Great article about Croatian islands:
"Spanish beaches too overbuilt for you? Italy and Greece too crowded? French
Riviera sound too expensive? Maybe it's time to go island-hopping in Croatia."
"And no wonder. The water is clean and clear, the sun constant, the crowds easy
to ditch (except in Dubrovnik), the exchange rate kind. I usually snort at
tourist-advertising slogans, but Croatia's new one — "The Mediterranean as it
once was" — is right on the money."
"Over to Hvar island by ferry, we were the only tourists at Jelsa's grubby bus
station, yet a meandering trip to Stari Grad with chattering local teens proved
a delightful surprise. Winding through four inland towns, our driver squeaked
his aging bus over a hilly obstacle course that only optimists would call a
one-lane road. Teens were dropped off at immaculately kept houses, next to
fields bounded by stone walls straight out of the Roman era.
Another bus took us from Stari Grad — a lovely natural port close to where
the massive, ambling car ferry from Split docks — over the hill to the yachting
mecca of Hvar.
Hvar's hip crowd favors the pricey drinks and fabulous views of Carpe Diem,
the restaurant-club at the end of its pier. We dined across the harbor at
Gostionica Kod Kapetana, along with two dozen overall-clad construction workers
working late on the Hotel Amfora reconstruction next door.
Despite the lack of fancy clothes, we feasted like royalty. After we ordered,
the busboy walked 30 feet to the Hvar pier, hauled up a rope bag and brought in
our mussels. On Brac, a young fisherman in oilskins returned to port about 9
p.m., piled a box of squid and fish onto his moped and made emergency deliveries
to Bol's seafront restaurants."
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travel/2004267446_croatiaislands09.html
