Korcula
Only the Expedition Leader could be disappointed that there was no wind to fill the sails on another gorgeous Dalmatian morning, with the limestone escarpment of the Peljesac Peninsula reflecting in the calm Adriatic waters. Nobody else complained about the lack of wind as we dropped anchor in a small group of islets on the west side of Korcula. With the air temperature rapidly climbing into the 70s, paddlers were out in kayaks right after breakfast and the swim ladder was down. It took a little bit of morning sun to get most of us in the water, which was NOT in the 70s, but it was refreshing nonetheless and you couldn’t beat the scenery.
National Geographic Expert Grace Fielder then gave a fascinating talk on the linguistic history of the Balkan countries, entitled “The Language Formerly Known as Serbo-Croatian.” We have certainly seen that the peoples of the countries through which we are traveling are very protective about their identities and their language!
We docked in the main town of Korcula for a very full afternoon that began with a guided walk through this quintessential medieval city. An oval plan fortified by limestone walls and towers, the town has a curved herringbone street pattern that protects residents from wind, intense sun, and invading medieval archers. The Venetian Bishop’s Palace, the Cathedral and other interiors belied the disproportionate wealth of this little Venetian port that claims to be the home of Marco Polo.
We then made a short drive out to the Birne vineyard and winery, featuring the red plavac mali grape that gave rise to the western zinfandel wines. Korcula is also known for its white grka grape, and we followed that with a variety of fruit liqueurs that were also made on the slopes behind Lumbarda Village.
The day concluded with a most interesting performance of the medieval Moreska sword dance, handed down virtually unchanged from fathers to sons and mothers to daughters for at least 500 years! It was amazing to think that we were witnessing symbolic dance and sword maneuvers that were entertainment to Venetian nobility 500 years ago! We were all thankful that the good guys (Red Army representing the Venetians) defeated the bad guys (the Black Army representing the Ottoman Turks) and that the princess was finally rescued by the Red King.
As sunset softened the limestone bastions abeam of the Panorama, most of us called it a night and wondered what kind of surprises could top this tomorrow.