Elafiti Island Hopping

Island hopping. I never thought I would be able to use that verb, but the first day in Dubrovnik, Croatia, I lived the (semi)-extravagant lifestyle.

The ship was cleared quickly and we were allowed off around 8:30. After some extensive research, I had learned that a great thing to do in Croatia is to hop on a yacht and sail around the three closest islands, Sipan, Kolocep, and Lopud. Normally I like to keep my feet on the ground the first day in port, get my bearings of the city, and explore what other options I might be able to taken on for the rest of the days in port. This day, instead I got off one boat, and hopped on another.

We found the collection of yachts in the harbor and walked the docks trying to pick which one we wanted to ride. It was like shopping for expensive shoes, we just wanted to try each one out. The sailors seemed to fight over us, coming up offering us "discounted prices" to sail with them, but we finally settled on a small white yacht that looked in good enough condition to take us half an hour off the coast. Though I will say, the pirate ship options were fairly tempting too. Our tour included a half an hour stop on the first island, lunch and an hour and half leisure break on the second island, and three hours of free time on the last (and best) island odd the coast of Dubrovnik. It also included all you can eat and drink if we chose...all for 200 kuna! (Which was about $35) In the states we would never be able to find such a great deal.

The first island, Sipan, was perhaps the most eventful. With only 30 minutes to spare, we booked it off the boat and headed up a slow steep hill to visit a local church that overlooked the island. Though the walk up was hot, the tucked away sanctuary was beautiful, surrounded by greenery and flowers that gave the air a sweet smell. Trying to find our way back to the beach, we made sure to stay on the path because we had been warned that much of Croatia still is riddled with uncovered mines from the war. Losing a limb would certainly put a damper on the morning. Though no more than ten minutes later, Hope was down clutching her foot as if she had lost a limb. Don't worry, she didn't step on a mine, but when we got to the beach, she was so excited she ran into the water and was taken down by a small mine of the sea- a sea urchin. Purple and spiky, the porcupines of the sea are all over the coast of Croatia, haunting any swimmer who dares enter their waters. Unfortunately Hope was a victim of it's spears and ended up with tiny little slivers of it in her foot. Luckily a Swedish family passed by and the father took pity on us, giving us tweezers to pluck them out, but her foot would be sore for a while.

After helping Hope hobble back to the boat, we headed to the second island to have lunch. I wasn't expecting much since almost every single person around is ordered the fish, and the four other girls and myself ordered the chicken. Dubrovnik is known for having great seafood, so why we all picked the chicken, I'm not sure, but it was delicious! The seasoning was some kind of curry, and I could eat the bread with olive oil and vinegar for days. The crew also gave us two bottles of homemade wine, red and white, to split between the five of us. With full bellies, we waddled off the boat when we were finished to take a dip off the dock. Delicately dancing over sea urchins and tactfully floating above the rocks we all successfully avoided and sea urchins that may have been lurking. The water was cool and refreshing, but trying to stay afloat was quite a work out so heading back to the boat was welcomed at the end.

The last island, Lopad, was by far my favorite. It is easy to see why Dubrovnik is considered the gem of the Mediterranean because whether it's on the coast or on a near by island, the water is always a clear, vibrant blue framed by rich green trees. On Lopad we were advised to head to the other side of the island to the "Sandy Beach" for a nice swim. The crew said it was only a 20 minute walk, so we decided to walk the path. Ten minutes in and the short walk quickly became a hot hike. We did not realize that the walk was actually over a mountain. So Alyssa (a girl from Lynchburg College) expertly found us a ride on a golf cart by hitching hiking. As we whizzed passed other beach-seekers the driver told us the walk was actually about 45 minutes, but at our rate would have taken us a bit longer... The golf cart ride was well worth it because the beach scenery was beautiful. The beach was down a hill in a cove-like surrounding with a few restaurants lining the swimming area. We spent the majority of the day in the water, though it was fairly shallow. The sun drained us, so we were ready to go back after 3 hours were up. Though with no SASers around, it was fun to relax in what we felt was our little secret of the Elafiti Islands.