Isle of Hvar

After a leaving my people on Bol behind, Em and I headed onto the Island of Hvar. After spending such a great time in Bol we were not sure if the next place we visited would be as nice. Hvar is quite a big island and has many towns and Jelsa is the one we picked, and we picked well. Only a 20 minute ferry ride from Bol, we found ourselves in one of the nicest little harbours that I've seen. It hurts me to say it but the town has a much more homely feel to it than Bol. Although it has a lot of tourists it seems to have more of a local feel to it.

Our campsite is only a short walk along the small cliffs and coves to and from town. On arrival we were lucky to get the best site of them all. Unlike every one else we get shade all day, a very big bonus, and are only a few meters from the beach. We fall asleep to the sounds of the water gently lapping up onto the shore and the first thing we see is the beautiful green/blue of the ocean right in front of us. For some reason unlike with Bol, the water here has a green colour closer into the shore and gets bluer once you are further out. Apart from swimming every day - sometimes 2 or 3 times - we have discovered the local fish market, which is very small but sold us over a kilo of fresh live mussels for just over three dollars Aussie. Not bad. So it was mussels with a garlic and white wine sauce followed by tortellini in mussel stock for lunch, and spaghetti with a tomato and mussel sauce for dinner. Oh yeah! Not bad for a campers budget!

Em enjoys a mussel dinner

Sunset in front of our tent.

Day time in front of tent.

Cheers Babe!

What a creation.

Great place for night time swims.

Waiting for the mussels to cook.

Hvar is quite a spectacular island and in my opinion the best way to see it is by motor bike! Em and I hired a little scooter for a day and took in the sights. We got to ride through a 1.5km tunnel under one of the mountains to get to the other side of the island from where we are staying. During the trip we got to see open ocean and the rugged coast, explore private coves and bays aswell as all the towns on the way. After riding for 4 or5 hours we decided that it was time for lunch. We saw a sign that said there was a little restaurant on a secluded bay so we headed for it. After winding down the long and steep road that hugged the cliffs and hills we parked the bike and walked the rest of the way to the bay only to find that there was nothing open there. Oh well. We got back on the bike and headed up the hill. Near the top of the hill the petrol light started flashing. That's cool, we still had a bit of fuel left and we could see a town up ahead. Cool. We got to the town at the top of the mountains, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by weird stone walls and piles and lavender bushes, and even if there had have been a petrol station there, which there wasn't, we wouldn't have gotten served anyway cos of siesta! Hmmm, fuel light has stopped flashing and is now permanently staring at me with it's bright orange glow. No problem, I'm sure there will be another town around here soon. And of course there was, and of course they didn't have a petrol station, or a restaurant, or a shop, and of course if they did have any of these things we wouldn't have got served, why? Yeah you got it, siesta. Luckily there was one person actually outside who we asked directions on how to get to the nearest town with a petrol station. "Just go down that dirt road over there for about 3 or so km and you'll be alright" was the reply - but in broken English. So putting our lives in the hands of higher powers we headed down the steep and winding dirt road. Well we call it a dirt road, I'm sure there was some dirt under all the bloody big rocks! But hey, after riding down through the valley past the ghost town, as you do, we finally made it to the flats and eventually to the seaside town of Milna. A lovely little town wrapped around a bay. Here we finally stopped and treated ourselves to lunch. Steak! The first steak we had eaten in about 9 or 10 months. Oh yeah, juicy goodness. O.k. Lunch over let's get some petrol! Once again we had no luck, so a quick ride back to Hvar town running on fumes we made it to a petrol station! Phew! By the time we returned the bike, our backs, necks, legs - basically all our muscles were aching, but it was well worth it. The island is really beautiful and diverse.

Through the alleyways of Stari grad Town.

One of the many coves we found.

Rock piles and lavender - this is everywhere on the island.

What a view.
Rock walls were all the rage back then.

Finally down on the flats and dirt of the "dirt road".

Cool little ghost town.

Bay of Milna where we finally got some lunch.

Yet another beautiful bay.

Hvar town where we finally found some petrol.

The rest of the time we have been swimming in the beach in front of our tent, which is more like a big lake or swimming pool. It's so calm and clear and the temperature is perfect!
All up, the isle of Hvar and the town of Jelsa will be an experience that we won't forget in a hurry. Tomorrow it is off to the island of Korcula for another new adventure.