Every day when we arrive in a new place I say it’s my new favourite, and maybe that’s because I’m totally living in the present and on holiday, so where I am at any given moment is magic. And may also because today wasn’t about walking through towns and history, it was about nature and people – so I really do think today was the best day on the cruise yet ….and thus is another day of two halves (i.e. two posts).
Our morning was a visit to Mljet (pronounced Meh-yet…. kind of, run it together fast!) National Park, which takes up the northwest end of the island Mljet. [Are you noticing a theme here – most islands also have a town, or a park, also called the same name, just to confuse us a little!]. We were on land by 9am and had 3.5 hours to explore. This national park is one of the few places with a ‘forest’ of native and protected Mediterranean plants. It is much like Australian bush (not like NZ forest) i.e. trees and scrub and rocks, walking round on a hot day (without the smell of eucalyptus thou), accompanied the whole time by the noise of cicadas, and the sun beating down.
There were two saltwater lakes (tidal, though not big tides) and a church plus Benedictine Monastery on St Mary’s island on the larger lake. We had the option of boat trip to the island, hike around the lake/s or hire kayaks or bikes. A few of us chose the bike option and set off on the 8km loop, on the park’s paved road. We passed the market van, which brought veggies and fresh supplies to the little hamlets on the lake (houses and holiday places that were there before it became a national park). This was a place where I could stay for a few days – walking, swimming, kayaking etc – though only in summer as the tourism dies off completely in the winter and ferries etc are scarce.
As we came up to the little island in the lake, there was a place we could wave a flag and a man in a small dingy (boat) would come and collect us to go to the island, so long as we bought something at the cafe. So, we left our bikes, bought a drink each and went exploring. It was so good to move in the morning, and the bike ride and spontaneous swims in the lakes as we rode around were divine.
We floated between the lakes through a small channel – no effort required! (note that swimming shoes are needed everywhere as it is rocky beaches – no sand). The strawberry gelato before I got back on the ship was also pretty good 🙂
