Day 3: A Cruise to the Elaphiti Islands from Dubrovnik

Northwest of Dubrovnik (Croatia) is a small group of islands known as the Elaphiti Islands, and visitors can use a boat from Dubrovnik to visit these islands. Three of the islands are inhabited, and we went to these three and took in the scenery along the way. The first island that we visited was Koločep, but before we got there, we had to take an uncomfortable trip on a speedboat (with many other tourists) around the old walls of Dubrovnik to this island. While sailing around these old city walls, it was not difficult to imagine older times and the power and wealth of this city. In some areas, the walls contain sculptures of the patron saint of Dubrovnik, Saint Blaise. Those sailing by the imposing city walls must have felt a bit frightened when looking at the walls and sculptures of the patron saint, a symbol of this city.

After the speedboat arrived at Koločep, packed with wet tourists (the driver of the speedboat was quite speedy, and there was water spray), we spent a few minutes on the island and walked through a small forest to a secluded cove. However, we did not stay on the island for long, before we were whisked away to the next island.

On the way between the islands, we viewed the shores of the islands and rock formations. We also saw other boats and tourists on jetski. Seagulls followed the boat, and this reminded me of previous trips (Greece and Carolinas). We saw an island that had a white cross on its shore with a statue of Mary praying underneath a tree in the shade. (Perhaps this marked a shipwreck.)

The next island we visited was my favourite island out of the three: Šipan. The island of Šipan has an attractive harbour and ruins of a castle near the harbour. The harbour is littered with shells, and local children collect and sell these shells to tourists. The harbour is picturesque and lined with boats and buildings. I also discovered some nice gardens here. We did not have too long to spend here, and I could have spent a little longer.

Lopud, was our final destination. The island is more populated with a sandy seafront. A walk away is a quieter sandy beach; this is a little bit of a trek through forest and down a lane, and it was unfortunate that we did not have a little more time. (We were able to walk to this beach and back again and have an ice cream in the time we spent on this island.)

After our trip of Lopud was completed, we sailed back to Dubrovnik.