1/3/11 Hvar Town and Island/ Intro to Dubrovnik

Old Hvar Town

Bura (cold, strong northerly) winds came in, making it the coldest day so far. Hvar is considered the most beautiful of the Croatian islands. It is large and lightly populated and tends to attract a wealthy crowd, none of whom are here this season. It is known for wines and lavender along with one of the oldest settlements in Croatia, now called Stari Grad (old city). We took a bus ride to Vrboska, over the old road past lavender, vineyards, and olive groves, but agriculture has declined greatly since a devastating fire 12 years ago.­­ 

Former lavendar fields. All the stones for the walls came from the fields -- they are VERY rocky!

Vrboska is noted for wines and we visited a winery there, Pinjata (Pin-Yah-Tah), which served not only white and red wines, but also grappa and proseco. A couple were pretty good, so we bought 4 bottles for just over $31. When we got back to Hvar Town, we had just enough time to hike to the fortress above the city. We were told it was 45 minutes up and 15 down. We must have set a new land speed record, because we made it up to the main gate in 12 minutes. Hugh and Jim set a pretty torrid pace and Bernie (Hugh’s friend from NC) and I nearly kept up. The fortress was closed, but we were still high enough to get some good photos of the harbor and village. It took us longer to go down than up! The sun was shining for a change, even though the winds were cold, and the sunlight on the sea was spectacular. We made it back to the boat with 30 minutes to spare. 

Hugh starting up to the fortress

Hvar Town from the fortress -- climbing warmed us up.

We cruised to Dubrovnik during the afternoon, and after dinner we took a bus into the old city for an orientation. I bundled up for the trip into town (bura winds getting worse). I was totally not prepared for the view of the city walls, which were spectacular! The city was pretty cold and deserted to say nothing of windy. We only had a half hour til the bus went back and we were ready to get back into a warm space.

Dubrovnik's Stradun (Main Street) at night