Croatia Day 4

Mama Mia x 2

Today was a no agenda day – we had tossed around some ideas last night but decided we would let the day unfold with no set plans and with the ability for everyone to sleep in with no alarms going off. I actually slept until 8:15 and the girls until about 10:00 – a win because I knew they both needed sleep!

I sat out on the balcony watching an older gentleman for a while, who was sitting down by the shore packing sardines into tin cans, carefully alternating layers between fish and salt. He was so absolutely methodical in his actions that it was something he had clearly spent most of his years doing.

We discussed breakfast but decided against it and opted for smoothies instead and hiring a rental car so we could see the island’s interior and the other main town of Komiza. 

The morning was hot, and we quickly realized that walking around the other village might not be so fun. We decided we would first go to a beach and cool off for a bit, then go to Komiza for a late snack when, hopefully, the wind had time to pick up and the sun had time to lay down. We picked up a little manual Fiat for a six hour rental and headed up (and I mean up) and over the hills.

The scenery was beautiful as we passed vineyard after vineyard with olive groves dispersed throughout. The total population of Vis Island is about 3600, evident on our drive – we were all so surprised with how few homes we came across and just how remote everything was. 

The rental agency had suggested a few beaches that we could access that were not too far off the tarmac as we were not allowed to take the car on the dirt roads. It was funny because I had to pay cash for the rental but I told them, we always use our credit cards for the insurance in case anything happens. Their response was, “Well, if anything happens, we will give you back your cash and then we will charge your credit card so you will have the insurance to cover the damage.” Hmmm… but I trusted them – the owner was the same guy I rented the apartment and chartered the boat through. 

The beach we chose was the other sandy bottom beach on the island, Stončica. We parked as close as we could get and then made the five or so minute hike down to the isolated cove. There was a small restaurant there, a few families, and less than a half dozen boats moored – perfect! The water was the warmest we had experienced thus far, maybe because it was pretty shallow for quite a ways out but it still gave relief from the blazing hot sun. 

After an hour or so, we decided to move on to Komiza which is a less touristed town as there is no ferry port there. The day was still hot but seemed to be even more so on this side of the island. We walked down to the shore and a bit along the sea until we spotted a restaurant right on the water that looked like it was a nice spot for a drink. As soon as we walked in, I recognized the location from an article I had read about the filming locales on Vis – it was another scene from Mama Mia 2 (the arch where they dine overlooking the water).

The waiter could not have been nicer, welcoming us and wanting to know where we were from. When we told him the US, he said he had just had a table of Texans in and he went and retrieved a small lapel pin they had given him that was the shape of Texas decorated with their flag. I explained to him the meaning of the flag and their motto of being the “Lone Star State,” and he responded the Texan flag looks like the Chilean flag – no doubt it does!

The view from taverna Konoba Jastozera was fantastic, the location perfect, and our lunch was delicious – a plate of various seafoods, including sardines and anchovies (we could handle the sardines but the anchovies were a no go), as well as a platter of grilled calamari and eggplant.

And a few extra photos from our brief walk around Komiza:

We drove back to town, refilled the tank with a few liters of gas and made our way back to the apartment where we relaxed for a bit before readying ourselves for dinner.

Dinner was at a lively taverna where we sat outside under a sprawling lemon tree. Since we had had such a late lunch we opted for dinner at 8:00 and to split a few items, including grandpa’s shrimp (I couldn’t resist trying his recipe, I thought it so sweet) and a whole grilled fish. The waiter brought a platter with a choice of three different fish in various sizes. We settled on the red scorpion fish and a side salad of cucumber, tomato, olives and creamy feta. Our meal was excellent and sweet Noella surprised us by insisting on picking up the tab.

The decision was made to bring our evening to a close with a cone of gelato while strolling along the water to the ferry port and back. We remarked how many people were still out, now after 11:00, including many younger people seemingly without parents – the relaxed lifestyle that comes with living on an island and everyone knowing everyone…so very nice.