Island life

We took the fast boat, the catamaran, to Korčula. That was probably a mistake. The departure was almost cancelled due to the storm, but the boat sailed as scheduled. The white-caps in the sea weren't encouraging. Once out of the protected harbor, the relatively small boat immediately began pitching and rolling around. The crew did his best to navigate the aisle and hand out barf bags without hurting himself, and he warned us all to seriously stay seated. We all tried to keep our spirits up, but it was extremely unpleasant, and I couldn't believe there were three more hours of it left. The boat was rising and falling like a roller coaster. We took bets on how many people would throw up. Just one, from our vantage point. It is good to be on stable land again!

Korčula is awesome! I seem to say this about every new place I get to, but I think Korčula is my favorite place yet. I have been wanting a relaxing place where I can sit out in the sun, and check out some sights in a new culture and be able to return to a relaxing room. That's what we got in Korčula. We got off the boat and were immediately mobbed by the people renting rooms. We told them all that we had a room in order to get them of our backs. Than, we approached the one we liked the best on our terms. She showed us to a great room. There is honestly no better location. Kitchen, internet, terrace, view. All for cheap. We ended up staying five nights. It was a great way to wind down the trip; it will be ending soon, which is sad, but I miss the states.

Korčula's old town is like a small version of the one in Split, minus Roman ruins. It's crammed into a peninsula. Within the walls and narrow, cobblestone pedestrian roads, people live and work. Restaurant tables spill into what little room there is in the street, and laundry hangs between buildings overhead. The clock tower rings every half hour, and the town's activity seems partly determined by the ferry schedule. You see the same people around town, most notably the hippie-looking guy that goes into the grocery store barefoot and runs the town hostel.

We went to beaches, which weren't great honestly, walked around a lot, and cooked some great meals. Though we want to stay longer, we better be off to Dubrovnik because there is still lots more to see and only four more days.



Walking around old town at night is great. Here's the church




















I like these narrow streets.


























































Looking at old town, from the coast north of town.












The view from our window. This square is near the bottleneck of the peninsula.




















This was supposedly where Marco Polo grew up. Croatia was part of the Venetian Republic, and Marco Polo probably came from this area, likely Korčula, but if you research it you will find that this house was built 100 years after he died. It's a tourist trap! They charge 15 kuna to get in. Many of the restaurants and shops are named after Marco Polo, and sell touristy merchandise based on him.















We splurged and went to see this dance called the Moreška. The dance dates back many years to Moorish influences in Spain. Scenes are acted out, depicting a chieftan winning a battle, and subsequently winning the girl. The dances between scenes, representing the battles, are done with swords, and they swing and hit them hard enough for sparks to fly off! It was pretty cool, but was ridiculously touristy. My favorite part was probably the singing at the beginning by a local choir.
















Not a whole lot happened in Korčula, for spending five days here, and that's just how I like it.
Next, to Dubrovnik.