Korčula

Korčula town 

Croatia has over 1,000 islands off its eastern coast, although most are small an uninhabited. Korčula is one of the largest and most inhabited of these islands, and it did not disappoint.  We spent our Wednesday driving two hours up the coast, onto the Pelješac peninsula to the town of Orebić, where we caught the car ferry to the island. Korčula town is the historic port of the island and where we started and finished our day.  It is frequently referred to as "little Dubrovnik" because it is also a walled city on a peninsula jutting out into the Adriatic Sea, though significant smaller in size.  Korčula claims to be the home of the explorer Marco Polo, but that may be more legend than fact.  It certainly makes for a good story.

Vela Luka cave

We drove the length of the island to the town of Vela Luka to see a unique cave that has evidence of human existence dating back to 10,000 B.C.  It is still an active archaeological site trying to learn more about the earliest inhabitants of this part of Europe.  It was not a typical cave in that it has several "skylights" which gives it its unique appearance.

Pupnatska Luka

After Vela Luka, we meandered back across the island, visiting the small town of Brna and spending time on the beach in Pupnatska Luka.  Pupnatska Luka is a little cove that has some of the clearest water we've ever experienced, especially for being at the beach.  Croatia is known for having some of the most blue and turquoise water when you look from afar, but up close, is extremely clear.  We could see all the way to the bottom while we were swimming.

Super clear water

  A lot of the beaches here, Pupnatska Luka included, are pebbly/rocky beaches and not the nice sandy beaches we are accustomed to in America.

We finished our day back in Korčula town where we had drinks at Cocktail Bar Massimo, which is located in one of the towers that makes up the town's wall and fortifications.  It was nearing sunset, and we were on the roof soaking up the views and enjoying our drinks.  

It's an adventurous setting to get to, as you must climb a ladder through a hole cut through the thick stone in order to access.  The drinks were great, but the views were even better.  The tower in the lower left corner of the picture above is where it's located.

We made it back to Dubrovnik a little after 10:00pm, a full day's adventure exploring on of Croatia's most beautiful islands.