Man's best friend, indeed
Laura Butterbrodt
Multimedia Journalist
Vis
July 12 & 13
Monday morning, I woke up and immediately had to jump in the water. Between the sweat from dancing last night and the heat of the morning, I was burning up! The water felt a little cold the day before, but this morning it was exactly what I needed. Then we headed to the island and town Vis.
Upon arrival we walked to a beach that was maybe a mile or a little less from our boat to do some yoga. When we got there, it was way too hot to try any yoga, so we just went for a swim instead. We ended the swim with a short breathing exercise, then walked back to the boat for lunch. Val made a delicious pasta that I was so ready to eat after that long, hot walk!
P.S. Vis was the filming location of the second Mamma Mia movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I then took a nice cold shower at the harbor bathroom. There were showers on the boat, but the bathrooms were pretty small so this was easier. Then we got ready to head out on a wine tasting tour! Our guide told us that Vis is known for its winemaking, which has been its main industry for thousands of years. In the last few centuries the number of wine producers has greatly decreased, but we were able to go to two wineries for some samples.
The first place we went was run by an amazing woman who had VERY generous pours. We probably went a little too hard from the beginning, but her wine was really good! She also had two black cats which automatically made me love her more. She served us fresh tomatoes from her garden and AMAZING lavendar cookies! I wish I would've known in advance, but she made art on the bottles of wine that was so amazing. I should've bought a bottle to bring home! We got to try one white, one rosé and two reds.
The next winery was a family-owned business that served us two whites, a rosé and a red, plus some great bread and meat and cheese trays. We mostly ate here and took it easier on the wine :) This winery had some really elderly dogs, which also got it some bonus points!
It was hard for me to pick a favorite of the eight we tried because I don't have a very picky palette. When I was tasting, I was picking up an essence of... hmmm.... let me swirl.... I'm getting some grape flavor!
After that, we were off to a restaurant with the rest of the tripgoers from all three boats to try traditional Croatian peka, which is meat and vegetables slow cooked in a domed dish on hot coals. I had the lamb, and tried a bite of the octopus. We also had fried zucchini blossoms as an apetizer, and they were SOOOOO GOOD. I could've eaten 200. The peka was so rich and flavorful! I definitely ended the night in a food/wine coma at the end of the table. :)
We ended the night by walking back to the beach from the beginning of the day and did a nighttime meditation with Marta. We finished with a magical goddess midnight swim! I'm not sure if it was the moonlight reflection or what, but when we moved our hands in the water, the bubbles looked like glowing sparkles! It was an unforgettable night and it definitely helped me take it all in and appreciate everything we had seen and done so far.
We woke up the next morning for yoga in Vis before we departed, which was also a highlight for me! We started on a quiet street, and as the session progressed, the world woke up around us. The street started getting busier, and at one point we turned to our left, opened our eyes, and a cat was sitting on a chair next to us. I didn't get a photo of it, but it was quite an exciting moment. Afterward, we stopped by a market to get some fresh fruit and were on our way to Korčula!
