Best Oysters Ever!

We have returned from our swimming trip to Tivat, Montenegro, and we will have much more to say about swimming, Tivat and our visit to Dubrovnik, Croatia as well. But first, I want to post about an amazing half-day tour we took from Dubrovnik to Ston (pronounced "stone"), about 45 minutes north on the Peljesac peninsula.

The ride north was beautiful along the amazing Croatian coastline, where small towns are built in picturesque inlets of the Adriatic. When we arrived, our first stop was a bay where oysters are farmed. Oysters have been cultivated in this area since Roman times, and our host for this part of the tour was a fourth-generation oyster farmer who took us out on his little boat so we could try the freshest oysters possible.

The location was drop-dead gorgeous:

The things you can see on the water are small buoys that each mark the location of a rope covered in oysters, which is connected to a concrete block on the bottom of the bay. We watched our host haul up a rope covered in oysters and shuck them right on the boat:

 The end result was simple, enjoyed with lemon, some local white wine, and absolutely delicious!

Definitely the freshest oysters I have ever tried, and Shana even managed to eat one although she still does not appreciate the delicacy. Oh well, more for me (I managed to eat a half-dozen with my wine for the best breakfast ever).

After leaving the boat, we continued on to a local winery, Vina Vukas, where we tasted a number of wines including what is believed to be the first champagne-style sparkling wine made in Croatia (technically, it is too hot in Croatia to make that style of wine, but the winemaker we met did it by growing the grapes in shaded areas). We were very impressed, and even bought a bottle to bring home with us.

(Our tour guide on the left, wine maker on the right). We enjoyed all four wines we tasted (a white and two reds in addition to the sparkling), and learned a lot about Plavac Mali, the most important red wine grape in Croatia, which is closely related to Zinfindel and Primativo from Italy.

The final stop on our tour was the small town of Ston, which is home to the longest defensive wall in the world other than the Great Wall of China:

So, why did Ston need this amazing defensive wall? Believe it or not, because of salt. Ston is home to the oldest salt pans in Europe, which are still in use today. In the year 1333, Ston became part of the independent Dubrovnik Republic, and its salt began to provide 1/3 of the income of the Republic (at the time, 1 kg of salt was worth 1 kg of silver, about $650 US today). So, in the 14th and 15th centuries, the Dubrovnik Republic built (and garrisoned) these walls to protect the salt of Ston.

After a short time in Ston (it really is just a tiny town), during which we devoured some really good pastries, we returned to Dubrovnik.

Overall, it was a really good tour, with spectacular oysters, great views and good wine. I couldn't ask for more.

Hasta pronto,

Jeff and Shana