Island life

We’ve been on the island of Brač in Croatia for a week now and I can positively say that I’ve been enjoying every moment so far. I love standing on our balcony looking at the azure blue of the ocean against the rocks of the mainland. The olive groves, the old stone houses with green or blue shutters and vines creeping up the walls, the sun setting like a fireball over the hills in the distance…

Usually we get up and walk down to the beach for a morning swim. The water is fresh and incredibly invigorating as I dive under. It is turquoise where there’s sand below and a darker shade of blue when the ground is covered by rock or seaweed. The bay is adorned with pines and their distinctive smell triggers nice memories of past family holidays by the ocean as our entire clan – uncle, aunt, cousins, grandparents as well as my parents and my brother – made its way through pinewoods to beautiful rocky beaches. Ah the 90s…

We’ll dry off and stroll to the town centre where we’ll plant ourselves in a cushioned chair to indulge in a cup of coffee. It’s always a gamble whether it’s burnt or creamy and smooth but that’s part of the fun. From there we walk across to the market where locals offer fresh vegetables, fruit, bread, olive oil as well as fish and meat. We buy what we need for the day and make our way back home to have some breakfast.

After work and lunch – that almost always includes local olive oil and the sneaky glass of red once in a while – we might go for another swim. Or we stay put on our balcony where we can see the sun set during dinner. Life is simple. I could sit here for hours and look out onto the ocean with a book in my hand.

Bit by bit we’ll explore some corners of the island, find a new hidden beach, walk through olive groves, take a bike ride and sit at the harbour of a neighbouring town for a cold beer. One of these days we’ll take a bus and cross the island to climb the highest peak of the Adriatic islands or we’ll visit a 3000-year-old settlement not far from here. There is no hurry as long as we have the sun and the sea.