We woke up next morning feeling slightly off - well Jess with a hangover and Robin just tired - we headed to the pier for some sea kayaking and snorkelling. Just when we were starting to get worried that our transportation was not coming, a yacht approached the pier. We sailed to another nearby pier to our designated guide for the day. We were pleasantly surprised that all the other passengers on the yacht were doing buggies.
Our Croatian guide, Robert, briefy explained to us the itinerary for the day in an excellent Essex accent (strange??) and we set off to our the first islet, Badija. It was a short kayak to the first islet and took a stroll around the island. Robert patiently explained to us how this islet had gone through several eras in Croatian history and that it had 5 stone quarries which supplied rocks for construction to all over the country and even to locations as far as the White House in Washington DC. The islet is not self sufficient and the locals have to travel all the way to main island for their supplies. We soon found out that the houses were mainly used as summer retreats and there were only 2 permanent residents that remained 24/7. Since this islet provided good quality stones, the locals took great pride in their homes. All stone bricks were hand crafted from large chunks of stone. We were fortunate to pass by a local chiselling away at a stone.
After a little taste of history, we kayaked on to Vrnik which is an islet 30 minutes away from Badija. The breeze was cool under the warm sun. Though we were rather disappointed that the underwater view from the glass bottom was just as good as the view from where we were kayaking, it was definitely good fun. We arrived on a white pebble stoned beach and were happy that it was just 2 families and us. We felt privilaged to join the locals in a little hide out. We found a good spot and sat down to enjoy the view and sun.
Meanwhile, Robert was off to catch some sea urchins so we could enjoy it with some crusty bread and white wine. Before we could protest, Robert came back with a bag full of live urchins still gleaming and squirming. He skillfully cut them in half with his knife and proudly displayed them on the rock. "Eat! Enjoy!" he said excitedly while we watched the urchins still moving, not realising they were already dead. Yikes - we have both savoured some fresh urchins in Tokyo but eating them straight from the shell while their spikes were still moving was definitely something new. Deciding it was better to brave it than be rude, we took a pinch of the bread and scooped up the insides of the urchin. It was delicious. We know what you are thinking - gross. But seriously, it was pretty awesome. Taste of the sea and fresh seaweed. We polished them off together with Robert and enjoyed some semi-sweet white wine. Robert explained that this was what Croatians family do when they are out on the beach for the day. This explains why the locals don't complain about the borders of the beach surrounded by urchins.
With 40 minutes left, we jumped into the cool clear sea water and snorkelled for a bit. There wasn't much sea life except small fishies but we enjoyed the experience anyhow. While waiting for ourselves to dry off in the sun, Robert got us some wild black berries - we felt like VIPs on a private tour.
After relaxing, we powered back to the pier and boarded the yacht for lunch. The captain took us to a secluded spot and served us some salads, proscuitto, fruits, pasta and more wine. After lunch, we climbed onto the top of the boat and enjoyed some more Vitamin D while the rest of the passengers jumped into the sea for a quick swim. The rather humourous captain was blasting 80s music while we admired the clear blue waters from above. It was exactly what one would expect from a Mediterranean summer experience. It didn't matter to both us - we were really enjoying ourselves. After a good half hour, we sailed back to mainland and we thanked the crew repeatedly for such an reallly enjoyable experience.
After our action-packed afternoon, it was time to move to Korcula from Lumbarda. So we bused ourselves to town and freshened up in our sobe. We were happy to discover that the room was just on main street. We strolled around the ancient city and it would be worthy to tell you now that Korcula is a must-see if you are ever in Town. It has the beauty and history of ancient Croatia, convenience and accessibility of Zagreb due to its size but without the nosiy crowd that you find in Split. We were sad to have to leave the next day so decided to enjoy the dinner in a small restaurant by the pier while watching the sun beyond the horizons.
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