DAY 16/17: 14/15 AUGUST 2011

Camping costs: Autokamp Vela Pelarka 99KN per night + 20KN electricity – 2 nights (7KN = €1)

Woken by the Call-to-Prayer, not heard that for years. Dan grew up in the middle east so loved the sounds and memories Call-to-Prayer evoked.

We went to see the Dervish house in Blagaj before setting off to Croatia. We went down and took a look, but they were busy doing conservation work to the house and rebuilding the surrounding houses around the dervish house. Conservation efforts seemed to have effected our plans a few times this year, but it’s great to see.

Cassie was amused as a dog followed us from the parking lot, along the path to the house, and it was waiting for us when we got back. With the house seen, from the outside only unfortunately, we had a coffee and planned our next stop in Croatia.

We decided to head for the island of Korčula, first seeing what the ferry prices were like. We got to Ploče with an hour till the ferry. It was 218KN (€13) for the ferry, so we paid and waited. We boarded the ferry to Trpanj. The ferry took 1 hour and then we headed for the ferry to Korčula at Orebič.

The drive from Trpanj to Orbič there was great, but we only had 30min to do it to catch the next ferry on the other side of the peninsular and, we were stuck behind a coach! We made it to the ferry port, but only just in time, Wendy hopped out to run and buy ferry tickets. We just made it onto the 14.30hr sailing.

From Korčula we headed for Lumbarda. The guide book said it had nice beaches and the map showed camping. We made Lumbarda in good time and found some great camping amongst some olive trees. Mainly motorhomes, but still, a place to pitch the tents. We set up the tents, Wendy got pivo and then went in search of the beach for a deserved swim!

Spent the rest of the afternoon swimming, then returned to camp for dinner. Need to wash more clothes in the morning.

Cassie’s Notes: When we got to Lumbarda we went to the beach. I had so much fun!

DAY 17: MONDAY 15 AUGUST 2011

We have arrived in Lumbarda during their national holiday/festival. We seem to be following the national holidays this year. We decided to go into Korčula old town today.

Cassie wants to see medieval places, as that is her topic at school when she starts back in September. We had a wonder around, bought some souvenirs and went back to camp.

Dan popped across to the supermarket to get some lunch and Wendy did some more clothes washing. We wondered down to the beach again and spent a few hours paddling around. Cassie found half a goggle and Dan took it along with the camera and did a little bit of diving. He took some photos of sea urchins, sea cucumbers and some fish. The sea here is so beautifully clear. After a wonderful afternoon in the sea, we went back to camp to shower.

We decided to go out for a bight to eat, perhaps taste the wonders of the local fishermen. The restaurant recommended to us was fully booked, so we tried somewhere else. The restaurant we found was great, the owners were bringing in the fish caught that day, gutting and finning them right there and then, ready for the evenings service. We saw a dish: lobster and spaghetti for 2. We decided to order it. The dish consisted of 2 lobsters, mussels and prawns in a lovely bisque sauce on a bed of spaghetti. Not only was it a tasty dish, but it was also at a tasty price. We ordered spaghetti bolognaise, lobster and spaghetti for 2, a couple of beers and juice and it all came to 350KN, a fair €50! You would definately have paid well over £100 for this meal in the UK.

Back to camp for an early night so we could break camp early to catch the ferry from Vela Luka to Split the next day.