Korcula -- September 5

We woke up to something we haven't yet seen on the trip – rainclouds! The forecast called for rain, but we figured we’d get a jump start on some sightseeing before it started to rain . We went up to the tower for a view over the town of Korcula. A very picturesque and quaint place with atmospheric lanes and substantial walls. We stopped for a cappuccino and lingered for awhile as the skies looked like they were about to open up. Lots of lightning off in the distance but no rain. We decided to walk west for a view of the town and were not disappointed with what we saw.

Next it was off to the bus station to buy our tickets to Dubrovnik. At that point the skies opened up and it rained and rained. We then noticed the town was without power! Luckily the lights came back on as the storm soon passed.

Peter mentioned that the big Jadrolinija ferry was running to Dubrovnik tomorrow, and suggested that was a much nicer way to get to Dubrovnik than the bus. We decided to buy ferry tickets and return the bus tickets we purchased earlier – but the ferry ticket office wasn’t going to open for a few more hours .

We decided to hop on a local bus and go to the nearby town of Lumbarda to check out the vineyards and beaches. By now the weather had cleared, but it was very windy. The walk around Lumbarda was beautiful – the water crystal clear and it was enjoyable to see the many wind surfers taking advantage of the gusty winds. We walked up the hill through very pleasant vineyards before arriving back at Lumbarda. We took a shared taxi back to Korcula.

With the sun now shining, Efren wanted to do some swimming. The beach just on the west end of town was very inviting, and this time Efren jumped in and did some marathon swimming (as opposed to just dipping toes in the water like yesterday in Hvar). After the swim we bought our ferry tickets, returned the bus tickets (almost a full refund!), cleaned up and found a wonderful restaurant for dinner. It was called Konoba Brisula. We tried the local specialty, pashticada, and loved it. Pashticada is braised beef in a slightly sweet wine and herb sauce, served over pasta. We also had a prosciutto and cheese salad with herbs and lavender --- delicious! The server, Adrianna, was very sweet and this probably was our best meal of the trip so far. We finished the night off with gelato from Café Kiwi and were off to bed. Our ferry to Dubrovnik leaves at 7am so we needed to get some rest. But first we sat outside the apartment and drank a bottle of Prosip wine that we bought earlier. Life is good…..