Croatia: The Pakleni Otoci (day 5)

The Pakleni Otici are a chain of eleven wooded islands with crystal clean seas, hidden beaches and deserted lagoons just to the west of Hvar Town. A few destinations can be reached by water taxi on the islands but for the most part hiring your own boat for the day is the best way to explore it all.

And that is just what we do, surprised at how inexpensive the cost is. We are also surprised that absolutely no experience is required. We are quickly shown the knot for tying to a dock and when to throw the anchor over 20 metres from the dock. And that is it.

We round the first little island to find a beautiful little beach and cove.

We immediately anchor off shore, jump overboard and swim ashore. It turns out to be a naturist beach (nude). We figure that one out by sight.

We have extended trouble getting our anchor up until Nigel realises we should drift back over it if it is wedged. It works, but not before we call one of the operators to come and rescue us. We call him back right away. As we set off we are met by a sailing boat of middle aged men calling out to us...to come back and join them on the beach? I don't know.

 The next bay, Stipanska, is abandoned for the off season. We dock and swim some more in the clear waters. There is a series of huts, a stage, and a bar/restaurant (all shut). Carpi Diem, the famous Hvar Town club, hosts all night events here. We spot an old poster in town with Boy George as D.J. for an event. During our boating around the islands we are continuously encountering yachts and large sail boats anchored off shore. We start to get a feel that there is a great life of leisure lived by a section of the population that we know very little about. Above we sea a huge yacht filled with young people. From it comes a jetski and a speed boat pulling a water skiier. The rest of the youth lay on deck tanning or jump off the boat to swim. We find a great little inlet off of the main island around the far side that we anchor for lunch.
The water is so clear we often mistake quite deep water for shallow as we can see every rock on the bottom.
 

By this time we have the hang of anchoring and tying down our boat.

One last swim before we set off again. We intend to round all the islands in a day and have our boat back by 6pm for a concert.

But the other tip of the islands is very choppy and rough. The wind has picked up and with the waves it is hard to tell how much distance is travelled in our little 5 hp boat.

We finally make it around the other side and head towards Hvar Town.

We drop the boat just by our apartment and head out again.

For our last night in Hvar we treat ourselves to a traditional Dalmation meal at Kenoba Menego. The Lonely Planet describes it as "a rustic old house on the stairway towards the Fortica kept as simple and authentic as possible. No grill, no pizza, no Coca-Cola. The place is decked out in Hvar antiques, the staff wear traditional outfits, the service is informative, and the marinated meats, cheeses and vegetables are prepared the old-fashioned Dalmation way." The "drunken fig" dessert and house wine are great!
 

We are also pleased to find out we have caught the tail end of the Hvar Summer Festival which runs all summer and into late September. We catch a concert at the Franciscan Monastary that night with a 4 piece band, a tenor (Stefan Kokoskov) and soprano (Alma Karmelic). It is excellent fun.

When that concert is done we head over to the main square to get gelato and watch the main stage show of Croatian musicians (whom we still have not learned the name of).

Nigel watches the singer air-guitar through every song and wonders aloud why he just doesn't learn guitar.