Rustic Fish Lunch on Three Island Tour from Dubrovnik, Croatia

An extra day in Dubrovnik, and what to do? How about a trip on the sea to explore three island beaches? Sounds perfect! And, the tour leaves at 11 am to arrive back by 6 pm with a 45 minute stop at 2 islands and a 2 and a half hour stop at the third. That is not all. Alcohol (including sljiva, of course), home made white and red wines, and all juices and sodas are included as well as a full lunch for what amounted to 35 Canadian dollars per person. Dubrovnik is very expensive, but these tours are not! We booked and after the market and morning coffee we headed out on the Adriatic Sea. Paradise. Truly. The day was at least 35 Celsius, and the breeze and the water were just what the doctor ordered. See that happy little face?

The waters were really topsey-turvey at first and I wondered how my sea legs were going to be, but I managed to get over the initial wave of panic and nausea. However, little Vanja, though vehemently denying that he was affected by the motion, later admitted he had some problems right after this happy start.

The choice of meals were fish (what else do you eat at the sea?), meat (what every Balkan raised person craves at every meal), and vegetarian. I was really surprised by the variety of options. They grilled the meat on the boat, and cut the bread on it, too. See the bread being cut and put back into the empty flour sack? The grill is right behind them. Believe me, this would not pass Health Inspection standards in Edmonton, but that is part of the fun and the experience.

Koločep was the first island for a lovely little dip in crystal waters on white sandy beaches. Yes, I took the photos instead of swimming in the sea. Crazy, I know, but I had no suit.  It was so hot, and the little dip was a perfect little refreshment before lunch. It was also wonderful to see the entire family joining in the fun.

I restrained my urge to buy a popsicle or some ice-cream as I knew dinner would be served as soon as we returned to the boat.

Hleb (bread), of course, massive slices are served with every meal. See the shipmate coming with his arms piled high with fish platters?

Fish? Fish? Fish? We had ordered 2 meat, 2 fish, and one vegetarian.

Now that is a fish! Are YOU brave enough to eat ME? YES! It was grilled with a ton of garlic, parsley and rosemary which you can see in the photo. The skin was crispy and flavourful (apparently). I was not brave enough!

I did taste the flesh, however, and found it delicate and so creamy though riddled with bones. I have to find out the English name for this fish.

Here you go! The mixed meat platter is below and I was very surprised to see what an effort was put into this after seeing the rustic fish meal. A piece of really delicious (I did taste it) grilled chicken, a couple of cevapi, a pork filet, and a sausage of some kind.

Little Vanja didn’t see that Pava had a drumstick on her meat platter until he viewed the photos later. He was crushed as he absolutely loved drumsticks!

And that was not all. The vegetarian meal still wasn’t served and by this time I had taken another meat meal for the hearty carnivores in my little pack. Then, the shipmate appeared with a massive platter of fish offering seconds (or thirds) to everyone. Yes, please. Our table accepted his offer! I found out later that the vegetarian meal was the same coleslaw with a couple of pieces of lovely cheese.

Look at the beautiful blue sea!

Then, our shipmate started going around encouraging people to throw their leftover fish back into the sea and it was amazing to see the gulls swoop down enmasse and catch them in mid-air. I was not so fast with my camera.

The second island was Sipan, and a perfect place to sit and have a coffee in the sea breeze after lunch. Do you see the palace in the background? It is such and important site, and there is also a very important church here, but no guide, no directions, and the tourist information was closed. I, and and other gal on the boat, finally found the man with the keys and the one guide to take us. We had 20 minutes, and were willing to pay whatever she asked, but she was waitressing at a little cafe right beside the palace and she was not allowed to leave to take us. So sad that local tourism is not accommodating people to pursue interests in art, architecture and history easily.

We also thought there would be a guide on the boat, but there was not. What do you expect for 35 Canadian, you might ask. We would have paid more for an informational trip. But, we learned from that point on to always ask for a personal guide. There were easy to find, and either free, or inexpensive. Lopud as another island paradise. The beaches were long, not too crowded, and the water so clean and warm. Here my new friend and I walked again up hill for miles trying to find a 15th century church to no avail. We tried, and it was fun looking (puff-puff).

We then hit the botanical gardens as we were told how spectacular they were. Suffice it to say that I didn’t even include a photo here as it was so poorly maintained and such a joke that a photo wouldn’t do the experience justice.

The island was ancient, and charming. Everyone was exhausted from the hit and splashing in the sea on the way home, but our ship mate did not disappoint. We were all so surprised when he came about again with his happy smile offering ice cold apples to everyone.

And if that was not enough, he even made sure each of us had a turn steering the ship. No one else was invited, but then, he loved getting his photo taken and no one else was quite as camera happy as me. That is our boat below (right).

What an experience. A full day spent on the sea, at island beaches, meeting such interesting people on the boat, and having such a rustic dining experience. Where else would one ever encounter such an experience? Nowhere else.