Port News number 2

JULY 2012. NO. 2

The Freshest Fish from Hvar

HANG ON TO THAT TILLER! Vis in a Dish Vis in a Bottle

Dalmatia Theatre 24 Hour a Day

BOL: ON FRIDAYS

THE BEACH IN THE FISHERMAN’S NET On the beach Zlatni rat, throughout July and August, a fishing net is cast every Friday. So, if you are on the island of Brač and you want to enjoy yourself on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, visit Bol on Friday!

Why not?

KOMIŽA: July 11 – 15

IGFA OFFSHORE CHALLENGE Sixty boats with the total of 240 crew members will partake in the big game fishing contest hoping to win the entrance to the World Offshore Championship next year in Mexico. Both offshore and onshore excitement is on the way. In Komiža the fishermen and the visitors will enjoy good food, good music and dance, fairs, nautical and homemade products, fireworks...

On the other side of the island there begins the Vis Cultural Summer (7 July – 7 September). Attractive ensembles will occupy the waterfront, the narrow streets, courtyards and stage areas.

DALM THEATRE 24 KOMIŽA

KAŠTEL KAMBELOVAC

KAŠTEL KAMBELOVAC: JULY 7 – 8

EVENINGS OF DALMATIAN SONGS

TROGIR

Publisher: Port Authority of Split-Dalmatia County For the publisher: Port Authority director Domagoj Maroević

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Come and visit Bol! On Fridays pulling out of fishing-nets for t line of events: THE MUPPETS BASSAN, OUR JOAN OF ARC

Kaštel Kambelovac will offer plenty of music and good vibrations. Let’s hear it! These will be the 12th Annual Evenings of Dalmatian Songs.

Editorial staff: Domagoj Maroević, Ante Sanader, Mario Garber, Elizabeta Sonjara Garber, Goran Albini Kamanjo, Ana Gaspar, Leo Kuret, Jakša Fiamengo, Vinko Tranfić, Filip Zlatan Zoričić, Tomislav Akrap Segor Garber (logo design)

Editor in chief: Domagoj Maroević Editor: Mario Garber

Photos: Garber media d.o.o.

Editorial concept and design: Garber media d.o.o.

Lector: Elizabeta Sonjara Garber

Translation into English: Sandra Vujnović

STARI GRAD: July 18 – 20

OLD MOVIES FESTIVAL Nova riva, The new waterfront in Stari Grad saw the opening of the summer movie theater with the unforgettable Muppet show on July 20. The old movies festival will be held July 18 – 20. Experience it!

Prepress: Nenad Nazlić Printed in: Split, Slobodna Dalmacija Print d.o.o.

COVER PHOTOS: Port News: A wiev of Komiža from Sv. Duh Lučki vjesnik: Vis, Kut ISSN 1848-4689

MATIA HOUR A DAY Written by: Elizabeta Sonjara Garber

s the world-famous Zlatni rat becomes the stage for a spectacular tourists. All over Central Dalmatia you can moor to an endless S, SON OF ZEUS, CHAPLIN, THE HISTRIONS, BENVENUTO C, ŠENOA, MEŠTROVIĆ, GOTOVAC, THE OMIŠ SONG

TROGIR: June 24 – September 3

HVAR: July 20

TROGIR CULTURAL SUMMER

THE JAZZ EVENING

The Festivity of auspicious moments marked the beginning of Trogir cultural summer on June 24. It was a lucky evening for anyone who joined the search for lost treasure because it was funny, crowded and full of music and joy. The ancient relief of Kairos, the God of auspicious moments, the youngest Zeus’s son, was found in Trogir.

There are going to be many lucky moments in Trogir throughout all summer: concerts, performances, exhibitions, folk celebrations...

After the Lavender Festival in Velo Grablje at the end of June, Hvar Summer Performances in Hvar start on July 2 with the Wind Orchestra conducted by Benvenuto Bassan.

Hvar Summer Performances, one of Croatia’s cultural festivities with the longstanding tradition, lasts until October 9 and offers a rich programme. If you happen to be in Hvar during July, you will have the opportunity to hear the String Trio on July 10, see Zagreb theatre Exit’s play “Kontrabas” (“Doublebass”) on July 17, and there will be plenty of jazz on Jazz Evening, July 20. Rock’n’roll is scheduled for July 31.

MAKARSKA: July 12

FISHERMEN’S NIGHT Charlie Chaplin waddled to Makarska and who should he bump into first? Appartment renters! That’s how a performance in honour of the silent movie began and that’s how the Makarska cultural summer started on June 20. The town will overflow with events until September 25. To name a few: The Classic Guitar Project on July 5, the Makarska city choir in the old franciscan church on July 9, the play “Mjehur od sapunice” (“The Soap Bubble”) performed by the group Histrioni will take place on Tin Ujević square on July 11, and Actors from Zagvozd will perform the play “The Professionals” on July 24. The first folk festival and the Fishermen’s Night will be held on July 12, and there will be plenty of fun things going on July 19, 25 and 28.

KOSTANJE (OMIŠ): July 13 – 15

MILA GOJSALIĆ DAYS Three days of plays, lectures, book promotions, klapa singing and the performance of the opera “Mila Gojsalić” written by Jakov

KOMIŽA

Gotovac – all of this will take place in Mila’s birthplace, the village Kostanje near Omiš.

This will also include The Soparnik Evening, the contest for the selection of the most skillfully prepared and the most tasteful soparnik, an old traditional dish with manigold, onions and parsley between thin layers of dough.

A 16th century heroine, Mila Gojsalić is a Croatian version of Joan of Arc. The legend has it that she helped defeat the soldiers of the Ottoman Empire in this region. The famous Croatian writer August Šenoa gave her a book, the world famous sculptor Ivan Meštrović gave her a sculpture and Jakov Gotovac composed an opera in her glory, which you can enjoy on Mila Gojsalić Days.

OMIŠ: July 7 – 28

DALMATIAN KLAPA FESTIVAL The Omiš festival, established in 1967, contributed to the attention given to the a capella singing. The square in the very heart of Omiš, Trg sv. Mihovila, became quite famous and there’s never enough tickets. The opening ceremony will be in the evening hours of July 7, the first contestants’ evening is scheduled for July 12, the second the day after, and the third on July 14. The final evening of female klapa singing will be held on July 26 and the male singing the following evening. The biggest event – the Grand Finale – will be held on July 28.

STARI GRAD

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The Komiža Portal

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By Jakša Fiamengo poet and academic

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Once the barber-shop stood here; now they babble away on a bench

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aking a walk along the Komiža waterfront and not stopping by the barber shop is just as sacrilegious as arriving to Komiža and not visiting the waterfront. You don’t need a particular reason to go there, the legs themselves lead the way because the sea stretching ahead pulls like a magnet, like the most accurate orientation in space: your shadow at one end, the endless sea at the other. When you go to the waterfront the needle on your internal compass will not stand still until it has recognized in your steps the safety of the paved waterfront. And those who should fail to feel this urge are suggested to go and see the nearest practicing doctor.

