Mljet National Park & Korcula Town, Croatia
We awoke this morning to find the Panorama cruising along the north shore of the Island of Mljet. The wooded hills of this beautiful coast were a nice change from the busy town of Dubrovnik. Legend says that Odysseus holed up here with the nymph Calypso for a good bit of time. At the Western end of the island lays Mljet National Park and our destination for the morning. During breakfast the deck staff picked up our mooring near the small community of Pomena and our tender was alongside waiting to take us ashore shortly after.
The morning was spent exploring the park. Most of us boarded another small boat on the inland lake named Veliko jezero (Big Lake) to visit St. Mary’s Island. On the island is a Benedictine monastery that was established in the 12th century. Once we had toured the island we returned to our “base camp” that we had established on a small beach between the big lake and Malo jezero (small lake). Both of these lakes are joined with the sea via a small channel, but the water was much warmer than the Adriatic due to the shallow depths and limited tidal flow. From here we branched out into various activities. Some guests went off on a bike ride to experience the park on their own while others decided to do this journey on foot. Many of us remained at the beach and enjoyed the warmer water and sunshine.
During lunch we got underway for the town of Korcula located on the island of the same name. The winds were light but we raised the sails and secured the engines for bit of “quiet running” en route to our next destination. The approach to Korcula was impressive due to the medieval fortifications that still stand today. The town itself sits on small hill or hummock and the narrow streets of the inside walls branch off in a herringbone pattern. This was done in order to minimize the effects of the wind and the sun. Once the ship was alongside we headed off for a guided walk of the city and an opportunity inspect this unique layout firsthand.
Before we could call our visit to Korcula complete we had to experience the Moreska sword dance. This is a traditional dance that was once very common throughout the Mediterranean. The story of the dance has a White king and his forces (dressed in red) in conflict with a Black king and his troops (dressed in black) at odds over Bula (a veiled woman). The Black king has captured Bula from the White king and the dance represents the battle to win this heroine back. Intricate dance moves combined with complicated sword clashes made for a great performance. This story ends as it should with the Black King being defeated and with Bula returning to her true love.
We awoke this morning to find the Panorama cruising along the north shore of the Island of Mljet. The wooded hills of this beautiful coast were a nice change from the busy town of Dubrovnik. Legend says that Odysseus holed up here with the nymph Calypso for a good bit of time. At the Western end of the island lays Mljet National Park and our destination for the morning. During breakfast the deck staff picked up our mooring near the small community of Pomena and our tender was alongside waiting to take us ashore shortly after.
The morning was spent exploring the park. Most of us boarded another small boat on the inland lake named Veliko jezero (Big Lake) to visit St. Mary’s Island. On the island is a Benedictine monastery that was established in the 12th century. Once we had toured the island we returned to our “base camp” that we had established on a small beach between the big lake and Malo jezero (small lake). Both of these lakes are joined with the sea via a small channel, but the water was much warmer than the Adriatic due to the shallow depths and limited tidal flow. From here we branched out into various activities. Some guests went off on a bike ride to experience the park on their own while others decided to do this journey on foot. Many of us remained at the beach and enjoyed the warmer water and sunshine.
During lunch we got underway for the town of Korcula located on the island of the same name. The winds were light but we raised the sails and secured the engines for bit of “quiet running” en route to our next destination. The approach to Korcula was impressive due to the medieval fortifications that still stand today. The town itself sits on small hill or hummock and the narrow streets of the inside walls branch off in a herringbone pattern. This was done in order to minimize the effects of the wind and the sun. Once the ship was alongside we headed off for a guided walk of the city and an opportunity inspect this unique layout firsthand.
Before we could call our visit to Korcula complete we had to experience the Moreska sword dance. This is a traditional dance that was once very common throughout the Mediterranean. The story of the dance has a White king and his forces (dressed in red) in conflict with a Black king and his troops (dressed in black) at odds over Bula (a veiled woman). The Black king has captured Bula from the White king and the dance represents the battle to win this heroine back. Intricate dance moves combined with complicated sword clashes made for a great performance. This story ends as it should with the Black King being defeated and with Bula returning to her true love.
