Around Vis island

Today was an amazing day; we visited many places, saw many things and had lots of fun. We started off by renting a scooter from a friendly little place nearby our accommodation. We rode off to find some brunch but alas there was none to be had on the road we took. We did however find a sight well worth exploring. A small path led us past an abandoned house up on the cliffs overlooking the sea. There we found a set of stairs leading down into a small bunker with some slits for rifles.

Exploring the area further led me to a larger bunker complex that can be described like this:

I walk down the utterly dark tunnel, my flashlight the only source of illumination. The tunnel is long and narrow and vaulted overhead. The white paint on the walls has deteriorated over the years and a bunch of rusty metal clamps are all that remains of the previous lighting system. As I come closer to the end I can sense a faint glow somewhere, when I reach it, it turns out to be a crossroads. I go to the left because it’s shorter and there is light in that direction. It leads to a small open space within a low semi circular wall and a set of tracks on the ground. I turn back and move past the entrance tunnel towards the next spot of light. It is a similar open semi circle and I realize now that the tracks probably belonged to a retractable canon of some kind. Once again I go back to the main pathway but this time there is no light at the end of the tunnel…. let’s find out out what is there.

That was very exciting to explore as there was no light at all except the little seeping in from canon outposts. The really exciting part though was the derelict submarine tunnel from the 1940’s, with pristine blue water in a long shaft cut straight into the mountain.

This was just a splendid spot so I did the only right thing, I went for a swim, jumping off the pier at the tunnel entrance into the salty blue. After drying off for a bit, we got on the scooter and headed to the opposite side of the island for lunch then continued on the mountain road back towards Vis town. The road offered great views of the mountains and the sea for most of the time, and the exhilaration of speed during the rest.

In the afternoon we stopped by at Stiniva and walked down the precarious little path to a secluded pebble beach in a small bay lined with steep cliffs. It was really amazing and well worth the walk (though I recommend you don’t wear flip flops like we did). If I had snorkeling equipment and a waterproof camera I could spend all day there.

Since the sun sets rather late in Croatia we explored a bit more of the island on the way back into town and just generally enjoyed the ride.