Among the million important details on the waterfront, the most special ones are those with the roof above the thick stone walls (and with the graffiti, the mischievous modern wall newspapers, to say the least).

The joints between the stones on the front of the traditional Dalmatian houses are an uninterrupted line which circles the landscape and finds all the significant bumps and holes, inviting the tiny animals and herb seeds to grow and announce themselves in the cracks between the stones. Today the short stone beams are used for the washing to dry like colourful flags, but back when they were built in, a time long gone now, what dried on them were grapes and figs and tobacco, and the girlands of garlic and tomatoes used to hang there... a horizontal vegetable garden and an out-in-the-air pantry perfused with all sorts of tastes and fragrances.

Each facade displays strings of doors and windows that are the eyes of the buildings, their soul, the life itself. Behind them – life in all its diversity, love and hate, kindness and angry voices. Everything pulsating with the notion of being fully and utterly alive, everything that life designed for us to make it more dynamic and interesting. Surely noone would want an endless repetition of boring happy situations. If we didn’t fight and argue we wouldn’t know how to love.

This works the other way around as well.

However, let’s go back to the beginning of this text. There can be many reasons to go to the waterfront, or no reason

San Pedro, Komiža nd Marilyn Monroe The inside of a barber shop used to be quite exclusive. On one of the walls there would always hang a poster of a soccer team, Hajduk of course, or some of the famous big-screen stars, be it Gary Cooper, James Dean or, more often, actresses like the one-in-a-million Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, Brigitte Bardot, or some other buxom-bosomed beauty that happened to be the movie fanatics’ sweetheart of the day

at all, which is, in the Mediterranean leisure, as good a reason as any. But one of the most important ones is certainly the barber shop, the place of all sorts of activities like reading and story telling (both anecdotes and real life events), the place for debates and freshest pieces of gossip, the place for making bets or getting a weather report of both general and local importance, etc. Everything happening outside Komiža was learned from the daily newspapers or reviews and weekly magazines which were packed in light wooden boxes called leturini. Nowadays, however, barber shops are merely places where you can get a haircut, for our beards have grown longer or we simply take care of our looks, if at all we do care, by ourselves, in our homes, sometime between sipping the first morning coffee and brushing our teeth. The name itself is now merely a relict of the times long gone.

Shaving used to be a genuine ritual, razors had to be sharpened on a leather

Komiža

belt, the client was seated in what is possibly the most comfortable armchair not only in Komiža but in the whole of the Mediterranean. Foam was applied to the bearded face very gently, after having been blended long and carefully with a brush in special bowls.

The process of shaving included a lot of quite theatrical moves. In the end, face had to be rinsed with fresh water, rubbed with towels and finally disinfected with strong lotions which carried incomprehensible foreign names. It was a pure pleasure to observe the hardworking barbers of those old times!

The inside of a barber shop used to be something quite unique. On one of the walls there would always hang a poster of a soccer team, Hajduk of course, or some of the famous big-screen stars, be it Gary Cooper, James Dean or, more often, actresses like the one-in-a-million Marilyn Monroe, or Jayne Mansfield, Brigitte Bardot, or some other buxom-bosomed beauty that happened to be the movie fanatics’ sweetheart of the day. The news of Marilyn Norma Jean’s tragic death these days half a century ago, the main piece of news back in those days, caught me at the doorstep of the Komiža barber shop.

It all came back to me half a century later as I was standing at the West Wood cemetery surrounded by the Los Angeles downtown skyscrapers, the city whose port San Pedro is an important Komiža enclave in the US. I

was at her grave, which is in fact one of the shelves in the wall carrying as the inscription nothing but her name and the years 1926 and 1962, with a special stone bench for her fans at the front.

Going to Pulenta or Girica back then didn’t mean going to a restaurant in Komiža – apart from the one owned by the restaurant pioneers, the Ratković family, there were no restaurants in Komiža. It meant going to the barber shop because the barbers belonged to the families w hose nicknames were Pulenta and Girica. All of this had its charms, the delicate play of light and shadow on the waterfront, or riva, which for us, the beardless youth, was the centre and the only piazza not only of Komiža but of the entire world, our microcosm in which we lived and loved, spent more time together, more understood one another, and certainly were happier for not having much but knowing that once we would have it all (and, what we didn’t know, happily lose it all once we had it).

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ack in those days the waterfront was the stage for everyone who meant anything, for religious processions and corteges, for socialist parades and carnivals and all sorts of pastime and public events.

And the most beautiful of all were Sunday afternoons and evening walks, moms with their babies in prams, which were quite abundant in those days. We were those babies once, my generation, pacifiers for us in the prams, icecream for the parents at the favourite local patisserie. Nowadays, the sight of babies in prams brings feelings of warmth and tenderness because it is a sign that, even in these troublesome times, Komiža can sail more or less steadily on the restless sea, welcoming new ships, new visitors, new admirers.

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SAILING IN AS A MUST

VIS MAIOR, THE ISLAND O Get a one-way ticket!

Who dares to try and explain the mystery: What makes Vis so irresisƟble?

As soon as you moor the boat, you become its capƟve!

Text and photo by Elizabeta and Mario Garber VIS, KUT

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ou’ve heard the story of a donkey who died of hunger because he just couldn’t make his mind between the two piles of hay that his master had served him earlier that morning. You’d better watch out or this might happen to you on Vis! And here’s why: Even before you moor the boat, it’s not easy to choose between Komiža nad Vis. And when you finally do stop at the Vis port, the alluring flavours from the kitchen of hotel Tamaris get to you. But then again, you are just as seduced by the scents and liveliness from Kut on the left and Mala banda on the right side of the huge Juraj’s (George’s) cove, the cove where you’re at. And who knows if you’re ever going to leave?

It can’t be that it’s really some sort of Vis Maior. Who could dare to try and explain this mystery? What is so irresistible about Vis? As soon as you moor the boat, you become its captive! Vis Maior. The island of no return. Get a one-way ticket! There truly is no point in leaving all this beauty.

One summer a heavy tramontane surprised us while the two of us and our children, and our “Betalina”, were enjoying ourselves in the coves of the southern Vis. Hill-high waves on both capes, below the Stončica lighthouse to the east and at cape Stupišće to the west. Both Komiža and Vis are unapproachable for us.

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And there we are, in the middle of the port outside the town, in our “Betalina”, with no smaller rowing boat to take us to the land. The irresistible call of tasty delicious food from the coast, the play of music and lights and night life. It’s getting dark. The choice is made! We take the biggest pail we can find and turn it into a family wardrobe.

