Vis

It’s amazing how chance encounters can shape one’s journey through life. When we arrived in Split a couple of weeks ago we hopped into a Uber for the ride between the bus terminal and our apartment. Our driver was a friendly Croatian fellow who had lived in Australia when he was younger. As I always try to do when in an unfamiliar country, I asked about his favorite places to visit and things to do in and around Split. Most of our favorite adventures in Split were as a result of his recommendations: our excellent day trip to Brač (we had originally planned to go to Hvar instead), our favorite beaches in Split and even the Lapad neighborhood where we stayed in Dubrovnik. He also recommended, if we had time (which we have plenty of!), to spend a few days on the island of Vis, the most westerly inhabited island off the Croatian mainland. We again have to thank our friendly Split Uber driver, because Vis was probably our favorite stop in Croatia.

At 90 square kilometers/35 square miles, Vis is much smaller than neighboring Hvar and Brač. It’s two towns – Vis on the east and Komiža on the west – were home to roughly 3500 people at last count, but during the summer months the island hosts many times that number of tourists, primarily sailors hopping about the Croatian islands. There is one bank on the island. There is also one petrol station. If you happen to live in Komiža on the west side of the island, that means you have to drive across to the town of Vis every time you need a refill. Given its location out in the middle of the Adriatic Sea, Vis has had quite a turbid history, spending time under the rule of the Republic of Venice, the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, Austria, France, England, Yugoslavia and present day Croatia. The island was littered with remnants of its past as a military outpost, with everything from English graveyards to World War II forts part of the scenery as we explored.

The town of Vis is split into two areas: the old town neighborhood of Kut and the newer portion near the ferry terminal on the western side of the main harbor. Our quaint stone apartment was on the waterfront in the old town with its own dock, a short walk from some of the island’s best restaurants and a leisurely stroll away from our favorite beach at Grandovac. It was a very relaxing location to spend a few days, the sound of the ocean audible from all the rooms in our cottage and the dock a magic spot to watch the world go by with a glass of Plavac Mali from our adventures on the Pelješac Peninsula. We also enjoyed chatting with all the local septuagenarians and octogenarians who would emerge from the stone alleyways of Kut each afternoon for a dip at the dock attached to our apartment. The kids loved the freedom of being able to roam about our neighborhood without Mum and Dad, and especially relished taking a dip from the dock whenever their hearts desired.

The influx of yachts into the harbor each day was quite astonishing: scores of million dollar boats would flood into the harbor in the afternoons following a day of sailing, all mooring on the stone harbor for the night and patronizing the island’s plethora of restaurants. The restaurants lining the harbor in both Vis and Komiža were very much geared to the wealthy yachting crowd, which must pour an incredible amount of money into the small island’s economy. Croatia had been a generally quite inexpensive place to travel, but Vis stood out as a marked exception with prices at a lot of eateries on par with what one would find in New York or San Francisco.

One of Croatia’s signature dishes is called peka: a blend of vegetables and meat drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with herbs, and then baked to perfection under a bell-like dome called an ispod čripnje. The dome is made from cast iron and smothered in coals, while the meat inside can be anything from fish to octopus, veal or lamb. Any foodie blog or travel article on Vis will likely make mention of a tavern called Roki’s nestled in the island’s interior, famous for its pekas. We had to tell the restaurant the morning of our dinner what we’d like in our peka, as it took them a number of hours to slow cook the meat in the ispod čripnj. It was tempting to choose one of the seafood pekas, but the cooking style seemed like it would lend itself well to lamb so that’s what we chose. I’ve eaten some very good lamb in my time – Ocean Breeze Dairy, Koolywurtie, Kokkari – so it’s tough to say that Roki’s lamb peka was the best lamb I’d ever eaten. But it was certainly up there, meat falling off the bone and vegetables soaked in the delicious drippings. The fish plate we started off with was quite exceptional as well, the fish pate and smoked tuna both delicious. Our waiter was a wonderful host to boot, he was an absolute dead ringer for Rade Šerbedžija. Every time he came to the table I couldn’t help but think of Boris the Blade. If you ever travel to Vis, a visit to Roki’s is a must do.

The island’s beaches and the crystal clear water of the Adriatic were absolutely magic. We all fell in love with the swimming spots around the town of Vis as well as those dotted about the island. One could spend weeks on Vis and enjoy a different beach every day, there’s so many of them hidden along the rocky coastline. We made sure to visit famous Stiniva early one morning before the boat tour crowds arrived, we saw images of the picturesque cove plastered all over the waterfront of Split advertising day trips. The hike down was more of a scramble, but we were rewarded with the swimming hole pretty much to ourselves and by the time the boats arrived we’d had our fill. Komiža was a joy to explore, the island’s second town more of a fishing village than yacht-centric harbor. The waterfront promenade was a hive of activity, with cafes and restaurants abuzz when we strolled through before lunch one day. We all voted Grandovac as our favorite beach on the island, we were lucky to be able to walk there in about 15 minutes from our cottage in Kut. Max especially plussed with the spot as it’s where he held his first sea urchin. There was also a bit of excitement for the kids on our last afternoon at Grandovac: as we were lounging on the pebbles, out of the deep came a spearfisherman in full camo wetsuit toting a sizable octopus and an eel in his catch bag.

As we were ferrying away from Vis we realized that we’d been in the ocean every day since arriving in Croatia two weeks earlier. Lilia and Max have grown gills. Max’s breath-hold has progressed very well, to the point where he can now dive 15+ feet an dig around on the bottom. The kids didn’t want to leave Vis. Lisa and I didn’t want to leave, either. But like all good things, our time in Vis had to eventually come to an end. I really hope to return one day, maybe next time on a sailboat. This is a place for everyone’s bucket list.