As we took in the fabulous
views along the coast, back up to the Pelješac peninsula we agreed that
although we were now officially heading north and home, albeit it slowly, we
would most certainly be back!
There are a few ACSI sites
on the peninsula and with rising temperatures (a sizzling 34 degrees) we opted
for one that is in the narrow channel between the peninsula and the neighbouring
island of Korčula. Famed as one of the best wind and kitesurfing locations in
Croatia, we were looking forward to a bit of a breeze to keep us cool.
Camping Nevio near Orebič was
a real treat – with plenty of shade and fabulous views across the bay – as well
as our first experience ever of an automated chemical toilet-cleaning machine –
we never even knew they existed.
Unfortunately, ours is of a
vintage persuasion and didn’t fit – so we’re unable to report on the efficacy
of such a great invention!
And alas, the famous winds
eluded us for most of our stay, but we liked it enough to stay for a week, and
there was plenty to keep us occupied between sunbathing and cooling off in the
sea. The site was a great base from which to walk to the pretty little port town
of Orebič, where, in common with many other Adriatic ports, the shore is
peppered with what were once the houses of prosperous sea captains, as well as
a fabulous new ‘wine hotel’, Korta Katerina, just nearing completion.
The walk to Orebič was also
to scout some eateries, and we returned for a lovely evening meal (an aptly
named ‘seafood fantasia’!) at a beachside konoba called Andiamo, attracted
partly by its Van Gogh style mural – and the views across the bay, as well as a
good selection of non-farmed fish!
Towards the end of the week
we caught a ferry across to the nearby town of Korčula, a picturesque mediaeval
port on the island of the same name, party as a bit of forward planning for
taking the camper over on a future trip.
The walled town is apparently
one of the best preserved in the region and we loved the way the Venetians had
planned the grid network of streets so that cooling summer breezes could
circulate, whilst colder winter ones were blocked and weakened. And as the
temperature rose as we wandered round, we found ourselves concentrating on
those that allowed the cooling breeze to keep us going.
We’d decided to have lunch
as part of our day on the island, and after enjoying seafood with hand-rolled
pasta – and our first glass of Pošip – a fabulous white, local to the island,
at a spot overlooking the old walls, we explored some of the town outside the
old walls. This gave us some splendid views back to the old town – as well as to
an enormous catamaran that had just moored up – all the way from Poole and
looked after by a team of young, uniformed Croatian staff. We wouldn’t swap the
camper though . . .
We had plenty of time to
admire the cat, since we’d not paid enough attention to the ferry timetable
(again) and had an hour to kill, dabbling our toes in the clear harbourside
waters to keep cool whilst we waited.
We loved our time at Nevio,
camping amongst such an international community, with our immediate neighbours
coming from Poland, Slovenia, Germany, Swizerland, Holland and Hungary. Looking
at the registration plates of holidaymakers in the area, it seemed that just
about every country in the EU/EEA (plus Russia and the Ukraine!) liked to visit
here.
A special mention here to our lovely Polish campsite neighbours, Darek and Agata and their two kids Zuzia and Janek. With our Polish limited to 'hello', 'goodbye' and 'thankyou' we were lucky that Darek and family spoke such good English and we were able to enjoy a few conversations from the everyday to the political. Leaving the site just before us, Darek very kindly introduced us to the delights of
Żoładkowa, a fabulous vodka based liqueur that has become a regular nightcap ever since form the bottle (and shot glass) he kindly gave us as a memento of Polish culture! We very much hope that we will be able to catch up with them, in Poland or the UK, so we can share some UK south coast Fizzy with them!
Our final night at Nevio enabled
us to experience another of Croatia’s gastronomic delights – a ‘peka’ or ‘under
the bell’ as it’s intriguingly translated. Although, as we’d found earlier on
the trip, it needs ordering a day ahead, as we were on the campsite and the
restaurant that overlooked the bay happened to do them, (and would do them for
just two and not four people as we’d previously seen). The view from the
restaurant was quite something…
What’s not to love about a
slow, charcoal baked meat dish when you’ve had a hard day at the beach? When
the peka arrived, we could see why they had been advertised elsewhere for four
people, as we were facing what must have been at least a kilo of ‘young beef’
on the bone, nestled in a bed of potatoes and veg and oozing olive oil. With a
litre of the house red to help us on our way (the same grape that’s used to
make the amazing local Dingač that we’d also come to love) we did the Peka pan justice
and it went back to the kitchen gleaming. Having learned the Hrvatski for
‘delicious’ just in case (‘izvrsno’ – not the easiest word after a few glasses)
our compliments were sent back to the chef – who then popped out to see us to
hear it all again – and offer us the pudding menu. Of course, being completely
stuffed we couldn’t say no to a dish of hot cherries and ice cream…
Needless to say, the day of
our departure saw us leave still full enough to manage a transit north without
much need for food! Having driven up the peninsula from the south, (and saving
the delights of the vineyards that cling to the hillside and their tasting sessions, the famous oyster beds and eateries in Mali Ston, and the
longest fortified wall in Europe at Ston for a subsequent visit to the
peninsula) we chose to leave it by ferry in the north. By early afternoon we
were aboard our third and longest Jadrolinja ferry of the trip, from Trapanj to
Ploče on the ‘mainland’. Trapanj has to be the prettiest port we have sailed
from yet…
With time still on our side,
and digestive tracts still working overtime, we decided to make a short day of
it and pay a return visit to Zaostrog and the lovely Monika and Katja at Camp
Viter…
S&J.
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