KOMIŽA

Pushing it in front of us as we swim, we get to the tavern “Dalmatino”, we change clothes, “park” the pail outside “Dalmatino”, have dinner and go back the same way to get some sleep.

Vis entraps you, holds you tight with all its tentacles and there’s no going back. The tramontane passed and we got to the town of Vis. It seemed that many passengers couldn’t leave the mainland and get to the island across the open sea. The tramontane usually turns into bura and in the next few days into maestral and the sea becomes dead-calm with occasional afternoon gusts.

That’s why there’s no gas at the island’s gas station. It was impossible to bring it across the sea. When will it arrive? Nobody knows. Vis Maior. People from Vis know what they’re doing: they’re waiting for the port to be swamped with boats and then all of a sudden – no gas, no oil. It’s a local joke. And you’re stuck.

Vis Maior is in all of us. You can’t wait for another tramontane, for another “no gas” situation, so that you could justify yet another day on Vis. Because it’s impossible to taste the real thing too hastily, too quickly. It is impossible to make a decision in this abundance of choices. So be careful not to end up like the indecisive starving donkey!

OF NO RETURN

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THINGS VIS

KUT

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TO REMEMBER! * The archaeological excavations of ancient Issa at the Vis port: the founding of Issa by the Syracuse invader Dionisius in 397 B. C. * The Archaeological Museum in Vis * The Museum of fishing and fishery in Komiža * The biggest Adriatic sea battle, the battle for Vis was fought between the Italian and Austro-Hungarian Navy on July 20 1886 * “Ranko Marinković”, the best Croatian amateur theatre in Vis * “The summer in Vis”, directed and

managed by Lenko Blažević * The island’s all-male klapa “Liket” * Gajeta falkuša, a traditional small and very fast fishing boat with sails and pointy stern and bow, typical of the Vis area; the course in sailing on falkuša * The caves of Vis: Blue Cave on Biševo, Green Cave on Ravnik, Queen Teuta’s Cave near the Oključna cove, Tito’s Cave (Borovik, Sv. Duh, Hum) * The underground reminders of military history on Vis: the tunnels and hallways

from the times of the Yugoslav Army, the underground military hospital, the military base and the hideout of Josip Broz Tito, the leader of Yugoslav partisans in World War II * Big game fishing in Komiža July 7-July 10 * Rent-a-bike/scooter/car/boat/kayak * Cricket club „Sir William Hoste“ * Scuba-diving clubs with long tradition, exciting underwater sights of ships sunk in different periods in history * The Vis wines, from bugava (or vugava) to plavac (Milan Senjanović, Podstražje, tel.

385(0)913391212

RUKAVA C

KOMIŽA

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Darko Mladineo, the grill expert

A MASTER OF HOSPITALITY, MADE BY THE NATURE AND FOR THE NATURE

Lepo povabljeni, najedel se boš

(Slovenian: “We kindly invite you to visit, you won’t leave hungry”)

“Darko” is the place to go if you want to enjoy goat meat barbecue. The name of the owner is Darko Mladineo, but it’s more important to know the instructions how to get there: when you leave Komiža, you do not take the left turn to Vis but right to the southern side of the island, then pass Ravno, Podhumlje and Podšpilje, then turn left up a steep hill towards Žena Glava, and in order to be as thirsty and as hungry as possible when you get to Darko, you can even take a left turn towards Tito’s cave.

First you go over Borovik and then further to the highest peak of Vis, Hum (587 m) and Sv. Duh (Holy Ghost) (563 m) from where Komiža appears to be right there on the palm of your hand. You’re going to have some walking to do in order to be able to accept everything that Darko has to offer. You’ll also get thirsty. Because the place is actually called Žedna Glava (Thirsty Head) and not Žena Glava (Woman’s Head). It couldn’t have been anything else this far from the sea.

– I’m thirsty – explains to us in the Vis dialect Mr Darko. – The old people, when they would go from Vis or Komiža, used to say Thirsty Head (thirsty hill). But those in power who were supposed to put up those boards with names of places obviously had bad hearing... But never mind about that, I’ve got some marinated anchovies, some fried girice (a type of very small fish), if you like...

– And? – ...and some grilled goat meat – Darko says after pausing meaningfully. There’s not a chance in the world that at Darko’s you’re going to eat “some” and drink “some” and sing “some”... Darko will surely drag you not into “some” story but into a great story. In our case, our story went all the way to Arizona.

He tells us that they have only yesterday been at his place. They came from Arizona by boat, following their ancestors’ footsteps from Slovenia.

– But they needed me to guide them through Slovenia’s topography, they don’t seem to remember much. Vis has excellent

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relations with the Republic of Slovenia. And Slovenians simply love Vis. So many of my guests are from Slovenia that to me it seems as if I myself have travelled all over Slovenia.

These Slovenians from Arizona who can hardly remember how and why they have any connection with Slovenia are, in fact, prison guards in Arizona. There were ten of them, together with friends. Their kids tagged along as well. They ate everything.

And with fingers, just like you’re supposed to eat lamb or goat meat...

– They told me they were going to put me on Facebook. I don’t have the Internet here, my only connection to the outer world is my donkey, but my friends will show me.

Victoria Mather once wrote that food is great here at my place. They didn’t even tell me they were reporters, they just came, ate, wrote the article and sent it to me.

Darko can speak Slovenian, too, because there’s nothing you don’t learn when you are as hospitable as he is. Even the tourist brochures advertise him as the tavern owner who speaks Slovenian.

The friendliness of Darko Mladineo and his wife Mirjana is the only Facebook they need. They’re friends with everybody,

A rural household, Žena Glava

everyone can recommend them, and Darko is truly a great friend: – Go and check my donkeys. If we’re going to talk about the hospitality and restaurant business on Vis, then surely Andro Slavić is one of the biggest, he’s been in the business for so long... And, amazingly enough, our donkeys tied us even tighter together. He’s got a female donkey so he brought her over to my place. Because I have a male one. They mated, that’s for sure.

– So the two of you are now like family, in-laws?!

– Exactly! His donkey has got young ones now. Her name is Geraldina.

Darko’s female donkey is Bera who is 35 and her daughter Bepa is only five years old. Bera is black and Bepina is white. Donkeys live up to 50 years of age. Darko has also gotten a certificate for his donkeys.

– So what does the certificate say? Riding pony, protected species.

A Croatian newspaper Večernji list claims that from Savudria to Prevlaka there’s no better place to eat than on the island of Vis. The Daily Telegraph places Darko’s tavern among the seven most romantic destinations in the world, together with Spain, Bangkok, Malta, Capri...

