Hvar, Croatia, December 5, 2010.

Yesterday in Split I stopped at a ladies room on the way to the boat right next to the police station. I didn't have the 3 kunas in my hand when I entered so the lady allowed me to use the toilet and then pay her. When I counted out the change I didn't have enough so I added American money to make up for it. I walked out and handed her the change and then placed my coin purse on top of the towel dispenser so it wouldn't get wet. There was nobody else here except the lady and I. My other choice was to place it in my mouth. So I placed it on the towel dispenser and turned to wash my hands. When I turned around to get a towel the dispenser was empty. She handed me a towel to dry my hands and I reached for my coin purse; only, it wasn't there anymore. Of course, the lady couldn't speak any English or pretended not to be able. Daddy and I searched all over the stall and sinks. It just wasn't there. I don't know how she did it because I never saw anything; but I know I had it in the stall. So it had to be somewhere in there; probably on her. So I lost $360 kunas which is about $150 of our money. There goes my souvenir money. It didn't do any good to go to the police because the people are not afraid of them; so it would be a waste of time.
It started raining so we went to a mall by taxi. There was a McDonalds and maybe we could get the Internet. They didn't have it and they had no milk or cream for their coffees. We have been in McDonalds all over this world and never found one that didn't have cream or milk. Till now!!! We finally found an Internet cafe on the fourth floor and they had coffee with cream. YES!!! The mall was called JOKER but pronounced as a Y. At least I was able to catch up on the first couple days of our trip because the hour I spent at the library in Sibenik was lost. How Disappointing!!!!!
We sail out to Hvar tomorrow morning at 9 AM. In the middle of the night strong winds came up and started pushing the boat. They had to unhook from the dock and go out into the harbor and anchor. If they didn't, we would have been sitting on top of the dock by the morning. The winds were supposed to be 50 mph, Our sister ship, the Artremis, is in the harbor also. In the middle of the night the anchor chain
sounded like a very loud vacuum cleaner. They had to pull it up and turn the boat around in the middle of the night. At least we are on the third floor and in the middle so the anchor noise was less. The anchor noise was called a bow thruster.
Hvar is basically a touristic island that promises no snow or ice or they will refund your money. they have only had snow or ice 33 times in 140 years. The town began when they built the fortress high on the hill for protection. The arsenal was the most important part of the town. the Galleon sailed right inside the walls. Now a 100 foot sidewalk has been built outside of the sea wall. The clock tower built in 2012 has an unique sundial on the outside.. In 1571 all of the locals hid within the fortress when the Turks attacked. During the Renaissance the Benedictine Nuns moved into the fortress and never came out. They have learned how to make lace out of the agave plant leaves. Several
are in residence now. It is a very laborious job and the lace is stored under glass for protection. The first Renaissance theatre in Europe was here. The Austrians in 1903 built the first hotel. Hvar was known to be the largest town, 4500 square meters, had the oldest well in Europe and the oldest church built in the 5th century dedicated to Mary. Outside the church is a statue of St. Stephen the Pope with the left hand holding the Bible and the right hand blessing the people. The Roman Catholics built the church in 1571 after the Turks left, taking two centuries to complete it.
Hvar has olive trees, orange groves, vineyards, fig trees, rosemary and lavendar everywhere. They plant these wherever they have some
dirt. Just outside of the wall they have a community garden where each plot is separated by low stone walls in terraces because their land is
very hilly. These terraces are all over the hills and they represent a lot of work. In 1999 they had a forest fire for 7 days and lost most of their
crops. They are regrowing them, but olives, grapes and figs take time to mature enough to produce. Before the fire they produced 20 tons of
lavender, now only 2 tons. This lavender hybrid was actually brought to the island by Russian soldiers. It is used as a pain killer for muscles,
essential oils for the skin, a repellant for mosquitoes and it calms the body. Lavender was the base of the local economy. They grow other
herbs: Rosemary-to stimulate, ST. Johns wort for digestion, Myrtle, chamomile and sage. They actually drink a Rosemary tea instead of
coffee in the morning. They pick the ST. John wort's yellow flowers before noon, put them in a jar until it's full, then add extra virgin olive oil, let it sit for 6 weeks. It turns red, they strain out the flowers and use the oil.
Hvar has a population of 4000 people. It is on an island of 11,200 people called Island of the Sun because it receives 2750 hours of sun
in a year. The town of Starigrad,founded by Illyrian Greeks, is an UNESCO site due to it's fertile fields which can only be used for agriculture. In 1868 a local doctor founded the first Wellness Clinic here. the town of Vrboskn was built. In 1468.
We visited a winery fallen Vina Pinjata which was down in a cellar near the water owned by the Garbaleich family , 5 generations of this family with this winery. they make their wines the old fashioned traditional way of their ancestors. the white grapes they use in this wine only grow on this island called Bogbanjuilar. We tasted a1-Vanuscha-a light green clear white, 2-Pare with 14% alcohol so you need really good food with it; both white wines are fermented in steel casks, 3-a red Sang grape in oak, 4-grappa with 45% alcohol, 90 proof, no smell, no color, Travaleita with anise, and 5- red grappa with wild bush berries. they pick them in January when they are dark blue and place in a cellar for 42 months. it turns a red color. they use it for stomach troubles. they also had a dessert wine called Provance which was sweet, with 17% alcohol and 35 proof. The Hvarti cheese was served sitting in olive oil.
In 400 BC the Illyrians from Pathos, Greece settled on the island of Btaches in caves. They moved inland to more fertile land and named it Pharos which meant the light house. It became the political, religious and social center. In 200 BC the Romans arrived and brought mosaics and money. Now it is Slavic with an Italien influence. From the 13th to the 18th century when under the rule of Venice was the most productive time and they moved the capital from Starigrad to Hvar because it was easier to protect Hvar from the many outer islands. Now Hvar is the most important harbor on the Adriatic Sea. During the Renaissance in Hvar interesting laws were developed that are used world wide now. they developed equal rights and health care. Even the poor have free medical care and free school.
The buildings date back to the 15th- 16th centuries. In 1510 - 1516 there was a public rebellion of local fisherman against the nobility who wouldn't allow them to sell fish on the mainland. They burned most of the Venetian nobles' houses. You can still see some of the fire scars. The main leader escaped to Rome and became an important person there.
In the 16th century the plaque came and they lost a large part of their population. In the 18th century the Venetain republic dissolved. Many of their words are Italien, due to their long rein. The island just outside their harbor is called Vis, an Italien word. After the Venetians, Napoleon came, then the Austrians. The Austrians used Hvar as a resort 150 years ago. The first hotel was built here by the Austrians in 1903. Tourism started 150 years ago and 70% of their people work in tourism today. Everything costs more on the island because everything has to come from Split on the mainland, which is 2 hours by ferry. Because fire is a major problem on the island everyone is a volunter firefighter. They have elementary and high schools but no university. They need to go to Split on the mainland for college. But they often return here after college because jobs are easier to find here than on the mainland.
During WWI they were occupied by the Italiens. During WWII they were occupied by the Germans then became the federal republic of Yugoslavia. Then they were under Communism.