21.09 - Day 250 - Lumbarda, CRO
Saturday 21st September - Lumbarda (Korcula Island), Croatia (Day 250)
Following a standard early morning walk for me, a breakfast of porridge for the kids and cornflakes for the adults, we head back to the same beach a five minute walk away - Vela Przina Plaza - where Sienna and Seb want to get straight back into dam building on the rocky outcrop at the edge of the sand.
Kate meanwhile turns her creative hand to crafting a 4 foot long octopus in the sand ‘Well, 8 is a lot of legs David’. A quick swim in the very shallow sea before heading back to the apartment for lunch.
After checking on the 8 tortoises the owners have pottering around in two stone rimmed beds, it’s rinse and repeat: back to the beach.
This time we snorkel at the nearer, stoney end where there is plenty of fish bobbing about. Seb and I swim all the way to the sandy end, floating over the sunlight dancing on the sandy bed several metres below us. The clarity of the water is embarrassing.
Kate and I wind down after a hard day’s exploits with a rose on the balcony. Iva, our host, has told us of a local football competition occurring, once a year, tonight. We can hear the banging of drums, and can see the several utes passing by at the end of the vineyard, flags waving.
Intrigued, Seb and I head down at 18:30 - it’s a 5 on 5 concrete pitch with a noisy crowd, each section all wearing their local colour. This is a tournament amongst the 8 local communities of the area.
Off the pitch it’s all friendly - megaphones, drums, fireworks (hand held…) - though less friendly for the three goats slowly rotating on the spit roasts.
On the pitch it's no holds barred - grimaces meet each tumble on the asphalt. One game gets stopped after a fracas, another game has a flare thrown on the pitch to celebrate a goal. Good, honest Croatian fun.
Iva (who’s son is playing) is very happy to see us, but with an early start ahead, we head off not knowing who wins the Lumbarda Trophy 2024.
Back at the flat Kate and I pack the car whilst the kids sleep.