the walls of the city on the sea side is a fantastic pine lined avenue of restaurants, bars and cafes. Some were still open at the end of the season and all offer the most amazing sea views and lively atmosphere from their terraces.
Rosie would love to be here in the height of summer for a night out, the continuous avenue of people on sunset would just be amazing. Now it was quiet and a little chilly, with a slight breeze coming in off the sea that made you wish you had a jacket on this side of the island.
Korcula Bay is ringed with cannons and has had many a skirmish over the course of history. Rosie could just imagine the bay full of invading galleons coming this way.
This town is just picture perfect in every way, if you were to describe paradise this is pretty much it. Not only taking into account the beauty of the place; which would encompass the town, the beautiful bay and the amazing weather but the laid back island lifestyle that also goes with it as well.
No one is in a hurry here, the older locals all gather to have coffee in the morning and a gossip, covering multiple tables during their visit to the square. The fisherman walking to their boats with a small chilly bin of supplies for the day, stopping also to talk to others on the way. Locals actually nod their heads at you and acknowledge you on passing. The silence and the vastness of the bay and ocean, its just so tranquil and peaceful feeling here. Rosie and The Operator have spent many a peaceful moment themselves ruminating this lifestyle looking over the bay after a nice stroll with an aperitif in hand…..
We have also had some fun times and great meals out and about in this town in the evening. This town and its images of sunshine and beauty will long be burned into Rosies mind.
Tomorrow we are off to explore some more of the island by scooter. Rosie will wear proper shoes and she cant wait to see if the rest of this island is just as idyllic as Korcula Town.
