The most underrated Dalmatian Island

Our final destination was Island of Šolta, one of the most underrated Dalmatian Islands due to, I believe, its closeness to the mainland so no one take it "seriously". There is even one old traditional song that has verse "You can see Šolta from your window" (very dilettante translation, but I can't help it!)

This year Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards 2007 included Dalmatian island on top 10 Islands list (No.7 in world and No.2 in Europe - not bad?!) but they didn't even mentioned Šolta. That's shame since Šolta is really beautiful island with so many different faces. There is very picturesque and "cultivated" north side of the island with few small villages, than there is island inland with old villages like Gornje selo, Donje selo, Grohote ("capital" of the island) Maslinica... but there is also "wild" souther side with high cliffs and hidden coves... As far as I'm concerned, I'm happy that Šolta is sill not trendy place because there is no crowd so one can really enjoy it's beauty.

Well, we started our visit to Solta form south side. The first few days we had really nice calm weather so it was ideal for "savage" coves without any trace of civilization like electricity, grocery shops, bars ...

After few day of Robinson experience we needed firm ground under our feet and some fresh espresso under our nose so we decided to go to Stomorska, the biggest village on north side of the island whit lot's of coffee bars and some very good restaurants (one of which inspired the name for my blog!).

Of shells and airplanes

After the break we continued our voyage visiting Krknjasi (43o26,3' N - 16o10,6' E), wonderful laguna near the Island of Drvenik with crystal blue sea. It is really stunningly beautiful, but I'm not big fan of it since it is very popular destination for day excursions from Trogir and Split and is always very crowded. Still, we had fun counting the airplanes circling over busy Split Airport.

Thanks to the extraordinary clear and clean sea, and its sandy bottom, Krknjasi are very rich in shells. Well, they used to be, but it seams that the "secret" has been busted and people have overexploited it. We (my father) "hunted" only few "volaka" (murex shell), “Pedoča” (mussels) and “Brbavica” (Venus verrucosa) but it was more than enough for delicious dinner -Spaghetti with Mixed Shellfish (read recipe here, watch recipe here).

Fish, grill and woodfire

We made a short break from sailing to meet our relatives form Zagreb. Off course, family reunions are always ideal opportunities for great dinning! And in Dalmatia this demands to start the woodfire and grill the fish. We call it “Riba na gradele” or shorter “Gradelada”.

To grill the fish requires audience because it is the ritual, it is the ceremony. To be responsible for starting up the fire and manage the grilling, to be “The Master or The Mistress (there is no gender problem here ) of Ceremony” is a big privilege and it is considered to be a great honor.

It takes years of learning and practice to get that right feeling that is necessary to start the fire. To know when the heat is right to put the grills on fire, when is the best moment to turn the fish so it doesn’t break or that skin doesn’t stick to the grills... Some believe that it is the talent you have to be born with.

Riba na gradele - (Grilled fish)
Starting the fire is first and crucial step.

Start the smaller flame with old newspaper and smaller, dry branches. Be aware to leave plenty of air space in between branches because fire needs oxygen to burn.

Set larger wood in the form of pyramid on top of the firestarter. Using the right wood for the fire is very important. Use dry wood. "Seasoned" wood is the best for making a fire. The wood should burn slow and hot. Add grapevine twigs when grilling the fish because it will give special aroma to the fish. Keep your fire "alive" until wood compliantly burs out and transforms in red embers.

Meanwhile, clean the grills with steel brush. Put the grills on the fire (when the flame is still high) so the all residues from earlier gradelade burns out. Afterwards smear with olive oil using the napkin.

When the grills are hot and the wood has burned out and you have hot embers, it is time to start to grill the fish.

While you are waiting wood to burn out, clean and gut the fish. Smaller fishes you can leave whole but larger you will have to slice. Dry the fish and then season it with olive oil and salt.

Put the fishes on the grills. Wait until the skin or meat gets the crust. Turn the fish. Use the rosemary to pat fish with olive oil. When other side gets the crust remove fish on plate and pour olive oil, parsley and garlic.

People in Dalmatia believe that fish has to swim three times: in the sea, in the oil and in the wine, so the glass (one glass, not whole bottle) of good Dalmatian wine is important part of the fish meal.

Buying fresh fish

We are sailing, we are fishing, we are eating....

The first exacting thing we did was two weeks long vacation on our old wooden sailing boat called "Lutalica" meaning "Vagabond". We wondered around nearby islands of Drvenik Veli, Drvenik Mali and Šolta.

The crew were: my parents, my nephew Roko, my "precious one" and me! My sister joined us letter. Our boat is old and small but offers great comfort. But cooking on boat requires lots of good organization. Although the kitchen is really small and very essential we managed to cook and eat fabulous breakfasts, lunches and dinners. The secret is in my mother's experience in organizing the stocks and cooking on boat that she gathered over the years. More about cooking coming soon!

First we visited beautiful cove on mainland called Stari Togir (43° 29.5'N; 16° 02'E), meaning 'Old Trogir' that was the site of an ancient town called Trogir, allegedly visited by Cleopatra. There are remains of the old roman palace and old walls that are partially submerged under the sea. At the end of the cove there is beautiful small sandy beach. We spent our first day just relaxing and putting ourselves in "boat" mood.

Next day we sailed to the island Mali Drvenik, little port Borak (43^o26,6' N - 16^o05,1' E) and spent two days in that small port that seemed frozen in same strange time. The only connection with a mainland is a small ferry that during the summer drives two or three times a day. But, we did get a special bonus - our neighbors were fisherman boats which gave as the great source of fresh Adriatic fish for our hungry tummies!

Drvenik Mali is beautiful small Island situated 8 nautical miles from Trogir. Locals cultivate olives and grape so you can buy great home made olive oil and wine. Since the sea around the island is shallow and rich in fish, there are lots of fishermen and it is great opportunity to buy fresh fish directly from fisherman boat. We didn't miss that opportunity! On the island there are few nice sandy beaches. One afternoon we walked to cove of Vela Rina, known as the most beautify beach on the island. Vela Rina (43^o26.6' N - 16^o05.1' E) is also a pier for smaller yachts.