Last week we received the invitation from Plamenko Bavcevic to participate in the 2nd Rota Palagruzona – a traditional boat event starting on Hvar Island, crossing to Komiza, on Vis Island and then crossing to remote Palagruza Island.

Professor Josko Bozanic started the regatta to honor the old fisherman who used to make the marathon journey from Komiza to Palagruza to take advantage of the rich fishing grounds. (The currents of the Adriatic Sea sweep up the rocky islet from the depths bringing nutrients with them – attracting fish from all around.)

Last year we took the Labud to Komiza to take part in the crossing. Unfortunately we had some mechanical issues – so it would not have been safe for us to take-on the 45 nautical miles of open sea – but as it turned out the weather was against the rest of the fleet, and no one went.

Instead a small race was organized to Brusnik Island.

That night, upon the boats’ return, a festival was held in Komiza, with a presentation, klapa (traditional singing) and a brudet (fish stew) cook-off.

This year the regatta will be from 20th – 25th June. It will coincide with one of our Vis and Hvar Islands Kayak Adventures.

More information about the fishermen of Komiza and crossing to Palagruza can be found in articles Ray Fusco and I wrote about our attempt to cross the Adriatic by kayak – here and here.

Our crazy picigin (a type of Dalmatian water-based handball)-playing friend Julio Žuvela (pictured above playing the sport) was mentioned in the Daily Telegraph for a bicycle tour through the Croatian Islands that he leads. The article can be found here.

Maybe ‘sport’ is the wrong term for picigin. It is not a competition – more of a pursuit for participants and a performance for spectators. It was invented in the shallows of Bacvice Beach, in Split. The aim is for the 5 people involved is to keep the small ball aloft – but they don’t necessarily want to make the job easy for their colleagues – instead the desire is to hit the ball into a spot that allows their friends to display their acrobatic prowess whilst stopping it landing in the water.

It could be described as the local mating dance!

Miquel Hudin, an American with Croatian heritage, and his wife have completed a handy guide to the wines of Dalmatia and Herzegovina. Hopefully this will lead to a greater appreciation for them, and the local producers will enjoy a little healthy criticism.

You can find out how to purchase it here.

They also publish an Epicurian, Hedonistic blog here.

An old friend from New York City, the Gregster, dropped in to visit us this weekend. We hadn’t seen him in 7 years – it was great to catchup and talk about the days in NYC – the bars, restaurants and clubs, and playing for the NY Magpies. It was also an excellent opportunity to eat at some of our favorite restaurants and take some embarrassing pictures of Greg.

The first day we had lunch at Konoba Šperun, next to the laundrette. We often grab a quick meal here – usually during the summer on their curb-side tables and just the cold appetizers. They have excellent marinated anchovies, a cheese and tomato plate, calamari, bread and olives – really simple but tasty things.

The next day was a gluttonous road-trip to Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik is one of the most beautiful towns in the world. Now is the perfect time to visit before the summer cruise-liners arrive and swamp the cobbled streets.

On the way we stopped at Kapetanova Kuća in Mali Ston- one of Croatia’s Top Ten Restaurants – which has been mentioned previously on our blog. After denying ourselves breakfast we were ready for a huge lunch.

We started with oysters of course – as Mali Ston is famous for them. I had always thought that all oysters were the same – but after visiting the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station in NY many years ago, where you can order them from all over the world, I learned that every region produces different size and shape shells and, more importantly, different flavours.

After the oysters we shared a plate of mixed mussels and clams – cooked buzara style. Buzara is a Dalmatian white wine and garlic sauce in which they cook their shellfish. The sauce is so good that after eating the shellfish you then mop it up with plenty of bread.

The main meal was black cuttlefish risotto (made with the ink from squids) and grilled squid. People always jump when they see the colour of the risotto – but, if the initial fear of eating black food can be overcome, black risotto is delicious. The squid was simply grilled and then drizzled with olive oil and garlic.

