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  • Day 31

    Day 31 - Oysters & Wine in Ston

    September 3, 2020 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    We got up around 8.00am & Jackie went to book our next apartment for 3 nights that we had already chosen the previous evening. We couldn’t find it, presumably someone else had booked it. I was not too happy, because Jackie had persuaded me to wait until the morning to book it. Instead we chose one that we hadn’t been so keen on.

    We packed & paid our money in return for our passports that had been held to ransom, then said our goodbyes to Mr & Mrs Happy.

    We threw everything in the car & I turned the ignition key. The engine started but the radio (we think) started to emit a continuous loud beeping sound. We turned the engine on & off, studied the manual & trawled the internet, but we couldn’t find anything to explain what it was or more importantly how to make it stop. Jackie was for the second time just about to ring her friend’ Tim, when I started the engine a final time & the beeping was miraculously no more, but there was a strong smell of petrol.

    We rolled out of Orebić & started to climb up a mountain. The fuel gauge read that we had 348 miles in the tank, but within a few minutes I noticed in horror that it had gone down to 261 miles. I knew that it was just that we were driving our heavy car up steep climbs in 3rd gear, but I couldn’t help fearing that we had a fuel leak. We pulled over at a stunning viewpoint to check. We didn’t appear to have.

    At 10.45am, we arrived at the small port of Prapratno to catch the midday scheduled ferry to the Island of Mljet. We waited for a foreign miserable couple to buy their ticket, then we bought ours & discovered that the ferry wasn’t sailing until 1.00pm.

    We had an hour & a half to kill, so we drove to Ston to sus out the castle & wall & make sure it was open on Sunday when we would be next passing through. It will be. We had a stroll around the delightful ancient town. We then found a restaurant offering a taster plate of 3 local oysters & a glass of white wine for 40 kuna (£5). When in Rome & all that.... We sat down & Jackie ordered said starter plate, whilst I ordered just a beer. Jackie’s oysters came with 5 chunky slices of the freshest bread that I helped her with. It was a very pleasant interlude, nearly ruined by the parking attendant in the car park who was 2 cars away from noticing that our ticket had expired.

    We drove back to Prapratno & looked down on the beach that looked amazing. It turned out to be better from a distance. We saw that Mr & Mrs Miserable were sunbathing on it. We returned to the port & waited for our ferry sat in the dock.

    The ferry departed about a quarter full, including Mr & Mrs M who spent the whole 35 minute journey posing for photographs. Jackie hates them because they are about our age & think they are ‘trendy’. I didn’t know that was a crime!

    Otherwise it was a very relaxing crossing on a mirror like sea. Upon arrival at the port of Sobra, we drove south for 12 miles to our 2nd choice new home, Apartments Franka Saplunara in Saplunara. Our apartment is below a supermarket & above a restaurant of the same name. It sounds hideous, but it turns out the view from our balcony is to die for.

    The little old lady who we found in the restaurant & showed us to our apartment didn’t speak a word of English, but she laughed a lot & seemed very jolly which made everything ok. And we now have toilet paper!

    We were just getting our bags in when who should be being shown into the apartment next to us, but Mr & Mrs M. Unbelievable. They ended up moving to the next apartment along, I don’t know why.

    We packed our beach bags & set off for Plaza Blace (Blace Beach) a 20 minute walk from us along a coastal path. Blace Beach is a large sandy beach in the shape of a lagoon. It looked pretty, but was too quiet for Jackie. We found a suitable spot & we got ready for a cooling dip. I put on my swimmers & it was at this point that Jackie realised that she had left her bikini on the bed back at the apartment.

    I went for a long wade in the shallow warm water that failed to reach my waist, whilst Jackie watched from the shore in her bra & pants, like a naughty schoolgirl who had forgotten her P.E. kit. When I returned, Jackie told me she had conveniently been bitten 3 times & wanted to go back.

    She had the last laugh, when I fell ‘arse over tit’ into the wet sand whilst trying to get dressed. It was utterly embarrassing, particularly because I ended up demolishing one of the wooden ‘sculptures’ next to us.

    We walked back to our apartment, via the upstairs supermarket for refreshments. We then sat on our balcony with a glass of beer & watched (spied with our binoculars) the catamarans arriving in our bay for the evening.

    Dinner was in the restaurant below, where we met the owners of the apartments who apologised for not being home when we arrived & leaving her mum in charge. Jackie had calamari, whilst I had a mixed meat plate. It was nice, but not exceptional.

    Song of the Day : (Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding.
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