Korcula, Croatia

We came into port and as per usual, I had broken my sunglasses, so we
began our hunt for yet another cheap pair.  I was disappointed,
because these ones looked pretty sturdy and fit me perfectly, but alas
sunglasses and I don't get along very well.

It was while we were mulling over my sunglasses situation, eating
chocolate crepes and sipping cappuccinos that I thought that I should
see if I had mobile phone support to see if there was any news about
Jen and Alan and their soon to be baby.  We figured there wouldn't be
any action as it was still early yet, but I thought it best to check.
Low and behold, we received a jubilant message from both Alan and my
parents saying that Ashley Katlin McDermott was born the day before
and that both baby and mom were doing fine.  I put down the phone,
took another bite of my crepe and said to Laura, "Well it looks as
though I'm no longer the baby of the family!"  Checking the messages
on my phone had depleted all of the pre-pay money I had on it, turns
out it cost me £3.50 per minute (about $7.50CAD), so we went to an
internet cafe to send emails and look at pictures.

Afterwards, we went to find some of our boat mates to let them know
that we were aunts and uncles.  We found them on the top of a castle
turret sipping over priced cocktails.

Everyone was very happy, and someone said "This calls for some more
drinks!"  So here you see Laura and I toasting Ashley and the new
parents.


Might I add that to get up to the top of that turret, one has to climb
several tight stair cases, then up a very steep ladder, through a
narrow hole in the ceiling.  It certainly isn't something you'd want
to do once you had a few drinks into you.  The servers brought drinks
up via a tray tied to a rope and some basic pulley system.  If this were
Canada, the whole situation would smell of litigation, and insurance
companies would scream with fright.

Korcula itself is another medieval walled city, absolutely beautiful
streets and buildings.


We were getting used to an abundance of cats roaming the streets and
acting like they own the place, but when Laura and I walked into this
little square, I let out a little yelp of consternation.

Were they sleeping, lying in wait for some large-scale cat invasion?
Or were they breeding so quickly that we were all doomed to live as
slaves to our new cat over-lords?  First they take over Korcula, then
what.. The world?  I didn't want to wait around and find out, so we
quietly made a hasty retreat.  *shudder*

To calm my frazzled nerves we met up with more of our boat-mates and
hastened to find an indoor restaurant for supper because the weather
was turning menacing as the wind and rain picked up.

Some of us opted to eat at a little restaurant while others braved the
elements in an outside cafe.  We had a great meal, and I sampled some
local white wine and the worlds best Calsone (Panzarotti).


While the rain let up, we sipped wine and let our stomachs settle.  It
was at this point, while speaking with one of our boat-mates that we
realized that this guy worked as a teacher at a school with our flat
mate, back in London, and knew her very well.  Small world!

I called Laura "Aunt Laura", and she called me "Uncle Kevin" all
evening, as we headed back to the boat.

Here are all the pictures.