Island hopping

The cabin was invaded by flashes of light in the middle of night. When peering out across the still waters to the islands of the Dalmatian coast in the distance the sky was alive. Lit up by dancing lightning bolts - a far off light show that was briefly exposing an eerie landscape of sea, islands, high cumulus clouds with powerful threads ripping through the sky. Each flash a different view, becoming an instant memory - and nothing more as the desire to try and capture it forever was beyond the ability of the viewer to perform. Just to make the effort to look out the port hole and observe it at all was significant given the previous evenings revallry. It did not bode well that those storms were over the islands we were heading towards next morning. And right on time at 5:00am the vessel shuddered to life.

The vibration of the powerful engines rippled through its solid infrastructure and thus awkwardly resonating into the aching heads of last night revellers. Leaving the port behind we headed west with the rising sun in our wake and the entire ecosphere charged with power, anticipation and possibilities. We were the first vessel into the port of Polema on the Island of Mljet, certainly not the last. Within an hour there were 9 large vessels all tied up next to each other. People on boat nine had to negotiate their way through the maze of 8 others just to get on solid land. It was controlled chaos later on when we were the first to want to leave. Before that though we had an island to explore. This place is well attuned to reaping the benefits of the tourist age. This was obvious by the amount of push bike hire places and the sheer volume of wheels available for rent. If they were all consumed at once the town would be a tangle of steel, rubber, hats, towels and cameras with no flowing movement and just the general hum of tourists saying how much fun they were having via their devices to distant recipients. Luckily for us this is off season and as such we were the first of only a few to mount the aluminium steeds and head of into the national Park. This was a fun exercise and possibly the only we'll get for the week. The lakes have an underlying green tinge which we spent the entire time trying to capture (via device of course), there is an old monastery on an island which we thankfully did not have to be forced to visit.

We were taking selfies across the serene waters towards it when a boatload arrived there completely disrupting the ambience. Happy to get on our bikes and treadle away from the obnoxious accents as they echoed across the still water. The place is a swimming paradise and we possibly missed a great opportunity to try it out the grey skies, coolish air and thoughts of good coffee stopped us from considering using our swimming gear that was in the basket. In hindsight we should've as we had the whole place pretty much to ourselves. After circumnavigating the lakes and getting back to port we effected some shopping and back on the boat headed off to the island of Korcula with storms chasing us in a race to get there. It was a tight finish. Just as we arrived the heavens opened up, lightning, immediate thunder and walls of water cascading down. Spectacular stuff.

This place is often the highlight of the tour. In this case we spent the whole time dodging rain, in and out of churches and doorways and eventually, wine bars and restaurants. It would be well worth visiting on a nice day. So we might come back even though there are no complaints from today. We had a very entertaining guided walking tour providing history, insights and useful tips. Another old town - well preserved with a history that goes back to the bronze age. Like everyone else they've been invaded, overrun, controlled by others, deceived, deprived and generally pissed off. They have two saving graces : one was an English commander in WW2 who ignored orders and didn't destroy the place and now tourism. I hope they can survive this invading horde as the old city walls seem pretty ineffective now. Having hooked up with some delightful kiwis there has been lots of laughs, consumption and most importantly good will flying around all over the place.

As the sun decided to leave this side of the orb there were positive signs the skies may clear tomorrow. Certainly won't be able to check in the middle of the night as we are sandwiched between other ships and the view out is of another vessels port hole.