Korcula, Croatia
As breakfast was finishing, the Panorama was on approach to the port town on the island of Korcula. We would be spending the entire day on this island, visiting the port town of the same name, enjoying some free time in town and then making a short excursion to see more of the island, on our way to one of the many well known local wineries on the island of Korcula.
In the late morning, our local guides Andrea and Katja met us at the dock, where our group was divided into two smaller groups for a walking tour of Korcula town. This medieval city was designed with a herringbone street pattern, offset and sloped to protect from wind, sun and rain. We entered by the main entrance, Land gate, making our way up a sweeping stairway and under an arch displaying a large carved lion, a feature we had seen in architecture before on our journey along the Dalmatian Coast. The island of Korcula was part of the Venetian Empire from the 14th to the 18th centuries leaving its constant marker of stone lions. As we passed under the arch and made our way towards the center of the old town, the buildings were very reminiscent of Italy, most especially Venice, with lions and gargoyles of very interesting character, decorating every corner, roof, and window. We visited the Bishop’s Palace where sketches and drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Tiepolo were on display along with an unusually rich collection of religious vestments and a basement filled from floor to ceiling with the implements that would have been part of a kitchen of the 18th century. Leaving through the basement exit, we threaded our way through the narrow streets making a stop at the Church of All Saints. Large collections of Byzantine icons were on display in every room leading into the church itself, from the entry room across the street via a contained stone bridge and into the church itself, the walls told a story in icons that had been brought to Korcula by the All Saints’ Brotherhood. These icons were looted from Greek Orthodox churches on the island of Crete at the end of the Candia War (on the pretense of saving them from falling into infidel hands), when Venice had to hand over the island to the Ottoman Turks. Leaving once again from a street side exit our groups took another narrow street and made our way back to the center of town and a visit to St. Mark’s Cathedral, a rather grand example of the famous stonemasons and their mastery of setting stones and carving the excellent stone of the island of Korcula.
Our last stop in town was a very famous, though tiny bakery. Cukarin is located in one of the many tiny alleys. Today was not only the Fall Equinox and a full moon, but the birthday of the owner as well. We found out that this bakery is well known all over Croatia and to our delight we were able to sample several of her most famous confections! The remainder of the morning was given to free time. Many of us wandered the small streets looking for just the right treasure to bring home from Croatia. Filigree jewelry, something, that has reached near perfection in its creation along the Dalmatian Coast was available in several small shops, with time to enjoy many of us relaxed and learned about the creation of this unusual and intricately detailed craft and even tried on several pieces.
The Panorama remained at the dock all day, we could return to have lunch on board at our leisure or enjoy a restaurant or café in town. After lunch, more time to wander through town, take a long walk or enjoy a swim were all possible options. In the late afternoon, Andrea met us to escort us to a waiting bus that would take us out of town, for a short scenic tour of a small part of Korcula Island. Our destination was the Milina – Bire family winery in the village of Lumbarda. This winery has been in the Milina – Bire family for over 50 years and two of their wines have won awards in Croatia. The winery was also a working farm, so along with lovely Croatian wine, we were treated to a lovely spread of home smoked ham, cheese, salted fish and tomatoes fresh from the garden. Toasting to our good fortune on this warm afternoon was only the lead-in to the rest of our afternoon and evening. After fond farewells, we returned by bus to Korcula and the summer theatre for a performance of traditional Moreska Sword dancing. As this performance ended and we slowly made our way back to the Panorama, the full harvest moon was rising over Bokar Tower at the north end of old town; a fitting close to our third day in Croatia.
