As the birthplace of Marco Polo, the island of Korčula, off Croatia’s southern coast, offered an historically charged reprieve from my nearly non-stop travel schedule.
With only day packs in hand, Jules and I spent our days lounging on beaches and ambling through narrow town streets lined with crumbling limestone buildings dating back to the 10th century.
Korčula, with a population of about 16,000 and just over 100 sq. miles of land, is a quaint and idyllic island haven.
As budget-minded 21 year olds, our priorities were somewhat distorted; we opted to forego accommodation in favor of spending our money on drinks.
Without a place to stay, we spent an afternoon hiking along the island’s shoreline in search of the perfect place to crash for the night.
What we found was a fairly private boat dock jutting out into the sea.
Considering it was summer (re: warm) we threw down our towels, uncorked a bottle of wine and laid out for the evening.
Obviously squatting on a concrete slab along a rocky coast isn’t for everyone. But for us – after sleeping in hostel after hostel of varying cleanliness – it was ideal.
We basked in the breeze of our gorgeous, private, open-air, lodging in the middle of the Adriatic Sea while debating where we would head next…
* For more Photo Friday, sail over to Delicious Baby!
**Come back next week for more on the beautiful Croatian Islands.
You truly brought me back to my youthful days of backpacking in Europe. Enjoy every minute – you will miss it when you’re my age (48). Croatia is very high on my must-see list and I keep stumbling on beautiful blog posts like yours about it. Gotta go soon. Anyway, I’m a new follower on your blog – check out mine at http://www.toeuropewithkids.com/.
Have fun!
Korčula is gorgeous island! We also like a lot island Vis. There you can find freedom and real nature mixed with charm of old Dalmatian cities.
:)))