Brač Island

We left Hvar in the morning to head to our next destination. We went to bed the night before as the fourth boat in a boat sandwich and were surprised to wake up with an harbour view. It has been eye-opening how slick the Croatian cruise captains and sailors are. The whole docking or departure operation is choreographed and seamless. Anchoring off beaches and lowering access ladders are a doddle for them. We realise that it is not their first rodeo!  And the boats can be so quiet. We may be having breakfast (eating way too much) and suddenly realise that we are under way, usually to our next swim stop.

Over the length of the cruise, we have got into a very calming and pleasant routine: tea in bed (such a chore:  walk to the machine … up a flight of stairs and back again) then breakfast. Morning briefing about the day then swim stop. Lunch (a delicious three-course meal) then docking at our next destination. Exploration, guided tour, wine tasting, free time or organised dinner. So nice.

Brač Island has so much history that we are only scratching the surface. We docked at a very quiet village, Milna. If Hvar was the Mediterranean as it once was, Milna is the Mediterranean as it should be. Very much off the tourist trail, the village is without a plethora of jewellery stores, trinket shops and other tourist paraphernalia concessions. There were several harbour-side taverns, only a few clothing stores and a cuple of supermarket/mixed businesses. We feel we visited the place before it has been commercialised.

We strolled the promenade, swam off the rock platforms (avoiding the sea urchins lying in ambush) and then joined our island/wine tour. Travelling in open sided, former Yugoslavian Army troop carriers, we bounced along dusty, narrow country lanes, climbed to a vantage point above Milna then descended to a family run winery. We were introduced to the winemakers three wines, heard about his experimental learning curve then enjoyed home-made delights and a talk from the wine makers wife. She runs the promotional side, cooks up a storm and educates the visitors. We felt privileged to visit, gain insights into their demanding and non-stop work and enjoyed the wines and food.

We returned to the village, relocated to a harbour-side wine bar and spent the next few hours drinking more local wines, talking rubbish and laughing way too much. The boat had berthed a different way today, stern to harbour. No boat sardines for us tonight (that was for other boat). We slept with the door open, enjoyed nighttime reflections and felt very lucky to be on such a wonderful ship (though we have created a ‘constructive comments’ list for feedback!)