We awoke to find Sea Cloud positioned south of the island of Hvar and east of the island of Vis. At 8:00 that morning, the crew hit the rigging to set sails. Although we had only light winds from the east, perhaps seven knots, the ship made little more than two knots in a northerly direction. Mid-morning, our onboard Croatian cultural guide Petra Nosetic offered a very well received presentation titled, “History of Modern Croatia,” helping us all to understand the complicated conflicts and events that unfolded in the aftermath of the former Yugoslavia.
The captain ordered sails to be taken down later in the morning as the ship still had a distance to go to reach Korcula. Guests enjoyed a varied and tasty lunch on deck followed by siesta for many. Around 3:00 later that afternoon, the ship arrived at its anchor position in the channel between the island of Korcula and the Peljisac Peninsula. The ship’s speedy Zodiacs transported us to the quay of the charming walled town of Korcula where we proceeded on a walking tour. Along the way, we visited the Icon Museum, located in the meeting room and adjacent chapel for one of the town’s brotherhoods dating back to medieval times. We viewed the eclectic items and artwork of the cathedral’s treasury and the Cathedral of Saint Mark itself, with its memorable entrance sculpture and fantastical gargoyle ornamentation far above the little square. We finished the walking tour with a short history of Korcula’s famous son, Marco Polo. Guests then had some leisure time, and many guests headed to enjoy the view from a café overlooking the sea.
Just before 6:00 that evening, the group met in front of the town’s main gate, and we proceeded together to an auditorium for an energetic performance of Moreshka, a choreographed sword battle and dance performed on the island for centuries. Sparks flew—as did the occasional fragment from a broken sword!
Some guests chose to remain in town for dinner though the majority returned to the ship for Sea Cloud’s Croatian BBQ dinner on the Lido Deck, a satisfying end to a full and beautiful Dalmatian day.
