Paradise again

 Wednesday 23rd April 2025

This is the plan for today.  

Everyone is looking forward to the swim today in the Adriatic ocean which is a nice 14 degrees Celsius.  The guys are doing the 'I'm so tough' thing but quite a few of us are planning to swim with much less noise...

But first some beautiful scenery on the way.  Some morning fog but clearing for our swim.

As we near the swimming spot, the crew commence preparations.

This is where we will swim from.  The crew are busy trying to tether the boat to somewhere on land with a long rope. I did not take photos unfortunately, but it was quite a task for the crew and then the rope broke and needed to be tied together but broke again. Funny but not particularly reassuring.  I wish I had the video.

Some people dived, but I went down the steps and then plopped elegantly into the water (not at all elegant).  The water was very cold at first but it felt really nice and so easy to float in the salty water.  It was over a bit too soon for me. 

After our shortish swim, we were greeted with a shot of cognac and then straight into the spa which was now hot.  And of course bubbles as in champagne and spa to celebrate.

More photos to come of the swim experience. 

We arrived in Hvar in the afternoon for a guided walk. 

But first a bus trip to Starigrad, an historic town up the hill. This town has influences  from Venice, Germany and Ottoman invaders.

look, a cat!

There is a lot of work going on to restore the ancient ruins, some dating back to BCs.

And then back to Hvar for more walking tour. It is decided we will visit the Benedictine Convent where the 4 nuns residing there make agave lace.  This is a very labour-intensive process and the 4 nuns are the only people in the world who have these skills.  They are hoping for new recruits to ensure the skill is not lost. The nuns are in their 70s and 80s but one young one in her 60s.  There were no volunteers from our group.

The lace is amazing and costs an amazing amount.

the convent

an alter

examples of lace

the tools

A small doily type piece cost 1000euros.....

And then more historic Hvar.

And for those of you interested in the food journey of a sad coeliac, here are some photos.

My dessert on wed night. Fruit with cream and raspberry coulis. OK

Pauls cream sponge with caramel cake desert.

this was the lamb shank for all of us .very nice.

My dessert the previous night. Chocolate biscuits decorating the plate. Not bad.

Paul's dessert was a cherry cheesecake concoction.

Today I am happy and grateful to have done the swim this morning as less than a quarter of the 26 people on board did so. Also relieved and happy and grateful for having survived the walking today including stairs and difficult limestone pavers.   Ans as always happy to have survived another day of no gluten.

Tomorrow we sail to Korcula and do a walk, have a swim and eat a lot. 

Just another day in Paradise.