In this post, Julia, John, and now Lisa, head to Vela Luka on Korčula, after the warm up tour of Mljet island and the Pelješac peninsula, to join up with the  teachers and their fellow students for the evening welcome party.

Korčula Ahoy

Dr. John was up bright and early to set off back to Dubrovnik to collect Lisa, which gave me an hour to get up, do the washing up and pack before we were due to depart to catch the 12.30 ferry from Orebić to Korčula.  I had more or less managed that by the time they returned and so we were once more en route, on schedule, along the Pelješac peninsula, passing but not stopping at yesterday’s coffee stop and once again driving through Drače.  Then it was onwards to Orebić, where we joined a short queue for the ferry and then went off to have a reviving coffee.  The ferry trip is so short that many people just stayed in their cars, which was apparently contrary to the rules of the boat but nobody seemed to be bothered.  However, Dr. John and I went up on deck for a breath of fresh air and a couple of photo opportunities before returning almost immediately and disembarking.   From the port we turned for Vela Luka and had a nice drive along the length of Korčula with, at diverse points, views of the sea and various islands including Lastovo, which we are due to visit on Wednesday.

When we arrived at Vela Luka we played our usual initial game of “Spot the House”.  The fact that all the roads were apparently numbered sequentially didn’t appear to help much and it took a couple of attempts before we came upon our abode for the week.  We were the first to arrive but Linda, John and Zoran weren’t far behind and the next game to be played was “Claim Your Bedroom”.  Once this was amicably resolved, given all the component requirements and parts, Zoran suddenly discovered a completely new, unexpected game when he found that there were no glasses, cutlery, crockery or indeed anything in the kitchen.  When Linda phoned the owners, it turned out there was a second hidden kitchen which was covered up with shutters and had never previously been mentioned.  Once we had found that, everything fell into place and we had all the equipment we needed for tonight’s party plus a dishwasher and washing machine not to mention a games room with a darts board and table football.

With the panic over, some of us went off in search of a spot of lunch and after that moved on to the hypermarket to buy provisions for the party and also for the week.  When all was prepared, following our return, there was just time for a quick change and then all the familiar faces plus a few new ones started to arrive.  It was a very jolly evening, catching up on the past year, supported by the recently purchased wine, beer and snacks, and the time just flew past.  Eventually, one by one, people started to disappear to get an early night, before tomorrow’s full day excursion round the island.  And so, off we go again!