Part 2, Mijet and Korcula Island.
We took a TP Line catamaran from Dubrovnik and hopped to the first island in our tour, Mijet.
The two-hour trip felt like a magic carpet ride and was as flat calm as crossing a millpond.
We docked at Polace, a quaint little spot akin to off the beaten track Greece isles.
This is a lovely little sleepy suntrap where yachts drop by for food and drink at some of the many waterside eateries.
Fringed by jagged green hills, the still sea looks more like a lake than the Adriatic.
Conveniently, our room only digs was a short amble up stone steps from the dock and we checked in.
We found a nice, clean room with a fan and a bathroom. Nothing more needed.
After settling in we did a quick recce and found a stony beach from which people were swimming.
We sunned ourselves for a while, but towels on stones aren’t that comfortable so we returned to our room to get cleaned up.
Dinner was a mighty fine affair.
We went to Konoba Gunduliste, a nice waterfront restaurant where we had a mixed grill. (42 euros for two).
It consisted of sausage, pork, chicken and lamb served with a side of tasty grilled vegetables and was delicious as dusk drifted lazily to night and lights on yacht masts shone bright.
After a good night’s sleep we breakfasted at a bakery and then walked a 5km forest route with the glorious scent of pine to ‘the lakes’.
Set in what is said to be Europe’s oldest national park (1960), admission was 50 euros for two, which at first felt a bit steep.
It was all good though.
An electric boat pottered us across to the tranquil Benedictine Monastery at St Mary’s islet.
A lovely spot, though there were visitors aplenty talking in the simple church before strolling around a lap of the little island.
Ben took a dip in the cool crystalline sea, wishing he had his beach shoes as standing on rocks in bare feet in the shallows is torture.
After a coffee with cream we got back on the electric boat, which took us to a nearby beach.
The thing to do here is to float in a strong current along a thin channel, under a bridge.
Floating with the current is fine; if you can swim back against it you should probably apply for the Olympic games.
After a bit of sunning we hopped back onto the electric boat, returned to our start point at the lake and walked back to Polace.
We had a lovely meal on the second night at MarMar (red seafood risotto and pork medallion with cheese and mushroom sauce) but after a stormy night we could not sail on to our next island of Korcula.
We ended up spending the next day and night in a lovely attic apartment at 75 Sobra, from where we battled through a biblical storm and had a welcome pizza and beer at a rain besieged harbourside eatery.
The next day we were finally able to get a TP Line catamaran for a 40 minute crossing from Pomena to Korcula.
We truly landed on our feet for our next stay.
The lovely apartment manager Ivana met us at our digs in Racisce, and boy was it a treat.
She kindly upgraded us to a first floor harbourside apartment, complete with two bedrooms, tiny bathroom, lounge diner and kitchen.
For us this place ticks all the boxes.
It overlooks a pretty harbour and the sea; three restaurants are on your doorstep; a mini-market is just next door and the local bus picks you up from right outside. Marvellous.
On day one we walked along the coast to a pebbly beach.
It was a steep, stony path down to a charming bay where we made use of free sunbeds for a few hours’ sunning and a swim in the beautifully clear sea. This time we had beach shoes. (highly recommended)
On our second day we took a bus to Korcula Town, which is like a diddy Dubrovnik with its surviving fortifications and well preserved centre.
Just like Dubrovnik Old Town you can mooch around a labyrinth of passages and discover an array of art shops and eateries, albeit for a price.
This place is said by some to be the birthplace of thirteenth century explorer Marco Polo.
If he was born there it makes you wonder why he had such a wanderlust.
The scenery is so great you could easily be in Greece, Italy, the Lake District in England or the Highlands of Scotland.