All this was washed down with a bottle of Marco Polo Pošip. Pošip is the white wine variety from Korčula Island.

And if all this wasn’t enough, Greg need a slice of rožata – Dalmatian creme caramel – to top it all off. I was thinking to offer him a glass of desert wine – prošek – but that would have been excessive!

Once we arrived in Dubrovnik we needed to rest. So we found a hole-in-the-wall cafe clinging to the town’s famous walls and watched the big ships sail passed.

In Dubrovnik there is only one place to eat – Lokanda Peskarija. All the other restaurants are tourist traps. The Peskarija has a limited menu – maybe 10 dishes – and they are all served in small black pots. Its such a simple, elegant idea. Its location is stunning as well – right on the edge of the water in the old port, under big umbrellas. After such a big lunch we just needed something small – just calamari, grilled prawns and a big mixed salad – and a little more wine and coffee.

The next morning, nursing the first twinges of gout, we decided some brisk sea air and a little walk would do us good. So Greg, Jules, the kids and I piled into the Fiat and caught the ferry to Hvar Island. We drove across the island to look at its southern slopes which are famous for producing excellent plavac -Dalmatian red wine.

The plan was to hike amongst the vines but the weather gods were against us so we retired to Konoba Vrisnik for lunch. The owner, Andro Grgičević, welcomed us in but said that they were not yet officially open for the season. However a group from Zagreb had organized a meal and he said we could join them.

The meal started with a broth made with goat meat stock and buck-wheat – very tasty. Then Andro brought us a plate of boiled goat meat, mashed potato and tomato sauce. He explained that this was typical Saturday meal for the villagers of Hvar. After the first course of goat another bowl of goat meat cooked with peas appeared. The sweetness of the peas was excellent with the young goat meat. Just as we were settling down completely satisfied, we saw Andro serving the other guests with yet more plates of grilled lamb and salad. Thinking that heart-attacks were imminent if we continued with the last course, we went for quick a walk.

After returning to Split, for the evening meal we decided to try Restoran Perlica. The restaurant had been recommended as the best place near Split to get lamb-on-the-spit. And we were not disappointed! The friendly staff (often a rarity in Croatia) provided us with a plate piled high with roasted lamb, green salad and a side-order of young spring onions. Once again really simple food but so good. The reason we wanted to try Perlica was we wish to include it in a half-day tour from Split to the archaeological sites of the Roman city of Salona and the hill-top fort of Klis. We will definitely bring guests to it!

Finally, Greg fell in love with a Croatian beer – Karlovačko – which always seems to be the favorite of foreigners visiting here.

After such a debauched weekend I was happy to see the back of Greg – but hopefully it won’t be another 7 years before we meet again.

Tonight our friends Jane Cody and John Nash had the official Croatian launch of their book, Croatia Cruising Companion. Jane also did some writing for the new Timeout Croatia magazine, and she presented it as well to the audience of marina representatives and tourism agencies.

The Cruising Companion took Jane and John several years to research – they visited every bay of significance from Zadar to the south. For each they produced anchorage charts as well as wrote lengthy descriptions on available facilities – such as our laundrette in Split.

The book is perfect for those coming here to rent a yacht and visit the Dalmatian Islands. It is currently ranked #3 for both books on Croatia and those on sailing on Amazon.com.

Timeout Croatia has a thicker guide magazine again this year. More stories and more information are crammed inside. One of our kayaking pictures, taken on a tour around Vis and Hvar Islands, appears in the adventure section.

Above is one of the hardest working and most generous expats in Split, our friend Nigel Turnball.

Several years ago he set up Sailing School Croatia. Its the only RYA approved sailing school in these parts, offering a range of courses for yachties in a beautiful location – the Dalmatian Islands.

Together we enjoy the occasional recreational sail or we call him whenever we are off on a new adventure – he was kind enough to follow when the authorities forced us to take a support boat on our attempt to kayak across the Adriatic Sea.