Spring Break (Part 3) - The Island

Vis has made our list of favorite places in the world.  There's really nothing to not like about it... It is absolutely beautiful, with little bays and alcoves around the island with pebble and sand beaches, while the interior is covered with vineyards and olive trees, and single-lane roads get you around much of the island.  It is also the furthest island off the coast of Croatia, so it is very non-touristy and non-crowded (in fact, driving around the island, it was rare for us to even see another car).  It also seems as though it got lost somewhere in time.  All of the buildings in the towns of Vis and Komiza look as though they were built 400 years ago, and everyone on the island is still self-employed as some sort of artisan or shop owner.

It's the kind of place where the island baker drives around in his van every morning delivering fresh bread and pastries, and the baker also doubles as the guy who fixes bike tires.  It's the kind of place where you can go to a restaurant that has a patio garden full of lemon trees, ask them to just make whatever they're making, and they bring out one of the best meals you've ever had.  It's the kind of place with a vineyard in the very center of the island where they'll spend three hours cooking a meal under a bell and let your kids run around the vineyards with their dog and let you sample wine while it's getting ready (more on this tomorrow).

It's also the kind of place where this happens:  You hear that there are many people on the island who make unbelievable olive oil...you just have to find them.  So, you ask in town and get pointed down the street...take a right just past Tom & Jerry's Tobacco Shop (yes, the cartoon...yes, a tobacco shop), then your first left and look for the yellow house.  You find the yellow house, knock on the door, and are greeted by a woman in her 60's or 70's who speaks no English.  You hand her a piece of paper telling her what you want, she grabs a used plastic bottle from her kitchen counter, rinses it out using rain water from her basement well, takes you to a pantry behind her kitchen, fills the bottle from a big vat, decides it's too full and takes a swig out of it, puts the cap on and hands it to you with a radiant smile on her face.  And then she gives your kids two boxes of cookies to boot.  And it's the best olive oil you've ever tasted.