The Sweet Spot

I have to say that we have had many nice places through Airbnb, but this place was one of my favorites so far. The balcony was huge, with a large table for four, a lounge chair and ample room for two hammocks. And the view. Wow. With a beach right under our noses. I was super excited for this spot. We were situated just out of Old Town and our beach was super tiny but beautiful and quiet with a few locals.

We have been in Croatia now for almost a month and I have yet to see any sea urchins. Well, the day has come my friends. I asked out host’s grandfather about them (who had picked the four of us up from the ferry with an interpreter) and he had nodded yes with wide eyes and a big grin. When I asked him if he wore any type of water shoe he just laughed. If grandpa isn’t wearing any, I’m sure as hell not wearing any! The water is so clear. Upon inspection you could see them easily but they were only in the rocky areas around the moored boats, and the beach entry was completely clear. Morgan managed to fish one out for us to examine. There were also plenty of little fish in the shallows that happily began to nip off the dry skin from my tanned legs.

This beach has actually been one of my favorites so far. I loved all the little fish hanging about and the scenery with the lush mountains and Old Town as a backdrop were picture perfect.

Harry and Lloyd

As we were outside the main area of Korčula there was only one restaurant close to us. We ate there the first night and it was just okay, so we decided to get some groceries to make our own dinner. Andre is a great little chef so he volunteered to make a gnocchi prawn dish. The boys took grandpa’s scooter to grab supplies. They had set out for the store with Morgan driving and Andre on the back. According to them, they set out for the shop and on their way they saw some cops stopped up on the main road into town. They felt it best to avoid the cops altogether being in a foreign place and so Andre made it look like they had gone the wrong way by doing some pointing and gesturing to Morgan who pulled a u-turn and set out on a different route. Groceries ended up being two huge bag of food and an equal amount of booze which they stuffed into the scooters storage area. 

The boys said the bike had barely made it uphill with just the two of them. It was maybe 50 cc. So now they were completely loaded down with Andre on the back clutching two bursting bags of groceries and a boot full of liquor. Morgan gave it all he could as they were approaching the hill on the way back. Unfortunately, all the speed the scooter could muster just wasn’t enough and it almost came to a stop halfway up. With Andre holding fast to all the goods, Morgan opened up the throttle and Fred Flinstoned it up the hill until it got just enough guts to make it the rest of the way. I didn’t see them pull up to the house but Joeleen heard them and looked out the window in time to see them both still seated on the scooter like a scene out of Dumb and Dumber. I wish I had a photo of Larry and Lloyd! To be fair, it’s super hard to look cool as two dudes on a certified POS, but it’s also better than walking with that amount of stuff. Joeleen and I were very grateful and we enjoyed an amazing meal that night. We also had some fantastic charcuterie and Aperol Spritzers over the next few days.

Trashing the Place

So far we have a perfect rating on Airbnb. If you have never used it, basically after each check out you review the experience and the host reviews you as the guest. Neither can see the other’s review until you have both submitted your feedback. The first night Morgan broke a wine glass, which is not a big deal, and then Andre busted a plastic cleaning bucket… How you ask? He decided to stand on it to reach a window. Clearly the fact that I lovingly call him “fatty” on a regular basis has not affected his perception of himself. I would not even have considered standing on this bucket. I would for sure have gone through. He obviously felt it would hold. He was wrong. My favorite part, after seeing that he wasn’t seriously hurt (although cut up and bleeding), was Joeleen asking him if he was standing on the edges. She proceeded to explain the proper technique. You never stand in the middle! You always have your feet closest to the edges.

Andre considered blaming me in an elaborate story. I have discovered that he uses me often on holidays in a variety of ways. Like in Panama, when we were in a room with a terrible bed and a broken toilet seat, he told them we needed a new room because I wasn’t happy. Actually, he also uses me at home too… “Sorry, we can’t make it. Stacey has terrible diarrhea!” The diarrhea thing is his favorite. He’s used it so often people probably think there is actually something seriously wrong with my insides. In the end he confessed to the crime and we still have our 5 star rating.

Old Town

I have enjoyed all of the old towns in Croatia. Each spot we have been has its own and while they are very similar I always find them beautiful and enchanting with their narrow streets and walkways, and ingenious use of space. One thing we have found is that the food in Croatia is heavily influenced by the Italians and pizza and pasta are almost everywhere. At times it feels like every place is the same. Luckily we found a restaurant called Silk. It was on a main street in Old Town and it was serving up Asian street food. What a great change. Fabulous food!

75 days in…

Dubrovnik is our next destination.