Ok so Mara said she would not mention the swift (Common Swift or Apus Apus) in her nesting activities blog. Indeed it is not hard to understand why. The bird whistles through the air at up to 50mph emitting a non-musical screetch as it does so. It is very hard to photograph or film and…
Our local housemartins are busy. You can see them swooping up under eaves and into small corners to build their nests. It’s just amazing how they can get a grip on what looks like a sheer wall to me! Here’s a time-lapse video of the birds coming in to select their sites. This house overlooking…
In the heat of summer the Glavica headland near Vrboska is popular for its beaches, and I see that there are plans afoot to improve the car parking – or at least the collecting of fees! Out of season, it’s a lovely walking, jogging, cycling trail with pretty views. We set out on the north…
Set here and there amongst the walled fields of Hvar’s agricultural landscape, you’ll see stone shelters. I’m not talking here about the newer type of weekend houses that have sprung up – complete with BBQ and shady terrace for Sunday lunch. No, the ones I mean are much older, of drystone construction, and some have…
Dry stone walls are as much part of the landscape here on Hvar as they are in my native Scotland. Over there, they pretty much hold sheep in, but on the Dalmatian coast they’re entirely necessary to hold in the soil. There would simply be no agriculture in this steep, karst environment without the back-breaking…
It’s awfully easy to depend on taking photographs when you travel. We all do it. It’s a quick way to capture what you see, and wonderful to have an album to look back on later. But I have to tell you, sketching is better! You have to look longer, pay more attention, and think about…
I see from the Dalmatian Wine Expo’s website that their next event will be 27-29 April, 2012 in Makarska. Most of the rest of the information on the site is still about last year’s very enjoyable gathering, including a photo gallery. Looking forward to April – great time for a trip to the Dalmatian coast!…
Here’s a great song for New Year’s Eve… or any occasion with glass of wine in hand! No klapa concert is complete without this catchy song. It has a chorus that even foreigners can sing along with – and indeed will probably be singing it all the way home! We first heard this, appropriately enough,…
There are a couple of songs that take me right back to Hvar. This is one of them – Oči boje lavande – a lovely song we first heard at the Hvar Wine festival, and many times since. The locals all know the chorus and will sing and sway along, and if you’re going anywhere…
There are lions on Hvar. You can see them lurking on walls and gateways, looking out with a rather pained expression. It’s the symbol of St Mark, the winged lion of Venice, showing that this island was once part of the Venetian empire. From 1278, when the locals petitioned Venice for protection from the pirates,…
Go Hvar 
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