This week marked the anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto on 7th October 1571, which still ranks as one of the major events in the history of the Mediterranean, and indeed around the world. The Ottoman fleet was defeated by the Holy League in what was the last sea battle to be fought by man-powered…
My mother-in-law never really thought much of us getting a house on an island. Far too inconvenient for her liking. Ferries are such an unreliable form of transport, not to mention dangerous. And of course she was proved absolutely right within a very few months of us getting our house when the pride of Jadrolinija’s fleet,…
The word for a door in Croatian is vrata, which comes from the old Slavic word vorta. It’s always plural, in the same way that trousers or pants are in English. And vrata means both the opening, and the object we use to close it up. Now that may be a wooden door, glass door or wrought-iron gate, inside or outside, in the house or garden or field – vrata covers all types.
Last September, on our way from Hvar to Dubrovnik we called in briefly at Korčula. Now, I don’t think it really counts as visiting the island if you stay on the ferry, and don’t actually set foot on land. But we liked what we saw, so a couple of weeks ago, we set out to…
While walking around Lumbarda with our friends John and Rachel from Korcula Explorer, they asked whether we had ever seen such cabbages. The cabbages in question were lovely looking healthy plants, obviously cabbage but without the usual solid round head. What we were looking at was a variant of Brassica Oleracea, or wild cabbage, commonly…
Hvar is not just the island of sun, wine, and nude beaches. Because of its lush vegetation and plentiful water, it is an important staging post for migrating birds, and many of them spend the summer here. The lack of pesticides on the island is also a big factor in keeping the bird and other…
Following my recent post on the artistic nature of the ropework on some of the boats in local harbours, I came another couple of lovely examples. There’s no doubt that those rope bow-fenders just add so much character! First up, this double fender makes it seem like this boat could talk! And then we have…
One sunny afternoon recently, we took ourselves out for a walk after lunch. We hadn’t thought to go exploring new trails, only to take a roundabout route up the hill to the nearby 16th century watchtower for the views. But instead, we found ourselves drawn to the shoreline and the water. Our path brought us…
We were enjoying dinner last night with friends in Svirče when the earth moved and rumbled for the second time this week! A quick check online found a recent 3.2 with epicentre off the Pelješac peninsula. No, really, that can’t be what we felt. This was much closer, surely? I was too quick, and a…
January is a quiet time on Hvar, when many locals take the opportunity to visit relatives or simply have a holiday. So it’s not easy to find restaurants open at this time of year. Most have cleared their outside terraces, stacked up the tables and chairs, pulled everything inside and locked their doors. Not even…
Go Hvar 
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