Luka Polace on Mljet Island just as it was 1000 years ago

Something very fetching about Croatia which might be due to a lack of earth quakes is that it all looks like it did in the 11th century or earlier. Everything is still standing, still inhabited, still used. It is clean, organised, beautiful but expensive. What would cost $20 in Greece for berthing, power and electricity on the town wall costs $120 to $150 here and a good feed is right up there with Sydney prices.

We had lost three days out of Lisa's 8 days and needed to get her to Split where she could fly out on the 11th so it meant hot footing it to see as much as possible before then.

Our first stop Luka Polace on Mljet Island. A stunning bay surrounded by the thousand year old town we slime lined onto the wall. Here there are two things of note...

An ancient Monastery situated on a small island in the middle of a 'lake'. It is actually an inlet but inaccessible by boat. A bus trip gets you to the lake, a ferry to the monastery. Ho Humm....

It was a monastery, then a hotel and soon to be a restored monastery but we were unable to see the restorations leaving us doubting there were any actually going on.

We did manage a luxurious swim, got chatting at the konoba (taverna) and missed our ferry ride. $30 got us a two minute taxi boat ride which was more than we'd paid in total...













And then there was the Cooking over the Belle..

Gather some fresh produce and get a fire going using locally pruned wood.

Take a large specially designed aluminium bowl, prepare a meal that will fit underneath it. Cover the meal with the upturned bowl and cover that in hot coals. The result is the very essence of this ancient place.

The bowls have a special rim to hold the coals.













Lamb and potatoes. What we couldn't eat, we took home. This meal will stay with us until we have the next one some time in the very near future.

We ate at this gorgeous spot and planned an early start to the famous Korcula in the morning