Korcula, Croatia
A storm front moved through during the night, drenching the decks of the Sea Cloud and lighting up the early morning sky. Thanks to the superior design of the Sea Cloud’s hull, most of the passengers had a restful night’s sleep. After breakfast, Vedrana presented an informative orientation to the five different regions of Croatia. Over our heads the sun broadcast a shadow puppet show of the crew repairing tears in the Lido Deck’s canvas caused by the heavy rains.
After lunch and some free time to wander, our guides Andrea and Vedrana took us on a walking tour of the compact old town of Korcula. This is one of the few islands along the Dalmatian Coast to which the natives are returning after studying at the university on the mainland (either in Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar or the capitol Zagreb). A strong sense of tradition and pride of place permeates the island and its inhabitants. They still maintain membership in the traditional three brotherhoods according to profession: sailors and shipbuilders, stonemasons, and merchants. Each brotherhood participates in the Easter procession during which candles weighing 20-30 kilos each are carried throughout the town. The candles and robes of the brotherhood are displayed in the Ikon Museum and Church of All Saints, where there is also a small collection of Orthodox icons brought to Korcula as a votive offering following a 16th century maritime battle with the Ottomans. We also visited the Bishop’s Museum which has a richly textured collection of artifacts, both religious and secular, including a very elaborately embroidered vestment that is depicted in the Tintoretto portrait of St. Mark in his cathedral next door. Our last stop was the house in which Marco Polo was allegedly born.
Tradition is also evident in the Moreška sword dance, a symbolical reenactment of the struggle between Christians and Moors in the Mediterranean. The choreography is passed down from father to son (only a couple of girls have the opportunity to be the bula or princess). Another tradition is that when a girl is chosen at 16 to be the bula, her parents give a party for the Moreška troop the night before her first performance (a kind of coming out party).
Some passengers chose to eat dinner in a local restaurant tonight. On board, a sumptuous barbeque dinner had been prepared for us by the kitchen crew with fresh local grilled fish and a roast suckling pig. A long walk along the seaside promenade was a fitting end to another delightful day on the Sea Cloud.
