homeitalycroatiaistanbul: Marco Polo

Thursday 24th April 2025

Today we sailed to Korcula as per today's program:

Side note: This trip was a actually featured on Travel guides show. Our tour leader, Karen had been on that trip and loved the Frens. I am going to rewatch it as she said she appears briefly in the show.

Very pretty on the Adriatic and just to give you an idea of where we are today, I have helpfully screen shotted Google MAps.

And then it was time for the swim in the cold Adriatic. Easy as we had done it before. I am still struggling to get photos taken by other people on the blog. So much more complicated than you could possibly imagine. I have a few of mine just before the swim.

This was the reward for after.

It was even colder today but I had found that one of the exhaust pipes from the boat was spewing hot air and this was really helpful. The water today was ice when you first hit it but only slightly improved the longer you stayed in. Paul was keen to get out and have some Schnapps. Happy to oblige. No spa today as it had not been turned on so was cold. No way!

And then more cruising to Korcula. The colour of the water is spectacular.

Korcula is an ancient town much like Hvar but is famous for its city walls built long ago. Half of them have however been taken down over the centuries and reused for housing and roads. Shame. However they are famous because you can walk the walls for free and there are only a few steps. Therefore, according to the guide, they are better than the walls of Dubrovnik.

one of a few towers still standing.

Part of the wall

the view from the wall

We did a quick walk ourselves and checked out this famous bar on one of the towers. It has an open air bar on the very top that can only be reached by two sets of stairs and then a ladder for the last bit. Drinks are passed up to the top with a dumb waiter arrangement. I only made it up the 2 sets of stairs but Paul went up the ladder to the top. We had a drink on the level before the ladder however. Very medieval looking.

first set of stairs, then another to a bar area and then the ladder to the top.

Paul on the ladder. no rails. What about WH&S???

Korcula is very pretty and has some very up market restaurants with Michelin stars and prices to match.

Look we found Marco Polo. Apparently born here, not in Venice. Although Korcula may have been under Venetian rule at the time so that might work.

Once on our walking tour of Korcula, it was explained that the city has very strong winds and so is designed to make the best of the sun, wind and air flows. There are lots of streets that wind around, others that are straight and some that are staggered. This makes sense if you understand this stuff.

More nice views from the wall

old church

Paul on an ancient seat.

So many steps!

Nice church

Famous church

And the on to the entertainment, a traditional Croatian sword fighting dance.

And then back to the boat for dinner. Sea bass with shrimp and a really lovely sauce. All gluten free !! YES! However the brownie dessert was not. I was asked what I would like and had to design my own dessert again. Fruit, lemon curd, ice cream and some raspberry coulis. Not bad. I barely missed the brownie.