Mljet part II - Could this be "it"?

After a rather windy night that came with the knowledge that the hotel chefs will leave nothing to be desired for me, I could fully concentrate on discovering Pomena and its surroundings. 
For the little village by the sea, there isn't much to say: a couple of houses and restaurants, a tiny supermarket, a little marina and a small beach in front of the island's only hotel. 

The best advantage it has is probably its location right next to the entrance into the National park. Off we go!

After only a couple of minutes of walking, one would pass the entrance point and after a minute more, the first of Mljet's saltwater lakes will peek through the trees. 
Developed from a valley that remained from the Ice Age and was connected with the sea in an attempt to fight malaria and ease transportation, Mljet's Small and Great Lake are nowadays a fun place to swim, or - for landlubbers like me - to go hiking on a beautifully quiet coastline trail. 
And as a canal is until today connecting both the two lakes and the Great Lake with the open sea, one can also whitness a rather strong current that is cyclically changing its direction in accordance to ebb and flow.

Of course, one may as well rent a canoe or bike, however, both come with a horrendous price list.

However, the entrance ticket to the park does come with a boat ticket to the islet of St. Mary in the Great Lake that was once home to a 12th century Benedictine monastery and a church.

Needless to say, a September morning at the sea can be quite fresh, but with the time, it was the grey clouds that bothered me most. Did I really come all the way down there to sit n my room and watch the rain fall?

Sneak-peek towards Babine Kuće just across the little island. If the weatherlooked promising, I would have probably hiked there after returning to the starting point of the boat trip, but I thought I might as well head back home and do - nothing?

Not being a nothing-doer, however, I decided to at least have a closer look to the area around the small lake. 

With well-marked paths and numerous information panels along the way, the ones in charge have done an excellent job for the orientation and teaching of visitors. And even though you might not meet a single soul during the morning and evening hours, there's quite a lot going on during the day when numerous tourist boats spit out their passengers in the marina of Pomena from where they head to their one-day mljet trip (but probably don't see much more than part of the Small Lake shore and a quick ride to St. Mary's island). Oh well...

Never minding the absence of crowds, I slowly walked the trail that leads all around the Small Lake, not without realizing that the clouds were slowly disappearing and the lake's water turned into the most beautiful shade of turquoise I've ever seen.

How can this even be a real colour?

Walking in sunshine now, I decided to skip the path towards the Great Lake for now. Instead, I entered the shady part of the Small Lake walk with sight that were more and more corresponding a holiday by the sea.

Excellent marking job throughout the National park.

Back from the hike, what could one possible do on a quiet afternoon by the sea? How about just sitting at the rocky coast, listening to the waves as they smash ashore?

And as once again the colour of steel turned into a magical light and a beautiful sunset...

... I couldn't help thinking I found a fine place for myself after all...

~ to be continued ~

Mljet part I - The long road

With the November rain slowly but surely initiating the cold part of the year, what can be better than memories of a summer long gone?
I couldn't quite explain my longing for the sea last year, but I felt like I'd need another break just before routine would take over again. After much consideration, I was left with two tempting island getaways: Mljet or Lastovo. Since both seemed to offer solitude, tranquility and lots of nature, I couldn't possible make a pick until I realized the trip to Lastovo would include quite a long ferry ride. I might still want to visit it one day, but for the moment, the winner of my virtual competition turned out to be Mljet.
After an early wake-up and a long road lined by dark grey clouds and thunderstorms...

... the motorway would take us into the deep south of Croatia, past the mandarin plantations in the Neretva region and further past the Bay of Mali Ston and on to the small village of Ston.  

Our first major stop of the day would include an opportunity to get a taste of fresh air and stretch on a walk through the seemingly abandoned settlement next to an ancient saltwork. 

Guarded by the recently renovated Great Wall and its fortresses, the village used to be an important center of the region. 

For us, it was the first sense of getting closer to our destination. A short stroll through the empty streetsc

... a short stop at a former Franciscan monastery that now serves as a nursing home for elderly nuns...

... more empty streets and abandoned houses...

... alongside a couple of inhabitated ones, too.

And after a round of hiding from the rain, it was our time to move on to the ferry port Prapratno, and on to what is known as Croatia's greenest island.

Luckily, due to the short distance from the mainland, I didn't need to position myself next to the lifeboats *just in case* for too long. The breeze on the outside deck turned out to be quite fresh, but then again, it was a short drive only and only a while after taking off, one ould already see the silhouette of Mljet's hills coming closer and closer.

After having firm ground under my feet again, it was time to start wondering about what lies ahead. Could it be that the stormy clouds will be keeping us company for the rest of our stay, or will the wind be able to blow them away? And how exactly would it feel to be stranded on an island that has roughly 1000 inhabitants who are living in a total of 16 settlements? Wouldn't it be too lonely in the middle of a National park that is inhabitated by 300 people in 5 villages only?

~ to be continued ~

Birthday wishes

To introduce the November "ATG" challenge over at Fadengrafik Challenge, here comes my stitched card for the month: a birthday card for a friend. As it's for a guy, I didn't want to overdo with embellishments, patterns and colours. Still, since a birthday only comes once a year, I certainly wanted to make it special anyway. 

In the end, I went for his initial letter that I've stitched with golden yarn, and placed on a writing-inspired background paper wich is actually gift wrapping paper. 

To add dimension, I added a couple of paper flowers and a dark blue cardboard background to the letter that is glued on the card base using 3D pads. 

Finally, I placed a tiny flower right onto the stitching itself. I was quite satisfied with the twist I came up with, however, today I'm not sure anymore whether it was a good idea or not. Nevertheless, the card turned out to be a welcome project to keep my mind busy with crafting rather than other things. 

Also, is it only me or do the autumn-ish colours of the card match well with my friend's office?

A little contribution to the November collection of Create in Austria - artwork created by Austrians and/or in Austria.
A little contribution to the collection of hand-stitching at made with Blümchen.

challenges: 
- 4 crafty chicks: ATG
- 613 avenue create: ATG
- a bit more time to craft: ATG
- as you like it: autumn or Halloween colours (as I'm not at all into Halloween, I can't seem to like the "traditional" Halloween colour scheme either, so this is an easy one: autumn colours. I like the warm, glowing shades that remind me of tons of colourful foliage)
- basteltraum: autumn
- crafting with an attitude: ATG
- craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper
- creative inspirations: autumn glow
- creative moments: ATG with a twist "fall colours"
- cute card thursday: ATG
- do-all kreatives: men
- friendship challenge: ATG
- love to craft: ATG 
- through the craftroom door: ATG
- wortartwednesday: ATG
- worldwide open design team challenge: ATG