BUDIKOVCI: Andro Slavić, the Master of Food and Words

Bera and Bepina

Written by:Mario Garber

MASTERS VIS-À-VIS

Zelena špilja (Green cave)

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ndro Slavić is a well-known figure since over a decade ago when he was the owner of the famous restaurant “As” right in the centre of the Vis port. A big sign on the front door said: Do not enter unless you are wealthier than the owner!

At Andro’s restaurant the most original food seasoning have always been his sassy, but at the same time catchy sayings.

Asked once why he didn’t go to a funeral he was supposed to go to, he replied: “Well there’s no point going to his funeral when he won’t come to mine.”

Andro Slavić moved to Budikovci where he spends solitary winters, apart from occasional games of cards with his friends.

He goes fishing for the pleasure of it. He set his own world record during the Vis regatta which is like a last ray of summer in October after the tourist season has ended. So I popped in to see him at his place, and found him sitting with noone else there, finishing off his meal with great pleasure and asking me: “This place is closed, how ‘bout me frying a couple of eggs with prosciutto and onions for you as well?”

Vis brimming with sailboats and yachtsmen for two days, and his place is closed? The yacht crews are so deadbeat that they are just waiting to demolish his locale.

But Andro didn’t feel like opening the place for only a couple of days. Here’s what he told me: “I asked the local restaurant owners to each give me a hundred kunas so that I wouldn’t open my restaurant because I know they’re afraid of the competition.

And I’ve earned more money this way, without having to work!”

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VIS IN A DISH KUT If you’re hesitant about where to eat, apart from the hotel “Tamaris”, in Vis there’s a row of pizzerias like “Dioniz”, or “Dudo” where you can get everything you wish, and at the very end of the waterfront, before you turn to the part called Kut, your nose will lead the way to “Kantun”. However, the taverns with remarkable interior and food choice are there at the Kut, with the genuine Mediterranean feel, the traditional peasants’ houses and noblemen’s mansions. The taverns “Val”, “Težok”, “Vatrica”... not an easy choice to make.

“POJODA” AND “KALIOPA” Everyone in the restaurant business admits that “Pojoda” deserves its status as the fourth best restaurant in Dalmatia. Walking from the Port to Kut and “Pojoda”, you will surely visit a series of taverns and pizzerias, so don’t hold back when the unique atmosphere of “Villa Kaliopa” and its 16th-century garden sucks you in. In Pečarević family’s “botanical garden” you haven’t got a care in the world, and you wouldn’t mind the least bit if they served nothing but a plain sandwich.

LEFT AND RIGHT “BEJBI” In the Vis port there are two famous cafes with the same name, one “Bejbi” on the west side near the ferry pier, the second at Kut, then there’s “Lambik” and many others which make the night life exciting. Nobody seems to mind the loud music, summer is the time to loosen up. Even the bars radiate this specific Vis charm. There you have it, the Vis Maior.

BOŽANIĆ If you happen to crash uninvited to one of the private feasts at Josip Božanić’s spacious patio in Komiža, you will delight in the host’s mastery of “cooking”: books, notes on history, tradition, fishermen...

SENKO The same will happen if you taste the poet Senko Karuza’s wines at his Komiža home right next to the sea. And wait till you get to the Mala Travna inlet at the southern coast of the island! He will serve you one of his specialties – a verse – and your thirst will be quenched.

DREAM TAVERNS There are as much as three dream taverns in Komiža. The world unique “Jastožera” lies on wooden and stone piers above the sea.

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A few steps away “Bako” and “Barba” represent a fierce competition when it comes to rich choice of foods. The Komiža waterfront offers various pizzerias, spaghetterias and restaurants, among others the seafood restaurant “Koluna”.

TO THE HILLS FOR A BARBECUE But, let’s go to the hills of Vis! In the island’s inland the villages and rural households offer thick shade below the vines and fig trees, with barbecue, lamb and goat specialties... you name it.

FROM LOBSTER TO LAMB In 2008 an American magazine voted the Sviličić family’s “Pol murvu”, placed in a 500 years old building in Podšpilje, the best grill restaurant in the world. Lately, however, Podšpilje is becoming famous thanks to Fanita and Tonči Sviličić and culinary specialties prepared with great care and offered in their tavern “Maxo”: lobsters, lamb, venison with gnocchi, all sorts of liqueurs, chosen wines...

ŽENA GLAVA Rural households advertise thier products as “natural and homemade”. The American newspapers glorify Darko Mladineo’s goat meat in Žena Glava. In Podselje, right above Vis on the way to Milna, you are bound to spend more time than planned in the tavern “Golub” owned by Ivica Ivanišević, while in

Podstražje the same will happen with Miroslav Vojković’s tavern “Ferol”.

“DALMATINO” There’s simply no end to this – in Rukavac, at the southeastern part of the island Vis, “Dalmatino” will definitely pull you in. Unless Sandro Karuza and his taxi-boat take you to Stiniva, then to Green cave, and, when you’re well hungry, to Budikovci and the one-of-akind Andro Slavić, where both good food and bacchanalian spirituality await for you.

KOMIŽA

VIS IN A BOTTLE “Viška Sabatina” (sabato is Saturday in Italian, a language which strongly influenced the local dialect) is the name of a voluntary, nonpolitical, non-profit-making civil association of the inhabitants of Podšpilje.

Their motto is Working for villages.

The association draws attention and deals with the problems faced in the island’s rural parts.

The members organize church holiday festivities, concerts, poetry readings.

Under the umbrella of this association an allmale klapa “Liket” has been formed.

The association also promotes education of their members and the autochtonous Vis

wines branding project. The following of EU regulations and an international cooperation is also under way.

Even the ancient Greek chronicler Agatharchides noted way back in the year 340 B. C. the exquisiteness of the wines of Issa (ancient name for the island of Vis).

Some of the renowned winemakers, members of the association: Radica – Vis, Ivčević – Komiža, Sviličić – Podšpilje, PZ Komiža, PZ Vis, Podšpilje PZ, Zorotović – Vis, Solvetovo Maxo – Podšpilje, Roki’s Plisko Polje, Lipanović – Vis, Šešula – Vis, Senjanović – Podstražje, Radan.

Cricket, Vanja Marinković

KUT

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“Kod kapetana” (“At the Captain’s”), at Jurica Tomiēiđ’s restaurant

HVAR, A UNIQUE ADVERTISEMENT

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ver since the times when taverns on islands were rare and hard to come by, it was common knowledge that going to the tavern “Kod kapetana” was a must if you’re in Hvar. And here’s why. As you enter the Hvar port with the red port light on your right and the green port light on your left, the identical lights on its entrance lure you to the famous seafood restaurant “Kod kapetana”, a tavern that flickeringly seduces the other end of the port, towards the hotels outside the town.

