Oh, What a View...

Hvar Island, Croatia

September 25, 2007
N43°09.936
E016°26.542

The hour and a half ferry ride from Split to Hvar Island was as picturesque as one could imagine. All of the tiny islands and white tipped sailboats scattered across the bright blue waters of the Adriatic Sea held our attention for the entire crossing.

There were dozens of sailboats coasting across the water on the remarkably sunny day. As we passed, I could see the sun-burnt smiles of those on board and thought to myself how much fun it would be to just sail the waters of the Adriatic, Aegean and Mediterranean with no particular destination. A group of us could sip wine, drink cold beer, eat fresh seafood, and soak-up the sun, only occasionally stopping at a secluded beach on a tiny island… not a care in the world. Marc contradicted my dream by telling me I wouldn’t last six hours cooped up on a sailboat in the open waters, no showers, no internet and no fancy kitchen. He said I would go crazy and he’d be fishing me out of the sea after I jumped overboard.

When the ferry reached Hvar Town there was a bit of chaos on the pier with all of the locals trying to rent out their rooms for the night. We already booked a place to stay and quickly pushed our way through the throng, acting like we knew where we were going, even though we didn’t have a clue. We found the first tourist office to help us with directions.

Susan and Paul, an Australian couple we met in Cesky Krumlov, recommended Bicanic Apartments to us based on their daughter’s visit to Croatia. We looked it up on the internet, liked what we saw and locked ourselves in a few weeks back. It’s a good thing since they’re packed. Apparently we missed Susan and Paul by a few days; they recently left Hvar Island and headed back to Australia.

When Miro, our host at Bicanic Apartments, showed us our unit we walked straight to the balcony to check out the views. The balcony has incredible panoramic views of Hvar Town, the harbor and, most importantly, the crystal blue waters surrounding the popular tourist island. We were already smitten with our little apartment, outfitted with a small kitchen, perfect for our next five nights in one location.

In fact, after a quick trip to the local market, we just sat on the balcony for the rest of the afternoon reading, admiring the views and breathing the air. And, in case we got tired of sitting on the balcony, we could take a break, lie down on the bed, and admire the magnificent view from a soft pillow. This is by far the best view we’ve had on our trip so far. I think it even edges out the sweeping views of the Golden Gate Bridge from our stay at Angela’s place—tough, I know.

Tomorrow we’ll venture out a little more to explore the island and what it has to offer. One thing we know for sure—there is a lot of fresh seafood.