101 Dalmation islands

At least it seems as though there are at least that many, and each scintillatingly more beautiful than the last. After flying from Zagreb to Split, Karen and I took a connecting ferry to Supetar, the largest town on the Dalmatian island of Brač. To the tune of the David Bowie song Young Americans on Croatian radio, faintly amused but fairly clutching each other, we careened over the Vidova Gora mountain and arrived in Bol bruised but none the worse for wear from our vertiginous taxi ride. “All the way from Washington,” indeed. Oh boy.

The rolling landscape of Brač is peppered with piles of grey stones cleared away to facilitate the cultivation of olives, figs, wine, and sour cherries. The island’s principal export is the the brilliant white stone used, most famously, to build the palace of the Roman emperor Diocletian in Split. Bol is a popular tourist destination and is the oldest settlement on the coast of Brač. Fragrant with citrus trees and lavender, it’s most famous for its magnificent horn of pebbly beach, the Zlatni rat or “golden cape” that stretches out into the Adriatic just west of the main town. There are a few Roman ruins near the prominatory, including the foundations of a villa rustica and piscina, a farm house and bath, and pieces of an ancient water reservoir. One of Bol’s hidden jewels is the 15th-century Dominican monastery that lies east of the harbor and its excellent archaeology collection and beautiful chapel.

Vinko, one of Karen’s friends from Washington, D.C., grew up in Bol and has recently moved back to be the head chef at one of the restaurants in town. We made arrangements to stay in one of his family’s self-catering apartments and spent much of the next few days relishing his amicable company and truly amazing cooking. One afternoon Vinko invited us to his parents’ house for a delicious mixed grill lunch and wine made from the grapes of the family vineyard. The meal was assembled in the family’s backyard smoke house, which was filled to bursting with centuries old heirlooms and wine-making equipment. Afterwards, Vinko’s father gave us a memorable tasting tour of his wine cellar and a few precious bottles of his prized homemade olive oil, for which I’m most grateful!