It can be very hard to make friends with the locals when you are just a blowfly buzzing in and out again but Paul has a certain knack of finding and becoming attached to the strangest of characters.
So we met Ivo (John) also known as Pistola (and secretly between us, Bilbo).
We ended up inviting him to join us for dinner and enjoyed an evening of stories and many laughs over grilled squid and grappa. Pistola had many a tale to tell us of his adventures and even had a precious ring he showed us! He grew up in Postira and then left for 33 years to follow his own adventures around the world. One of his stories was of a young Austrian man who he trained with in a gym in Vienna - later to become 'The Terminator' Arnie was his best friend. I think the movie Twins may have Croatian origins. His children live in Canada and when we found out it was his seventieth birthday the next day and he had no family to celebrate with, we had to ask him along with us on our trip to Omiš.
We had arranged a boat trip to sail over to Omiš for the day. Omiš lies across the channel on the mainland where the great mountain range opens up and the Cetina River flows out into the Adriatic.
The night before we walked into town to eat at a little konoba (traditional tavern) we had discovered earlier. On the way in I decided to buy a silly bucket hat with HRVASKA written across the front. Paul put it on as we walked through the town. Ten days in a town and not a word from a local then you put on a silly hat and they want to be your best friend.
The night before we walked into town to eat at a little konoba (traditional tavern) we had discovered earlier. On the way in I decided to buy a silly bucket hat with HRVASKA written across the front. Paul put it on as we walked through the town. Ten days in a town and not a word from a local then you put on a silly hat and they want to be your best friend.
So we met Ivo (John) also known as Pistola (and secretly between us, Bilbo).
We ended up inviting him to join us for dinner and enjoyed an evening of stories and many laughs over grilled squid and grappa. Pistola had many a tale to tell us of his adventures and even had a precious ring he showed us! He grew up in Postira and then left for 33 years to follow his own adventures around the world. One of his stories was of a young Austrian man who he trained with in a gym in Vienna - later to become 'The Terminator' Arnie was his best friend. I think the movie Twins may have Croatian origins. His children live in Canada and when we found out it was his seventieth birthday the next day and he had no family to celebrate with, we had to ask him along with us on our trip to Omiš.
Wouldn’t you know it, John’s good friend Vinko was our captain. It was a perfect day on the Adriatic. Not a puff of wind in the morning when we set off. Motoring across the channel we were surprised to find out the distance was far greater than the 3 kilometres we had guessed. It was in fact 11 kilometres as the crow flies but I guess when the water is so clear and the sun shines in your eyes you think you can swim over. I could never imagine water so clear; it was like nothing I had ever seen before and so inviting.
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| Fire fighting plane coming down to scoop up water to douse fire on mountains |
During the day we stopped many times to swim and soak up the sun. At Omiš we walked along the tree lined main street to the river. Back on board, we shared lunch and listened as the two old friends retold tales of the sea and their childhood in a small town before cars and electricity.
By the afternoon a good breeze was blowing and we sailed back towards the setting sun. The view of Postira was enchanting as we came in through the little harbour entrance.
By the afternoon a good breeze was blowing and we sailed back towards the setting sun. The view of Postira was enchanting as we came in through the little harbour entrance.
We arranged to meet Pistola again for dinner but on the way into town we got caught up in the festival to celebrate the end of summer. It was a fitting end to our final day on Brač.
Eventually catching up with Pistola for a pizza we said our good byes and it was sad to leave a wonderful new friend.
BlissfulLee
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