Hvar Island Part II: Beachside paradise and the town of Zavala

I had read that Hvar island had a number of abandoned hamlets which appealed to my sense of adventure and inner archaeologist. One such hamlet named Gromin Dolac was also mentioned in a blog post as having an excellent secluded beach, so we decided to give it a go. We soon discovered the unsealed gravel road that wound along the cliff edge was a rather terrifying experience, as it was wide enough only as a one way road, but was used both ways. This led to a number of instances of backing arduously along these roads until we found a bend large enough to pull over in - driveways were rather lacking, and when caught between the cliff edge and the mountain it's hard to have somewhere to go! 

Nevertheless, as we wound past the deep ochre dirt from which wizened olive trees grew from, with the sparkling blue sea dropping away below us, it was unforgettable. And, it turned out, all worth it. The road to the village suddenly dropped down, too steep for anything but a 4-wheel drive, however there was an area to the side that we could just squeeze in to park. Having done so we began descending down an old path that headed in the direction of the sea, picnic baskets in hand and hopes high. 

The tiny path wound down suddenly leading to a pebbly cove with an overhang of rock full of blessed shade for our picnic, and a water so clear and blue I couldn't quite believe it was real and instantly wanted to go swimming straight away. Best of all, there wasn't a soul around.
We had found it! The kind of place that adorns travel magazines, but leads to busy beaches with cocktail bars blaring music and pay by-the-hour umbrellas on the sand. But this place was the real deal, it was empty, the water so clear we could almost catch fish, and it was all ours. 

After lunch we clambered the rocks, explored the cove and snorkeled the clear waters to our hearts content. It was without a doubt, the best beach we found in Croatia, and perhaps in all our travels. After our luxurious afternoon only broken by a few locals coming to share our cove, we headed for the nearby town of Zavala to check in to our accommodation and work out our dinner plans.

The great thing about Croatia is the cheapness of their apartments and hotels, this is tempered by the fact that their campsites have become resorts which are more expensive than the hotels themselves! It makes it far more worthwhile to find private apartments where not only do you feel like your holidaying in luxury for a ridiculously cheap price, but you also get to meet the local owners who are usually extremely kind, giving advice, food and often wine!

Seeing as the town only had one restaurant, life was made simple for us. However being the only restaurant it was also quite busy - asked to come back in a while we wandered the beach and the stony coastline killing time. Yannick introduced me to the fun that is running around with a cellphone light and with a camera on long exposure and so we passed the time while I capered madly on the beach trying to draw words in the air. Oh Croatia how I miss you!