Jurica Tomičić took over the rudder from the legendary captain Ante Vučetić in 1998. There’s not a single visitor in Hvar who doesn’t stop by at Jurica’s place, and during winter all those who are in the catering business gather here for a game of cards, for snacks and a good song. Those are private out-of-the-season gatherings, like when bands, after having finished their public gig, gather at dawn and finally play something for their own pleasure.

Even his closest neighbours, like Ivo Gospodnetić, the owner of the famous “Gariful”, have nothing but praise for Jurica, because he was the one to launch the initiative to promote Hvar in Belgrade after the Croats and the Serbs had become citizens of two separate countries. According to Jurica, back in 2004 around a thousand people showed up at the speed of light at the very mention of Hvar: “Hvar is simply our best, the most unique tourism-industry label”.

To be honest, Hvar is so densely populated in these summer months that sooner or later this fact, which can often be counter-productive, will have to be reconsidered and dealt with.

– We should let our kids worry about that. My son Hrvoje is slowly taking over, he’s already been made the chief cook in my restaurant, and he is also going to be one of the contestants at the oncoming Culinary Olympics in October – says Tomičić.

TROGIR IN THE EYES OF THE WORLD

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hen one sees a group of Italian tourists admiring the town of Trogir, especially if they’re Venetians, the instinctive reaction is to take a step back and mouth the words: Hands off! You already ruled here once and that was enough!

But we can sigh with relief because we meet some Australians from Sydney as they stand in the middle of the Trogir Piazza leafing through our Port News. Eugen Hitri, our neighbour from Subotica and Szeged in Hungary, blessed among women – Mirjana Sinkovits, Marika Pogany and Viola Mechler, with our magazine in the middle. And what do they say?

– What can we say? Each house in Trogir, each square, they all tell a story of their own.

The UNESCO claims the same thing. It’s all fine now, the World can freely own us.

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CLAIRE, STEVEN AND PORT NEWS

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laire Louise Bennett (33) and Steven Jon Howard (37), an English couple who tasted the beauty of the island of Vis, our top destination for tourists, stayed at Ivo Jerković’s apartments at the Kut. After having browsed through the first issue of “Port news/Lučki vjesnik”, published by the Port Authority for the county of Central Dalmatia, they enthusiastically decided to prolong their stay on Vis.

Taxi fate

THANK THE ISLANDS

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ride to the Pakleni Islands, to Jerolim and Stipanska, on Mile Jeličić’s taxiboat costs 35 Kn, so when you see his boat packed with passengers as it is in our photo (and mind you, it’s only June), one might think Mile can put his feet up for the rest of the year. However, he charges less the locals who take with them a bunch of children for a swim, most usually their own and their friends’ kids, and he often doesn’t charge the return ticket. Boatman Žuanić does the same. The worst is yet to follow: At the Hvar port there are only several places to berth the taxi-boats. So when you’re done with your ride, you have to stand aside and wait for your turn. Take a look at how Jeličić goes back to his spot. It seems as if there are more boatmen than tourists.

Here’s a fellow resting aboard his sailboat, his wife is asking if he would like to have his lunch, and he’s having a smoke. All in all, you can imagine how grateful these men must be for having these islands here, for being able to sail in order to make some money.

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port news look The Old Town with new looks – Stari Grad on the island of Hvar, a project by architect Edo Šegviđ

The Waterfront, a Li The area itself holds a part of the rich heritage and significance of Stari Grad, including the Mausoleum and the palace of the academic archaeologist Šime Ljubić, and the birthplace of the painter Juraj Plančić

Edo Šegvić, a famous architect from Split, for Port News

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othing equals the feeling of the right man arriving to the right place, the feeling that he’s been there before, or since always, or that he has simply come back where he belongs. This refers to the architect Edo Šegvić, the author of the preliminary architectural design which will finally make the waterfront of Stari Grad complete and meaningful, its former ferry pier now being rusty and devastated.

Mr Šegvić is like a knight in shining armour who has come to the rescue of the Oldest town against the hordes of modernists and their icy cold architecture.

After the process of reconstruction and development of the harbour, it will seem as if it has always been like that. Nothing will seem out of place: the stone pavement of the promenade and the benches and the fountain and the balustrades and flower

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pots and, finally, like an exclamation mark at the end of a sentence, the wooden mast as a flag pole reaching ten metres high.

The Sea Square One of the harbours in Split, Matejuška, is a proof that Edo Šegvić is the true guardian of traditional values.

The waterfront of Stari Grad, with the Mausoleum and the palace of the academic archaeologist Šime Ljubić (his bronze bust in the garden wall around the palace is the work of Ivan Rendić) and the birthplace of the painter Juraj Plančić, will be 72 metres longer in this new design. The already existing wharf will be improved and used for tourist boats while the so-called “small wharf” will harbour smaller boats.

A part of the redesigned waterfront is already in function for the users of nautical

tourism and their yachts. At the other end there will be a promenade for walks and relaxation and hanging out, with two rows of benches and flowerpots.

This part of the harbour, as the final point of the Stari Grad waterfront, is

STARI GRAD Project of arhitect Ede Šegvića

The new look of waterfront

iving Museum marked with four specific urban elements: the stone fountain, the mast, the flag pole, and the feeling of being aboard the leut, a traditional Dalmatian boat. All these details give the long waterfront a new and unique value and the harbour becomes a square in the middle of the sea.

HEKTOROVIĆ The text and symbols important for both the past and the present of Stari Grad will be inscribed into the surfaces of the column: an imprint of the Croatian national coat of arms, Stari Grad coat of arms, along with a quote on the vital importance of the national language from a five-century old literary masterpiece written by a famous Croatian and Stari Grad poet Petar Hektorović

PAROS AND FAROS An inscription in Croatian, English and Greek will p robably be on one of the stones on the flag pole paved base.

The text will refer to the foundation of Stari Grad: Greek seafarers from the Aegean island of Paros arrived here in 385/384 B.C. and founded the town of Faros, Stari Grad today, along with Vis the oldest town in Croatia.

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G

oran Albini Kamanjo is a top chef with a rich and long-standing experience in owning and managing a series of famous taverns in Dalmatia. In the new millenium he won laurels with his Zagreb restaurant “Gračanka” where he often serves the leading Croatian politicians. The exquisite choice of traditional foods of both continental and Mediterranean provenance is garnered with a touch of his own original recipes from his culinary studio. For Port News he is presenting you with some of the places in Dalmatia where your palate will experience the climax of culinary art.

DRVENIK VELI, KRKNJAŠI “Kod komuniste” (At the Communist’s), the fishermen tavern Owned by Ivica and Dragica Špika Working hours: 11a.m. – 11 p.m.

Phone: 021 893 073 Mobile: 091 5750925 Kamanjo’s artistic impression review: A unique ecological work of art. An unbelievably skilled and experienced fisherman.

