…Breakfast in Bol…

It seems to be impossible for me to tire of walking up and down the narrow streets and along the stoney beaches of Bol, a small fishing village on the island of Brac and my favourite place on earth! During the calm mornings I’ll walk down the hill, passing white houses with green jalousies everywhere, taking in the colourful gardens with flowers of all kinds, lemon and olive trees, grapes, oleander, sun flowers, big, old agave plants, mandarin trees, lavender, cypresses and palm trees. As I make my way towards the small harbour filled with the fishermens´boats I’ll pick some sweet figs from one of the many trees hanging over the white fences and enjoy the view of the morning sun resting on the white stone so characteristic of Dalmatia.

 I’ll walk through town, past the cafés where the locals are drinking their morning coffee before heading for work. I’ll get a freshly made burek in the bakery and continue along the promenade surrounded by tall pine trees creating a pleasant hideaway from the already too warm sun.  Normally filled by hundreds and hundreds of tourists walking between the town centre and the famous beach Zlatni rat this early in the morning the promenade is still quiet as the tourists sleep in their rented apartments. Only the truly disciplined few have woken up to go for a morning run. Admiring the charming houses to the right and the Adriatic sea to the left I walk carefully on the slippery combination of flat stone and dry pine needles under my feet.

As for the locals, Leo is as usual up before dawn, pulling his green carriage as he replaces the garbage bags that have been filled during the previous night with empty ones. Young Petar is generally first in place of all the venders working at the promenade, at this hour he’s busy opening his stand, one of many that sell jewellery, shells,  lavender soaps, home-made oils, beach clothing, snorkel equipment, souvenirs made of the typical, white stone of Brac and much more. Martina and her staff in the bar are serving the first customers of the day with coffee and freshly squeezed lemonade. As I get closer to the dive centre, I walk down towards the beach to have my breakfast while listening to the sound of the calm morning waves playing gently with the round, white stones on the beach. To my right Jere and the guys are preparing the wind surfing boards and Cezar is swearing at something that’s for sure gone wrong too early in the morning as he’s entering a yellow kayak which he uses to get to the dive boat that is anchored a bit further away from the shore. An older couple are always there at this hour, just next to my breakfast-spot, enjoying a refreshing morning swim in the clear blue water still waiting to be warmed up by the sun beams. Every morning they come. So do I. It’s one of my favourite moments of the day.