Hvar

We anchored under a waxing moon and the illuminated citadel of the island of Hvar. Dawn broke with a refreshing cloud cover that kept us cool throughout a quiet Sunday morning, and we were very fortunate that the rain held off for the morning and we even had some great sunlight during our visit to Hvar. We took the local parasailing boat ashore and landed at the Franciscan monastery, where local teachers Barbara and Sringa introduced us to Hvar present and past.

The Franciscan Monastery had some real masterpieces of art, including an anonymous Venetian painting of The Last Supper and a few pieces by the Croatian sculpture Ivan Mestrovic. For many of us the highlight was the 500-year old cypress tree in the garden. We then continued along the waterfront docks so busy with boats of all kinds, and we then walked into the main square or pracja. There were too many “Venetian lions” to count on the detailed limestone architecture of the various medieval buildings, but the atmosphere was wonderful and we all explored a little on our own as well.

Our final afternoon was spent at sea, cruising down the length of Hvar and between the Peljesac Peninsula and the island of Korcula and later Mljet. As the weather and seas picked up, we bounced our way the final miles for a peaceful anchorage at Dubrovnik.