Thanks to his being in the know as regards the usual routes of the dentex or gilthead shoals, the fish he prepares and serves is always fresh. The rest is found in the owners’ vegetable garden. The master of scorpion fish or lobster brodetto (stew), the mangold and tomatoes and cucumbers... sheer pleasure. The main specialty is the grill. And not just any grill, of course.

THE ROPOTNICA BRODETTO The way they prepare it!... Dragica is from Murter so their neighbours from the Ropotnica cove taught her how to prepare this dish.

It takes a kilogram of any whitefish, like twobanded seabream, white seabream, dentex or gilt-head seabream, which are then arranged in layers with at least three or four sliced onions. Two decilitres of olive oil and water are added, with some pepper and some salt. It is cooked with the lid on, and with a dish-cloth wrapped around it, and to avoid overboiling it shouldn’t be cooked longer than 20 minutes.

ŠOLTA, NEČUJAM Restoran „Punta“ (The Cape Restaurant), terrace and barbecue Owned by Beka and Nenad Baumgartner Working hours: 12 p.m. – 12 a.m.

Phone: 021 650 080 Mobile: 098 1764993 With four ship berths it is a safe place in the Nečujam cove to spend the night.

Kamanjo’s artistic impression review: The owner Neno spends his days grilling meat, fish and himself. He’s constantly complaining and cooling himself with beer, and

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in the evening he finally sits down to grab a bite and turn to wine. His wife Beka, on the other hand, is more patient. One of their specialties is the delicious baby goat meat, the goats are from Gornje Selo on the island of Šolta and the new potatoes from the Baumgartners vegetable garden. The perfect combination is baked in the traditional way.

BABY GOAT MEAT ISPOD PEKE (TRADITIONAL “OLD-STYLE” BAKING) For his special gravy Neno uses garlic and rosemary picked from the restaurant’s hedge, some white wine, even if he has to sacrifice his own beverage, and after two hours the peka is done (not exactly sure about the exact ratio between beer and wine, though).

HVAR, PAKLENI OTOCI (PAKLENI ISLANDS) „U Tončevu dvoru“ (At Tonči’s patio), an island tavern Owned by Tonči Matijević Working hours: 10 a.m. – 11 p.m.

Phone: 021 741 244 Mobile: 098727 186, 098 589 613 Kamanjo’s artistic impression review: Tonči is a calm, quiet guy. He spends the biggest part of the year on the island, in Vlaka, one of the loveliest coves on the island of St. Clement, which is, again, one of the many islands belonging to the group of Pakleni Islands. His tavern consists of a cosy patio where Tonči serves his guests whatever he happens to catch, among other things there’s always a live lobster.

Tonči’s gregada (a traditional fishermen’s meal, a fish stew similar to brodetto) is by far the best in the Adriatic area. With the ship berths, and the depth of 15 metres, any boat will be safe here.

This tavern’s peculiarity is the preparation of food on an open-fire stove. There’s no end to the various dishes prepared here, brodettos and artichokes with broad beans and peas.

The gregada. Traditional and home-made.

And on firewood. There’s plenty of that at Tonči’s place. What else could the islanders busy themselves with during the winter but prepare the wood for the summer. Instead for the winter.

FIRST THE ARTICHOKES, THEN THE ZUCCHINI STRUDEL Tonči first cleans a lot of artichokes and then puts them in boiling hot water. After a quarter of an hour he puts in half a kilo of broad beans and peas without the pods. Then he makes a pesto of parsley, bread-crumb and sometimes a whole garlic and pours it over the artichokes. After an hour of cooking he adds a decilitre of olive oil, some pepper and

some salt. Tonči follows the traditional recipe and puts in a spoon of tomato sauce.

Also, I would like to entice you to try one of his very own, original recipes, a dessert called the zucchini strudel.

IN HVAR ON HVAR “Gariful” (The Carnation), an exquisite restaurant Owned by Ivan Gospodnetić The restaurant is situated on the Hvar riva (waterfront), near the lantern where ships sail in.

Working hours: 12 p.m. – 2 a.m.

Mobile: 098916 0173 Kamanjo’s artistic impression review: The Gospodnetić family is a well known family originally from the island of Brač. The owner’s father decided to switch islands and move to the island of Hvar.

The main trait of Gariful is the abundance of fish, thanks to the members of the Hvar diving club. There, in one of the stone walls, you can see a fish tank with live lobsters for the guests to choose.

THE DRUNKEN LOBSTER The name of the recipe sounds spectacular and lives up to the expectations. The French cuisine is acquainted with lobster flambé, but this one is something quite different. It has its secret, but the chef refuses to reveal them.

However, your palate will tell you how loaded the lobster really is. After being cooked in wine it gets a shot of brandy as well. The grand finale – lobster in flames. That’s about everything the chef reveals. Of course I could whisper to you the stuff my palate recognized but I won’t be the traitor here. Maybe

a G e Th for P

someday we’ll somehow manage to force chef Ivan to let us in on his culinary secrets.

Until then, Gariful, placed at an exquisite location, with the finest clientele, remains at the very top of the European gastronomy world.

charm is his motto: “Take it easy”...

He offers welcome shots of rakija: bitters, grape-brandy, liqueurs, served in snail shells that act as glasses.

VIS, MALA TRAVNA (THE LITTLE TRAVNA)

This is actually the soup in which rosemarysmoked fish is cooked. Ugor (a type of eel) is the best choice for this dish. The islanders’ smoked fish principle: scale and gutt it, take the bones out and nail it open on a small wooden board.

Smoked fish gregada is prepared in a similar fashion. A pure taste buds perfection.

Two or three kilos of fish, most preferably hake, or even tabinja, a kind of cod fish, are cleaned and then salted and peppered. A couple of hours, or maybe one day of drying will do. You can then rinse it with seawater and let it dry in the sun. And then you take it to the grill, which has to be at least 30 centimetres above the cinders on which the freshly picked rosemary leaves are smoke-drying.

And the fish, neatly arranged on the grill, is smoked with the rosemary scent. But not longer than 15 or 20 minutes. The fish is then taken off the grill and prepared in the soup.

First you cook the soup in the traditional way, with onions, carrots, parsley, potatoes, garlic and celery leaves... and some anise. And some thyme and basil as well. In the end one decilitre of olive oil is added.

After half an hour of cooking this has to be mashed.

One kilo of fish is put into the soup and cooked for 10 minutes. Then the fish is cleaned, and garlic, parsley and olive oil are added. The soup is ready for the feast.

An Alternative Tavern, the poet caterer Owned by Senko Karuza Mala Travna (Molo Trovno) is a cove on the southern side of the island of Vis where small inlets dig deep into the island’s flesh, like the Stiniva cove. Boats can anchor at Mala Travna cove.

When is Senko open? Never!

