Modern day Marco Polos

Day 20
Korcula, Croatia

Local legend is that Marco Polo was born in this town in 1254. Because of this, it seemed appropriate enough that today we set out to do our own exploring of an unfamiliar land. Our mode of transportation was a bit different than Polo’s grand vessels — instead, we secured an amazing, American-made, Chevrolet Spark. With Burt at the wheel, and me as his first-mate (helping to direct us through the island’s maze of six streets and about as many FM radio stations) we set out to see Korcula with no real plan.

Under partly cloudy skies, we first visited Korcula Town, the most populous city with about 3,000 residents. It’s a peaceful medieval Dalmatian town, with grey-stone houses nestled along the crystal clear waters of the Adriatic Sea. The highlight is St. Mark’s Cathedral, built of Korcula limestone in the 15th century by Italian and local artisans.

Afterwards, we hopped in the Spark and hit the road. Korcula Island is only about 47 kilometers wide, so our first destination was Vela Luka, on the other coast. Well known for its olive oil, we stopped at an Italian restaurant for some lunch, and then headed for Vela Spilije — or, as the signs correctly described, the “Big Cave.”

The windy roads along the coast brought us back east, through Blato, Prizba, Brna and Smokvica. These are small towns, tucked into hillsides and built in the traditional Dalmatia style, with stone walls and orange tile roofs. We pulled over in Cara, best known for Croatian wine. The friendly proprietor at Bona – Kapjica invited us into his home to try some of the wine and grappa that his family has been producing for generations.

Tired from the day’s driving and with the skies opening to rain, we made our way back to Korcula Town, where we learned first-hand how expensive gas in Europe really is. We leave at 6 a.m. tomorrow for Hvar — the sunniest city in all of Croatia with 2,724 hours of sunshine each year. Let’s hope that includes our next 48 hours there.