Komiža - Day 5 Thursday 9/5

Does the island of Vis look familiar? The 2017 movie, "Mama Mia, Here We Go Again" was filmed in Vis, the oldest established town in Croatia. The island is known to have been inhabited since 3,000 BC, but there has been evidence of Neolithic activity dating from 8,000 BC.

What to do with a morning at leisure? Well, we slept until 9 AM, which is really late for us. Then, we walked downhill to the waterfront, to one of two restaurants where Jane has arranged for us to have our daily breakfast.

We left at 11:30 AM for an excursion to Žena Glava. Some attribute the name of this town to a translation of “Thirsty Head” (žedna glava), an allusion to a dry area, while others believe it refers to “Headwoman” (žena-glava) – a village's chief woman. Our first stop took us to the home of Darko, who is a fisherman and an affable host. As you can see, Darko raises goats. He also had this morning's fresh catch hanging up.

Here is his area for preparing peka, and his rakia fermentation area. We are becoming acquainted with Croatian necessities.

It has become apparent that no one leaves without a "snack," and today it was a fish based panini and some delicious garlic knots. And wine. Always homemade wine.

Please note that my awful hair is a combination of wearing my sun hat and the heat, exacerbated by the fact that all of our hair products are in the lost luggage. The other photo shows Jay (in the blue shirt) with our host, Darko.

We then traveled to see "Tito's secret cave." As WWII ended and the Cold War began, Vis was transformed by Yugoslavian leader Josip Broz Tito into a military base for the communist Yugoslav army. Tito established a number of military fortifications on the island, including a submarine base and a network of secret underground tunnels and caves across the island. Tito used this cave as a hideout from the invading Nazi forces during the Second World War. I suspect it was a most effective location because the bombers would never notice it, and any land troops would not enjoy the hike to reach it (about 250 steps). By the way, Vis island was closed to visitors until 1989.

[

Note that Tommy is solo in the cave niche because Maureen was smart enough to realize that this might not be worth the hike.

The views along the drive were amazing.

After this workout, it was time to eat again. We visited the home of Ine who, as you can see, was waiting for us. To say that she is a MOST GREGARIOUS hostess might be an understatement.

Again, we enjoyed a meal in a lovely ambiance....

...feasting on a cuttlefish cold salad appetizer, followed by beef and gnocchi, and ending with the most delicious homemade cookies.

We started with a rakia toast, and Ine's wines have been (in my opinion) the best of the trip so far.

Ine's neighbor entertained us with traditional Croatian music (joined by Ine's husband), as well as a number of songs that were familiar to us. The wine encouraged us all to sing along.

At various moments, Ine became so excited by our enjoyment that she would engage in spontaneous showers of affection, and to my utter shock, she literally lifted me off the floor.

Maureen enjoyed a dance with our hostess.

Suffice it to say that a good time was had by all.

On our return trip, our driver, Josep, dropped those who wished to swim off at the beach. Fortunately, my bathing suit was in my carry on luggage, so I was good to go. The beaches here are rocky, so water shoes are a must. The water is absolutely delightful. After a refreshing swim, we walked back to the apartments and spent some time outdoors on the patio.

Now for the glimmer of hope about the luggage. Last night, it occurred to Jane that she could ask her friend Luca, who is a lawyer for Croatian Air, whether he might be able to suggest a resource to help us to locate the luggage. He told her that he would take it on as his mission. In a matter of a few hours, he was sending her photos of our suitcases. American Airlines initially told him that there were no identifying tags on the luggage, and his comment to Jane was that he actually could read our phone numbers and emails that were on the tags from the pictures that they sent him...yet no one contacted us. Suddenly, with his intervention, our luggage is supposed to be expedited from Rome to Split airport, where a driver will pick it up and put it on the ferry to Vis tomorrow. Jane is a maker of miracles.

Photos are tagged Croatia and Komiza