Mobile: 0993525803, 0917333299 Kamanjo’s artistic impression review: A poet? A restaurateur? Who knows.. but one thing’s for sure: many of us who are truly fond of Senko think that this guy is completely nuts (in the best possible way, of course).

He is said to be an exceptional poet, but as a cook I can only judge the intake of food and beverage – and I say that he is an exceptional drunkard as well. Because he only drinks the finest wines. Which might be concluded from the fact that Senko is also a winemaker.

But noooo. The guy drinks everything but gasoline.

There’s nothing you can’t find at Senko’s: snails, artichokes, broad beans, and, since he is a bit nutty, there are unusual liqueurs as well, wine, olive oil. There’s always some pickled motar, a local herb used as a relish.

He also grows capers. A part of his unique

SMOKED FISH SOUP

EATING IS A NECESSITY

By Goran Albini Kamanjo

IN VIS ON VIS, KUT “Val” (The Wave), a tavern for the nautical enthusiasts Owned by Lucija Knego Working hours: 12 p.m. – 12 a.m.

Phone: 021 711763 Mobile: 0915082015 Tavern “Val”, right by the sea and under the palm trees, is situated in an exquisite part called Kut (the corner) on the eastern side of the huge George’s cove in the town of Vis, on the island of Vis. The old mansions and somewhat humble peasants’ houses make it a small town of its own, a ten minute walk from the centre of the town of Vis. Kamanjo’s artistic impression review: There’s always plenty of freshly caught fish here. And our lady Luce is always in a good mood, big smile on her face, attending to the needs of her guests and friends. She is a true connoisseur of special tastes. The most ordinary dishes, like asparagus, artichokes, or beans, are prepared in an unusual manner, and everything becomes a part of an extraordinary feast in this tavern.

PAŠTA FAŽOL (BEANS WITH PASTA) IN A BRODETTO The recipe is very simple. First you cook a good brodetto. Then you prepare a good traditional pasta-beans. Then you put it all together and eat it!

Of course, there are secrets in this art, but some things have to remain a mystery.

Apart from the fresh, still alive, lobsters, there are all kinds of other fish at Luce’s.

Her place is quite popular for the end-ofthe-season feasts in October, when the whole of the Adriatic pours in here for the Vis regatta.

r e p p i k s o r t s a s w e N t r Po 19

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ou wake up, get out of bed, open the shutters and dive into the sea right from the window. Or, you throw a fishhook while the fish are rippling the sea surface and the early morning silence is whispering to the entire cove. From one dream into another, you wake up on Vis. On the other hand, if you didn’t plunge into the sea or threw the hook, it’s only understandable because it does take some skill. However, simply thinking about it will suffice.

That’s exactly what it’s all about!

To taste utter freedom, immediate closeness of nature, complete calm, so much so that anything seemingly unattainable suddenly appears achievable. The possibility itself is enough. That’s how waking up feels in every house on the island of Vis, where everything is immersed in the sea like the island itself.

In our case, the house in question belongs to Ivo Jerković at the Kut. That is where we wake up to write about Vis.

GUITAR STRINGS AND WINE Mr Jerković rents apartments. For the purposes of our photo-report we took photos of a couple from Great Britain who have been regular guests here for years now and were happy to be photographed holding our magazine. Mr Jerković is also a winemaker. Thence the photograph of the British guest in the cool, several centuries old cellar with the exquisite plavac in the old wooden barrels.

The Englishman is sitting in the konoba (Dalmatian wine cellar) and plays the guitar. You see, Mr Jerković can, among so many other things, play the guitar. Some time ago, when the Croatian president, Mr Ivo Josipović, visited Vis on the twentieth anniversary of Yugoslav Army leaving the island, all the cultural clubs on Vis held a big concert. Mr Jerković is a member of klapa – a smaller group of singers who practice the traditional Dalmatian type of polyphonic singing.

Is there anything he can’t do? He’s 71 already, but nothing can stop him, he’s all over Vis, always on the go. His family was

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originally from the island of Hvar. The easternmost end of Hvar with Sućuraj on the very tip is where the island is nearest to the coastline, the quickest way is to take the ferry from Drvenik to Sućuraj, then head westward by car. On the way to Jelsa, Stari Grad and Hvar you pass through Bogomolje with the small village of Jerkovići nearby.

Ivo Jerković Jela, the master of hospitality

A NOBLEMAN’S ESTATE Ivo’s father left that village and went to Vis where he married a young girl from Podselje in the island’s inland and worked in the vineyards to sustain his family.

Back then, all the wealthier people from Hvar who were of noble origin had their mansions on Vis, just like Hanibal Lucić and Petar Hektorović had theirs at Kut. That’s why you can spend many a morning taking photographs of everything that the hardworking hands built long time ago with great respect to the hospitable nature. Jerković’s house was built 550 years ago and it used to be owned by the noble family

PORTRAIT NEWS

Ivo Jerkoviđ Jela (71), a well-known master of catering indu

AN ISLAND At the doorstep of his cellar, Jerković as a winemaker

Milna, Jela with his wife Vesna and friends Rajna and Josip Dika

portrait of him painted by a well-known cartoonist from Split Tonći Kerum. Ivo Jerković’s life is a long string of adventures, a forty-year long career in the catering industry in the city of Split.

Ivo Jerković and Tonći Kerum have gotten to know each other back when Jerković was the manager for most of the best known restaurants in Split. He was also in the marketing business for hotels and catering companies such as Union-Dalmacija and this made it possible for him to help Tonći Kerum find sponsors for his work. The friendship between the two of them was crucial for the appearance of a famous humorous magazine Berekin (Reveller) which caused controversy in the former socialist Yugoslavia three decades ago. The magazine was run by some of the most influential writers and journalists back in those days, like Miljenko Smoje, Anatolij Kudrjavcev, Jakša Fiamengo, Momčilo Popadić, Ćićo Senjanović, the cartoonist Tonći Kerum, and graphic designer Čedo Pocrnić.

FISHERMEN AND PEASANTRY

ustry in Split and tourism on Vis

– When you get to the island of Vis, you have to understand one thing right away – it’s an island for a twosome, for two towns, Komiža and Vis, an ideal combination of different personalities. Komiža is more of a fishermen town, while Vis belongs to those

D FOR TWO Once you get to the island of Vis, you need to understand that it’s an island for two, for two towns and two worlds, for Komiža and for Vis. Komiža represents the fishermen. Vis is for the winegrowers. And both are in the tourism trade, the tourism binds us – says Jela, who is a singer, a waiter, a restaurant owner, an economist, a painter... you name it

of Perdvarić from Hvar. Ivo Jerković’s father worked their land and took care of their immense estates.

