2geonomads

Sunday 18th May 2014

Sunny start to the day and as breakfast not included we take a short walk into town and find a bakery which has some very tasty pastries and next door a coffee shop offering a highly drinkable cappuccino! It’s only taken 3 weeks to find such an establishment. We also get another glimpse of life on this lovely island when we see so many families heading off to the Sunday service , all very smartly dressed. We could learn a lot from this cross- generational respect and rapport which families seem to have in this part of the world.

After a quick walk back to the apartment to catch up on some clothes washing we set off west of Korcula Old Town for the moderate hike up to Fortress Welliington, a rundown round tower, apparently a remnant of British occupation during the 1800’s. During the walk back we have a Crazy John moment when he finds a discarded toy water pistol which he brandishes with some relish.  As the famous  director of the 7 UP TV series says ” show me the child at 7 and I will show you the man” . John provides us with living proof of this on regular occasions.

John armed with toy water pistol

Back to the pastry shop to buy some pies for lunch  which we eat on a bench overlooking the harbour.

John and I decide to take a hike 2 kms east of the town up to the Chapel of Sveti Antun. I had been fascinated by the word ‘ Sveti’ since we passed the island of Sveti Stefan in Montenegro and I had assumed that it referred to the fact that these people just suffered from the heat and humidity of this area in much the same way as the Aus Treasurer, Joe Hockey, leaks perspiration whenever he is in front of the television camera. However, the explanation is much more spiritual ans ‘ sveti’ merely means ‘ saint’. In a suitably reverent mood, therefore , J and I take the fairly long and in the increasing heat demanding trek up the site of the chapel. The final approach to the church is delightful with 102 steps leading up through an avenue of cypress trees. I take the obligatory photo, without J in it after he had assumed that I I wanted him included to embellish the scene. His exclusion initially led to a quivering bottom lip and a bit of a sulk but he soon got over the blow to his ego when I took a shot of him coming up the steps to the chapel.

The return to town took us through some superb waterfront suburbs and the views along the way only serve to underline what a beautiful spot this is. We meet the girls outside the flat in town and discover that they have also been in a fairly strenuous hike along the waterfront and through the Old Town. We are all ready for a drink so stop off at a sort of bottle shop to purchase some liquid refreshment. While sitting outside a bar we are distracted by the arrival of a large boat, Helena, which it turns out is owned by three families from Australia. It is a magnificent vessel and comes with the obligatory WAGS who skip down the ramp off the boat to gain maximum attention from the increasing crowd who had gathered to see how the other half lives.

We retire back to the flat for a bit of a break before dinner although the hyperactive J and I do take another stroll around the centre to check out possible eateries. We decide to give Planjak, which had been in our Rough Guide a miss and instead opt for Amfora, a modest pizzeria/ pasta bar. Although the service is a bit on the slow side the food is fine and the bottle of local red more than acceptable.

Cheers

The Obese Ferret.