Korcula. Not Leaving.

Courtney here, writing from Lloyd's iPhone. This should be an adventure in itself. If nothing else, it will force me to be pithy, which may be a relief to those of you who slogged through my last post.

Aaah, Korcula.



We love Korcula. So much so that we've decided to extend our stay here. Our hosts, Lenni and Perisa (Croatian for Peter) are absolutely delightful and we were thrilled when they asked us to join them for coffee - overlooking the Adriatic, no less - on our first morning here. They're working to find us accommodations for 2 more nights, either here in their sobe or with friends.

What's so fantastic about Korcula? It has a rich, proud history (Marco Polo hailed from here, back when Korcula was a Venetian territory), plenty of old churches, buildings, cemeteries and ruins to explore, and the incredible emerald-blue waters and rugged, mountainous interior as the rest of Dalmatia. But more than that, Korcula has a friendly, welcoming, laid- back island vibe that just feels like home to us after nearly two weeks of exploring this part of the world.

We've eaten incredibly well.


Octopus salad...



Grilled fish...



And maybe a bit too much wine.

We've also explored about a third of this island's 50 miles or so by scooter...






...and had a fantastic adventure sailing a small Laser sailboat in a channel just outside the Old Town.


Would you look at this handsome devil?

So we're definitely making the most of our time here, and perhaps doing a shameful amount of relaxing too. We love our afternoon siesta. Why the hell can't Americans figure out the siesta thing? Climate? Psssht. Not a good enough reason.

We're also pleasantly surprised by the relaxed, non-litigious nature of everything. You can touch things in the museums - no guards will snap at you for getting too close. The scooter and boat rental places asked for minimal proof that we were functioning human beings before they calmly turned over their wares. Basically, everyone seems to assume a level of good intentions of everyone else. This attitude is so rare anywhere these days, but even more so from tourist destinations. I imagine the language barrier makes some countries ultra-cautious - you can't be too careful when you're communicating complex matters such as the ones in rental contracts and "do not touch."

I failed with making this a pithy post, I realize. You're too kind to read my unedited blather thus far. Off to bed - tomorrow brings a move to our new accommodations, seeing Marco Polo's house (a suspect claim, we're told, but bound to be interesting nonetheless), swimming in the Adriatic and a possible afternoon sailing encore. Next stop: Istrian peninsula.

I miss the cat, but not much else. :-)

-- Post From My iPhone