As a sign of gratitude the descendants of the noble family from Hvar gave the old mansion at Kut to the Jerković family. They also got the house in Milna, a village surrounded by vineyards sloping down to the sea on the eastern side of the island with the view on the islands of Budikovci and Ravnik with the Green cave. Ivo Jerković possesses three coats of arms which serve as a valuable testimony of the rich past of this beautiful estate.

who work the land, today almost exclusively winegrowers. Both Komiža and Vis are in the tourist industry, we are bound by tourism – tells us Jerković who has a lot of experience in this field back from the days when he used to take his guests to trips all over Vis by boat and car.

The island started to actually live and breathe only two decades ago when the former Yugoslav army finally left it.

– Man, I remember when, back in the fifties, you needed a police permit to go to Split, let alone somewhere farther than that. That is why even today I’m allergic to all sorts of restraints. Take these railings, for example – Jerković nervously tells us as our car can hardly pass through the narrow streets of Kut.

HE’S ALL OVER VIS Because of the tourist season, new traffic regime has come into effect. The narrow street from Kut to the centre of all life on the island – the port, the waterfront and the ferry pier – is open for cars only until nine in the morning. Only those with a special permit can drive from Kut to the port.

How can one expect a foreigner, a guest, a tourist, a business visitor to understand that? – with a tone of displeasure wonders Ivo Jerković, a man who considers it perfectly normal to be at everyone’s service, to show and help and do stuff for others.

We part amicably and hurry for the bus for Komiža while our host Jerković is already waving at someone new, hurrying to hospitably help someone new, he just does not stop, he is again all over Vis.

Written by: Andrija Križančić

An afternoon chat on the patio

THE VERSATILE “BEREKIN” The walls in the house which has been adapted for the guests are covered in paintings. Their author is Ivo Jerković – yes, he takes pleasure in painting, too! His love for Vis resulted in a series of typical motifs of this gorgeous island, like the Stiniva cove.

Apart from his self-portrait (no, nothing can scare him) there also hangs a

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POSTIRA

WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN

RELIGIOUS FEASTS ON THE ISLAND OF BRAČ AND IN MARINA BOBOVIŠĆE

July 16, The Lady of Carmel MILNA AND SELCA’S COMMUNITY DAY

MARINA

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n the day of the Lady of Mount Carmel, July 16, the festivities include the western and eastern side of the island of Brač. It’s the community day in Milna, but also in Bobovišća and Postira. It’s also the community day for Selca and its two ports, Povlja and Sumartin. If you happen to be nearby, feel free to drop in. You are bound to have a good time. The festivities will take place in Brela and on the island of Šolta, too.

Pythagoras (best known for his theorem) climbed Mount Carmel – the Palestinian coastal mountain range overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, over Haifa – in the 6th century B.C. in order to be “nearer to the one who has greater thoughts”. Apparently, it worked. And you can, say, leave Sumartin and climb to Selca right above, or from Bobovišće to Ložišće, which, given the usual 35 degrees Celsius, is not much unlike Calvary. Let your soul be pure and your heart serene! Then have a cold, cold beer, or a glass of wine. God won’t mind. By the way, the word Carmel stands for “God’s vineyard”.

MILNA

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Written by: Ana Gaspar

July 25, St. Jacob PATRON SAINT OF THE TOWN OF MARINA, NEAR TROGIR

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antiago in Spanish, St. Jacques in French, St. James in English... The scallop shell on your plate is called James’ (or Jacob which is Jakov in Croatian) cap after the apostle who was mending his fishing-net when Jesus asked him to follow.

St. James is the patron saint of Marina near Trogir and many an old fisherman spends his days mending nets, dreaming about gulping a couple of Jacob’s caps, if only they could keep the best catch for themselves and not sell it. But on this day both the locals and the guests win. You won’t get lost – just come to the waterfront. They will all be there waiting for you, by the sea or near Kula (the turret), nowadays Marina’s trademark, long ago Bishop Marcello’s villa built in the 15th century.

St. James is the patron saint of the whole of Spain, the most famous pilgrimage destination is Santiago de Compostela.

James was the first apostle to die a martyr, and he is the patron saint of all the veterinarians, pharmacists, horse breeders, skinners and furriers...

May he watch over you as well at the end of this July at Marina!

THE FRESHEST FISH The most recent news from the island of Hvar, Central DalmaƟa’s heart of tourism

HANG ON TO THAT TILLER!

Stari Grad, pizzeria „Marko“, Liana Račić and her waitress Ines

Written by Mario Garber

H

var. Which metaphor to use? Hvar equals the heart of the tourist season, crowds of people at every counter, the new-millenium nomads sweating in T-shirts under the wrinkled hats, the bewheeled luggage is being loudly rolled around, the air quivering at 40 degrees Celsius while you’re eagerly awaiting the biggest adventure in your life. And then all of a sudden you collide with the most amazing beauty that one sees only once in a lifetime, just like this summer ahead of us will never come back, this magnificent summer that you devour so voraciously, cherishing every moment before it slips through your fingers and is gone forever.

This is, to use the journalese, an exclusive last-minute photo-report in order to give you the latest pieces of news. If we are to judge by the situation on Hvar, the synonym

for summer, Central Dalmatia is besieged by tourists from all over the world. Tourists and locals – two tribes with the common denominator: people. One half welcomes, the other half is welcome.

Take me, for example. I got up at 5 a.m., drove from Split to Drvenik to get on time for the 7.30 ferry for Sućuraj on the island of Hvar. Then another drive from Sućuraj to the town of Hvar on the other side of the island where I took a taxi-boat around 10 a.m. to tour around the Pakleni Islands, Jerolim, Stipanska, Palmižana, Klement, etc. On my way back I relish the sight of global migration, the all-pervading flow which stands in sharp contrast to the historical determination of the town of Hvar and its fortifications not to move an inch.

The sign on the parking-lot says “10 Kn per hour”, taxi-boat – 35 Kn, a glass of beer at

“Carpe diem beach” bar at Stipanska – 28 Kn, but there’s no point in going on in this tone because, even if I came to Hvar for work, it doesn’t mean I have to economize. In other words, work will bring some profit. And if you’re not here for work but for enjoyment, that’s only a reason more not to be tightfisted on yourself. Hvar will give in return so much more.

It took me a little more than half a day to travel half of Central Dalmatia. I drove some 200 kilometres holding the tiller of my boat with the feeling of tasting and savouring (rather than working as a journalist) Omiš, Makarska, Drvenik, Sućuraj, Bogomolje, Gdinj, Zastražišće, Mala Stiniva, Jelsa, Vrboska, Stari Grad, Hvar, the Pakleni Islands... a whole little universe.

So hang on good to that tiller! Hang on to life!

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HVAR

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KOMIŽA

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Sensations of 24

For this we have no wo

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ARPE DIEM BEACH, HVAR

KALAMBERA

ISLAND OF ČIOVO

Central Dalmatia

ord

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