Yes, Please: Korcula

Our next stop was Korcula (KOHR-choo-lah), a small fishing island off the coast.  We took a chartered van to get there, thinking that the vehicle would take a car ferry to reach the island.  We realized just how off we were when the van stopped, the driver got out, and we were escorted to a small boat.  Our luggage was thrown precariously on top, and we set off on the quick journey over to the island, hoping our bags would survive the trip (spoiler alert: they did!).

Our Airbnb was out of a dream.  Just a short, scenic walk from the old town and up several flights of stairs was our quaint, one-bedroom apartment and terrace.  The view was stunning (below), and walking toward the sea revealed private beach access.  We could've happily spent the entire week here.

The sunsets in Korcula were stunning, and fortunately we got to enjoy a couple!

Yachting is a super popular way to see Croatia.  In fact, it's a whole thing.  We saw so many amazing boats in the harbor: we're talking Wolf of Wall Street boats.  We were hoping to stumble upon a cute captain or ship's guest that night, but we didn't garner any invites. 

For dinner, we ate at U Maje I Tonke (at least we think we did-the restaurant name seems to have changed to Aterina).  Their sampler platter was delicious, with olives, sardines prepared in lots of different ways, caramelized onions, grilled vegetables, and then some.

Later that night we went to Massimo Bar, which can only be described as a rook in chess (see below), perched on the edge of the old town.  It has multiple levels with different vibes, and of course we chose the roof level, accessed by a steep ladder and serviced by a terribly basic exterior dumb waiter, used to bring up drinks from the bar below.  I was excited to order a gin lemon, a drink I enjoyed frequently in Italy, since we don't seem to have lemon-flavored Schwepps in the states.  The guy looked at me quizzically, and sure enough, as feared, I received straight gin on the rocks with a lime.  Oh well; that didn't stop me.

We spent some time up there chatting with a German man who had "fit the gap" on a men's yachting trip, which the group does on a bi-annual basis.  Apparently, only 2/10 of the guys plan the trip each time, and it is a complete surprise to the others where they are going.  This guy didn't even know the name of the island we were on, he was so completely along for the ride!  Quite the opposite of Brittany's and my painstakingly researched, heavily-booked-in-advance itinerary.

The next day we explored a bit of the old town, and then spent the afternoon swimming in the Mediterranean (swoon) and snacking on our terrace. 

Later we ended up on a romantic sunset cruise (we seriously thought it was a group thing), and got a private tour around the harbor and small neighboring islands.  Our captain was very sweet, and we even got to try some locally home-made wine. 

Later that night, we went to see the Moreška, a medieval "folk dance meets sword fight".  To round out the performance, they started with a traditional couples dance (video below), then an all-female A Capella group performed, and finally we saw the Moreška sword dance, in which the red king fights to reclaim his bride from the black king.  You literally see sparks fly!  Apparently this tradition used to take place in many Mediterranean cultures, but Korcula is the only community to keep it alive today.  It was so much fun!