On the wall of cabin 15 is a fantastic photograph of the island of Hvar, blown up to poster size and showing a view, from an elevated position, over the blue, blue sea towards several smaller islands. The sky in the photograph is blue with fluffy white clouds, and seagulls (one in the foreground for perspective) wheel and glide on the warm updraughts. It looks like the sort of photo you’d see in a travel agents, placed in a prominent position to tempt people into booking holidays to Croatia. 🙂
We should have been visiting Hvar on 14th May and staying overnight, but due to the high winds and rough seas earlier in this cruise we’d had to change the itinerary. Each day we would look at the photo and say to each other “we should have been going there”.
So imagine our delight when Captain Ante informed us yesterday that we would be leaving for Hvar first thing this morning, before setting off for Brač later this afternoon. 🙂
Therefore, when we went up to breakfast at 8.00am as usual, the Solaris was already underway, and we were happy to see blue skies and calm waters, the morning sunshine sparkling and flashing on the rippling waves.
It was a lovely ride. We went up onto the ‘bridge deck’ after breakfast to bask in the glorious weather, the sort of weather we’d expected on our Adriatic Adventure. People sat around on benches and canvas chairs or, in our case, the handy bollards used for lashing the ropes to. We could see the captain at the helm through the glass front of the wheel house, checking his computer screen and navigation instruments as he guided the Solaris to her destination.
The sea breeze ruffled our hair as we sat there and thought pleasant thoughts and exchanged pleasantries with our fellow passengers, calling out “Guten Tag!” or “Bonjour” or just “Hi” depending on the nationality of the person. We passed many small islands, some with lighthouses or church spires or small dwellings, and soon the change in pitch of the Solaris‘ engines told us she was slowing down as the captain navigated in between the islands and headed slowly into her berth in Hvar. This time, we could place our gangplank directly onto the shore as we didn’t have to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with another yacht. 🙂
It was about 10.15am when the gangplank was in place and we could all disembark. We were advised that we had to be back on board for 12.30pm in time for lunch, after which we’d be sailing for the islands of Brač (another place we should have visited earlier in the itinerary). We could already see a very interesting fort or castle at the top of a hill, and we realised it must have been from there that the photo on our cabin wall had been taken. Now we’d have the chance to take our own photos! 🙂
Determinedly we set off, across the ubiquitous worn stone flags, polished to a shine by the many millions of feet that had walked on them over the years. We set off up some steep steps that made up a narrow street flanked on each side by tiny little souvenir shops selling anything from clothing to hand-made jewellery, home-made honey, driftwood and shell carvings and and watercolour paintings.
At the top of the steps we paused to look back and enjoy the view, before joining a zig-zagging path up the hill to the fort, a sign pointing the way.
We took our time, pausing frequently to appreciate our surroundings. A stall selling cold drinks had set up by the side of the path, and we bought a bottle of cold water; it’s too easy to become dehydrated, especially walking uphill in the sun!
It was an amazing walk. Lots of shrubs and trees lined the route, through which we glimpsed the azure waters of the Adriatic with its many yachts and pleasure craft bobbing on the gentle waves. We could see the Solaris from up here, distinctive by her black paintwork; as we rounded another corner, the gorgeous smell of jasmine reached our noses from some bushes in full bloom, under which was a stray tabby cat sheltering from the sun.
Soon we arrived at the gateway to the fortress, but before we entered I wanted to replicate, as much as possible, the fantastic photo of Hvar that adorned our cabin wall. The featured image for this blog entry does a pretty good job of that; here are some more.
It was 10 Euros each to get into the fort; despite the fact we probably only had about 20-30 minutes before we had to start making our way back to the Solaris, we couldn’t come all the way up here and not go in for a look.
Afterwards, we started back down the hill again; it was much quicker going down than coming up, aided by the fact we weren’t taking photos. Once we were back at sea level again we came across an attractive little pavement bar doing a roaring trade in the local beer and Aperol Spritz. Looking at the time, we reckoned we had 40 minutes or so before we had to be back on board; plenty of time to partake of a freezing cold beer. 🙂
We found ourselves in a wide, pedestrianised street at the end of which was an interesting-looking church, outlined perfectly against a flawless sapphire sky. A quick look at Google told us it was St Stephen’s Cathedral.
We enjoyed our beers very much, and afterwards walked back to where the Solaris had been docked. While we’d been exploring, the crew had moved her out into the bay to allow other yachts to come and go, and now we could see her heading back. We watched as the ropes were made fast and the gangplank put in place, then we boarded once again and returned to cabin 15 to get washed and freshened up before lunch. What an absolutely stunning place Hvar Island was; we’d only visited for a short time but it was certainly better than missing it altogether. As we looked at the photo on our wall, we pointed and said “We’ve been there.” 🙂
Lunch was the usual substantial meal and Trevor and I were joined, once again, by Jerry, Gaynor, Maggie, Marian, Wolfgang and Enna, where we spent the time telling each other what we’d been doing and showing each other photos. Just before 2.00pm, the engines of the Solaris sprang to life again and the ropes were cast off as we set off, next stop Brač.
We should arrive around 4.00pm and stay in port overnight, but that’s the subject for the next blog entry. 🙂