Korcula, Croatia
Today is a day devoted to exploring the delights of the island of Korcula. We began with a late morning walking tour of the old town whose street layout resembles that of a fish bone. This unique arrangement maximizes the benefits and minimizes the drawbacks of the various winds (notably the northern Bura and the southern Jugo) in this area.
Our guides Danijela and Andrea led us through St. Mark's Cathedral, the Bishop's Palace and the Church of All Saints where we learned of the customs of the various Brotherhoods on the island (one of which is carrying a huge candle weighing 20-30 kilos for several hours during the yearly procession). There is also an extensive collection of Byzantine icons here. One of our stops was the alleged house where Marco Polo was born (he was apparently both a citizen of Venice and a native son of Korcula).
After lunch there was free time for napping, shopping for silver filigree jewelry or hunting down the shop with the best gelato. In the late afternoon we took a short ride through the countryside to the village of Lumbarda to visit the winery of Milina Bire. The vintner Frano proudly explained that the winery was completely organic and worked by hand. A wine tasting of Grk (the local white wine) and Plavac Mali (the local red which is a relative of our own Zinfandel) followed in the wine cellar. While Frano's wife put labels on newly bottled wine, we sampled not only wine but also their homemade cheese, prosciutto, olives and salted anchovies with capers. We finished with a tasting of three different home-distilled brandies: lemon, mandarin orange and cherry. The vineyards are completely organic and worked by hand. No piece of land is unused so scattered among vines were tomatoes plants, vegetables and lettuce.
We returned to Korcula in time for a performance of the Moreska sword dance – a highly stylized traditional spectacle of the Red and Black kings battling over the Bula (beautiful maiden). This is a tradition handed down from generation to generation and a demonstration not only of skill with swords, but also physical endurance. Since we were docked in the Old Town for the entire day, our guests were presented with the difficult choice between dining on board or on shore. In any case a post-dinner stroll for more gelato was the perfect ending to a day of delights for the senses.
