Day 4 - Setting Sail, Swimming and a Long Climb

SElliott
5 days ago
2 min read

Today was the day when we finally sailed from Dubrovnik! However, before we continued on our journey North we had a treat - sailing South to view the old town from the sea. A great photo opportunity whilst enjoying champagne and chocolates.

Dubrovnik Old Town From Sea

Then we sailed North along the coast to the Elaphiti Islands. It was a very relaxing journey, Mum and I spent most of the day on the lounge deck enjoying the view and either reading or writing our holiday diaries.

The Elaphiti Islands are an archipelago of 6 islands and many small islets. Only three of the islands are inhabitated – Loupid, Kolocep and Sipan. The archipelago gets its name from the Greek word “elafos”, meaning “deer”. I thought it would mean Elephant but maybe the Greeks didn’t know about Elephants.

The islands are particularly famous as the most skilful mariners came from here, given their strategic importance due to their location out to sea in front of Dubrovnik. In fact the Elaphiti Islands came under the control of the Republic of Dubrovnik from 1272. Sipan is the largest of the three main islands and is nicknamed the Golden Island after its olive oil. It boasts a record number of olive trees compared to the population and its total surface. The island was a desirable destination for the aristocracy of the Republic of Dubrovnik. They loved the island’s peacefulness and fertile lands so much that they decided to build their summer manors there.

We stopped down the coast from Sipan on Otok Jakljan where the boat moored up to allow us the opportunity to have a swim. The water is so clear, you can see the fishes and the bottom of the sea. Croatia doesn’t have many, if any, sand beaches so the sea bottom is all stony. The wind was picking up by lunchtime so we had lunch whilst sailing to one of the two main villages on Sipan Island, Sipanska Luka. By the time lunch had ended we had arrived.

This afternoon we had two options – free time or a walk around Sipanska Luka where we had moored. Rather than being shown around the 30-house settlement, Mum and I decided to walk to the top of the tallest mountain on the island, Velji Vrh (234m) - 2.06 miles there and 2.06 miles down through really dry looking countryside. It was mostly deserted on the way apart from a couple of churches which were pretty but didn’t have any windows. One had a bell you could ring from the outside. We followed the road up until it dwindled to a stony sheep track. There were lovely views over the west side of the island to the mainland. It was a nice walk but would have been a lot better if the weather hadn’t have been so hot!