Continuing “Croatian Tapestry”

The evening we anchored in Komiza marked the end of a splendid day of sailing. We left Luka Vis in the morning and set off on a fast close reach around the end of the island, after which we turned onto a beautiful, sparkling blue run, wing-on-wing for the next few hours. Lunch was accompanied only by the swish of our stern wake as we floated past the remote shore of Vis island. There may have even been some topless European sunbathing in the privacy of our cockpit, but nobody has pictures to prove that so I don’t know where you heard it.

Instead of hugging the coast all the way to the town of Komiza (which is on the other side of Vis island), we set across the windy channel to the tiny island of Bisevo, where the famous Blue Grotto is located. It was no small channel–we beam reached with reefed sails making 6 knots for a couple of hours to get there. But when we got to the cove I felt that I had finally “arrived.” Not just at Bisevo, but in Croatia, on vacation–I had finally wound off the stress of such a long flight and nights of broken sleep, and here we were, rafted up in the clearest, royal blue water I’ve ever seen, soaking in the sun. It was finally playtime.

We got the dinghys down and split up the group (so some people would always remain with the anchored boats). Half of us rowed over to the opening of the cave, where a local man in a skiff charged us a few kuna to get in. The main entrance tunnel was narrow and taller than it appeared from the outside, and I was thinking that this cave was pretty cool. And THEN, a hole opened up to our right, and we turned into another entire cavern that was bathed in electric blue light radiating up from beneath us. There were amazing archways underwater, and fish flitting around in the ethereal water. The air in the cave was complete darkness but the water was light. It was the most arresting combination. So we just floated there.

By the time we paddled back out into the blinding sunshine and splashing wind waves, I felt as relaxed mentally as if I’d just been to yoga. So when we got back to the boat, I dove in, and felt completely rejuvenated drying salty in the sun.