Bici, Amici and Italy

​We start the day with a James Bond type exit from Hvar Island with a private speedboat ride to Korcula Island! We get dropped off at Vela Luka and we had to ride to the other end of the island to Korcula City. It was an interesting ride with a lot of variety.  Seems like we started in a more arid environment and then crossed into a more lush ecosystem.  And who knew there were so many dangers to beware of.  Wild boar and killer bunnies.   Nice roads with beautiful vistas.    Very neat and cared for vineyards.  A mountain or two to cross with some plunges and verdant valleys.  We even found a hidden cove where we took a quick swim at one point.  Jim even found his future fixer upper.  Are these the biggest fennel plants in the world? We finally make our way into Korcula which is the birthplace of Marco Polo (alleged- some dispute on this).  The city streets are in a herringbone pattern.   This is the view out our hotel window....

​We head out of Split in the morning to catch the ferry to Hvar Island.  We thought the ferry yesterday to Brac was big but this one is huge.  It is the biggest ship I have ever been on. This crossing takes about an hour and a half on calm seas.  We arrive at Stari Grad and there are two options, a ride that is a bit shorter and more direct or a longer version.  Diane and Al decide to take the shorter and Jim and I go the longer route.   We quickly pass through Stari Grad old town as we want to get some miles in before the day heats up.  The first loop heads out into the Stari Grad plains where we see that this island has more flat open space than Brac did and there is considerable agriculture.   Jelsa is an attractive port city and was near the end of the first loop.  On the way out of town, Jim provided assistance to a Belgian man who was having chain problems.  Vrboska was another interesting town and there were many upscale sailboats and ...

​Today we head out to the first of our island visits. We leave our lodging (here is the little alley it was at the end of in Split).   We pedal to the ferry departure point which has ferries going to all the different islands and find the one for Brac. We are all surprised by how large it is and how many vehicles get loaded on board.   It is about an hour’s ride and we deboard in Supetar.  I am once again blown away by the clear turquoise water full of schools of fish.  We have a longish ride today with some serious climbing and the day is already feeling warm so we get on the road quickly.  So we don’t linger in Supetar but it is indeed lovely.   We soon enter Sutivan, another gorgeous seaside village.  We soon leave the coast and head inland which was the start of the days climbing.  We pass through some small villages and once again the island is covered with rock piles and rock walls from when ancient farmers cleared the fields for agricultura...