The first village we reached was Brusje. This village is predominantly in charge of all the lavender grown on the island. They harvest it and produce all the various lavender products. Outside of Brusje, are acres of lavender fields. In about 2 weeks, the lavender would be blooming and the entire countryside becomes purple. That would have been great to see, I thought we might get lucky and see some blooming, but we were just too early.
Grablji was the next little town. We went down the hillside on the scooter, but really felt like we would be disturbing the village with our noisy scooter. The village seemed to still be sleeping. Not a peep anywhere.
Back on the old road, we made various stops to explore areas and do some short walks. The scooter is really the best way to explore the island. From the ridgeline, we could see Stari Grad far below. It was going to be a fun ride down into the town. I think we coasted the entire 5 miles down. By the time we got to Stari Grad, we had 1/2 tank left of gas and still alot of exploring to do. When I asked a local where the nearest gas station was, I was informed they did not have one. Gas could only be purchased in Hvar and Jelsa. I really thought I had misunderstood. The town had a big boat harbor and many locals were driving their cars around. We asked a second man, who confirmed that there was no gas in Stari Grad. Note, Stari Grad is the biggest town on the entire island. Since it was Sunday, most places were closed. Fortunately, the local market was open so we got some lunch items and had a picnic in the park.
Vrboska was the next stop. We were now entering wine country. Everyone seemed to have their own wine vineyards. Most gardens had olive trees, orange trees, lemon trees and grape vines. The red poppies were in full bloom among all the vineyards. Vrboska is called "little Venice" by the locals. I really don't think anyone there has been to Venice. One small, slightly arched bridge that goes over a waterway does not qualify as a Venetian bridge. The town was very pretty though. Lots of boats moored up waiting for the summer season to begin. Shop owners were doing maintenance work while a group of older men played boci ball.
Jelsa was alot like Vrboska...a pretty harbor, but much busier. They did have one thing though...a gas station that was open. It's always a relief not having to worry about running out of gas in the middle of an island. After Jelsa, we were now having to take the main road. There were some steep grades and a long tunnel. Cars passing us were unusually polite.
Dubovica was suppose to be our next stop. We passed the path down to the village twice. Far below the main road was a tiny little village with 4 houses on a pristine piece of beach. We got half way down and then realized the climb back up would be an absolute bitch. There were no roads to the village. Who ever lived down there really had to plan well for their supplies, not to mention what it would be like to have to carry down everything.
Zarace was the next village we drove through. It's now a UNESCO site but it did not look any different than any of the other small villages clinging to the mountains overlooking the ocean.
Finally we reached Milna. Iris had told us about the village of Malo Grablje. It was now a ghost town and could be reached on foot from Milna. It was a 30 minute hike up to Malo Grablje. I'm so glad we saved time to visit this place. Nobody was there. We had it all to ourselves and it really was an abandoned village in decay and overgrown. The stone village was originally the home of the local clan of Tudors. Some of the houses are several centuries old. This was a true treasure to find thanks to Iris. It was not on any of our maps.
We arrived back in Hvar a little before 6pm and returned the scooter. Ivanka met us there by 6pm with our bags as promised. She gave us big hugs goodbye and told us to please come visit her and her island again.
We caught the 7pm catamaran to Split. It was an easy crossing and we arrived in Split by 8pm. Upon disembarking the boat, we were greeted by a barrage of Sobe owners wanting to provide us with lodging. We made our way to Hotel Luxe. I had splurged a bit on our lodging in Split since Matt would be having his birthday here. Outside, the hotel looked nothing like the photo on their website. Inside was like walking into a tragically wannabe hip lobby, bordering on looking like a European disco. Once in our room, I about fell over laughing upon discovering that the bathroom (shower, toilet, sink) were all behind a display window next to the bed. There was a curtain, but the person on the bedroom side had control over it. I felt like we had stumbled into the Voyerism themed room complete with silver curtains and lavender velvet bedding. Matt and i have seen our share of crazy European rooms, but this one is definitely the most bizarre. We have an understanding that if the curtain is closed...leave it closed...no peeking.
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