The ancient island of Korčula
Knotty Girl
Tanya/Roberto
Tue 8 Jun 2021 09:25
Our next destination was a short motor sail away, the densely forested island of Korčula that was first settled in 6BC. Much of its history survives today and the old town is filled with terracotta tiled houses huddled together surrounded by mighty fortified town walls looking out to sea. It’s reputed that explorer Marco Polo, the traveller, writer and Venetian merchant from the 13th Century, was born here - not that you would know it as his house wasn’t even signposted and was undergoing renovations when we visited. The old town within the fortress is quite small so it is easy to imagine it as a bustling hub back in the early 16th Century when 4,000 people lived there; sadly, this was soon to change when the plague struck in 1529 and over half of the population died. With our travels in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, it feels easier to imagine the tragedy that the townsfolk endured.
The island has been part of a number of empires over the years: Greek, Roman, Venetian and for a brief period Britain and then the Austro-Hungarian empire, with the 500 years of Venetian rule still visible with the Lion of Venice carved into the stonework of the medieval tower.
Perhaps we were spoiled by the charm of Dubrovnik but for us, whilst it was good to explore the old town of Korčula for a brief visit by mid afternoon we were ready to head on. Nevertheless, it was a delightful brief stopover, with the streets and stonework clean and almost as new - the lack of vehicular traffic in the old centres we have visited in Croatia and also Montenegro has clearly helped the stonework avoid the accumulation of grime and pollution seen in many other countries.
Our calm and secluded anchorage was close to the tiny island of Otočić Badija, a delightful spot with a 14th Century monastery with a backdrop of lush vegetation and a walking track around its perimeter. Roberto puts a lot of time into researching different anchorages and places to visit and it really makes a difference - on our dinghy ride back from the old town of Korčula we passed a number of yachts anchored close together with little view as we sped towards our idyllic location that we had all to ourselves.
Next morning, we were roused at 6am by the monastery bell tolling so the monastery is obviously still in active use. Soon after breakfast we were surrounded by sailing dinghies and to our surprise we found ourselves in the middle of a dinghy race course. Some of the dinghies came a bit too close for comfort and, uncertain of the capabilities of the sailing school pupils, we made the prudent choice, upped anchor and with not a breath of wind to be found, we motored towards the other end of the island for our next anchorage.