On 21/10/2024, the sunset brought us to the most forested and green Adriatic island, one of the few with a preserved Mediterranean primeval forest: Mljet. It is home to many plants and animals, but thanks to the ‘imported’ mongooses, there are no venomous snakes on it.
First, some history
The first settlers arrived on Mljet through the port of Praprotno on the Pelješac peninsula 4,000 years ago and were engaged in sheep breeding, hunting, and fishing.
The first historical records from Mljet refer to Greek sea navigators who used the bays of Mljet as shelters from strong winds on the way to Korčula, Vis and Hvar.
Further, the islet came under Roman rule, but due to pirate attacks by the locals, it was only minimal. In order to subdue the local inhabitants, a palace was built in the town of Polače in the 3rd century, which had a defensive function, and priests from nearby early Christian basilicas also lived in it.
In Polače, once a pirate settlement, today the oldest marine national park in Croatia, after a good half an hour’s drive from the ferry port of Sobra, we also sailed with Tara. I obviously booked and paid the apartment (that booking offered me at a 40% discount) at the last minute – the owner informed me that I had overtaken his wife, who wanted to cancel the rental offer, by 15 minutes. The next day the only guests (they had with them their cat) left, the owner also joined his wife (a botanist – her book about the Mljet flora was waiting for me on the bookshelf) and his children in Zagreb, so we were left alone in the house above the town…
At first, we were impressed by the location of the apartment: with a balcony and a view of the bay at one side, and in front of the entrance at the back of the house, the Mljet Mediterranean Primeval Forest and the Mljet National Park begin. So we took our morning walks along a beautiful path, walked past lush trees and other vegetation, and reached the Large Lake in 20 minutes.
I was impressed also by the village of Polače itself with a bay and a sea of deep green color, protected from the wind by three islets (Moračnik, Tajnik, Kobrava), with a small shop, one open restaurant in the off-season, a pebble beach (also forbidden for dogs in the season), a small harbor, stone houses, ruins of a Roman palace with thermae, a warehouse, a reconnaissance (after the Amphitheater in Pulio and Diocletian’s Palace in Split, the third largest Roman building in Croatia), and the ruins of two early Christian basilicas …
The next day after our arrival, we bought a mandatory ticket to enter the park at the Info Point on the Large Lake (15 € regardless of the date or season, includes a ride to the island), and then climbed to the highest peak of the national park: Montokuc. A good hour in one direction, the walk was not physically too strenuous, about the mental and emotional well-being in the Aleppo pine forest, among more than 50 protected plant species, 25 different species of orchids … I won’t waste words … From the top of the hill (where stands the observatory of possible fires on the island) is a beautiful view of the Mljet island, forests and turquoise waters of lakes, sea, other islands …
I spent my 44th birthday exploring the most beautiful beaches on the island (Sutmiholjska, Big and Small Saplunara, Blace/Limuni). The sea had 23 degrees, the air temperature was around 25, 26 degrees, so not only did my birthday wish about a picnic on the beach come true, but the universe added an unplanned panoramic ride around the island without a roof, splashing and swimming in the crystal clear, warm waters, sunbathing, playing and running with Tara and the bar dog on the soft sand (only the restaurant above the Great Saplunara was open, The caretaker of the Rottweiler, who turned out to celebrate the same birthday two days after me, invited us to a birthday party) … Again, on beaches that are not dog-friendly during the season.
After a day of rest and ‘only’ exploring the promenade along the bay in Polače, we dedicated one day to the salty Large Lake, The Church and Benedictine Monastery on St. Mary’s island on the lake. There is a 12 km long asphalt bike path around the lake, and for even more peace (and walking without a leash – we didn’t meet anyone), there is a path for walkers right next to the lake. While walking on this one, I came across a hidden bay of deep green water, which I simply could not resist. I solved the ‘problem’ of how I would carry a wet towel and bathing suit with me all day by swimming naked and drying only in the warm sun…
The Large Lake with an area of 145 ha and a depth of up to 46 meters hides the largest peat coral reef in the world in its core, and is connected to the Small Lake by a channel.
The island of St. Mary, with the Benedictine monastery and the Church of St. Nicholas, represents a source of Mljet culture, literacy, spirituality, and true beauty. In the silence and peace of the sea lake, in the shade of pine forests, with one of the richest libraries in Dalmatia, the monks devoted themselves unhindered to science and art and greatly influenced the development of literacy and culture on the island and beyond.
Well, while I, sitting on a stone bench and dreamily admiring the surroundings, focused on the feeling of peace and comparison with the Bled Island, Tara, playing with a stick on the slippery stones, splashed into the water. Not for the first time, not for the last time, 🙂 But even this time, she found her way out of the refreshing water on her own. Dogs are welcome on the boat to the islet – with a muzzle, as I was warned when buying the NP ticket, but no one asked for it. The captain and I only exchanged glances about loving and caring for these loving family members.
Another sunny day brought two routes. Morning walk to the NP: first along the shore of the large Lake, through the villages of Goveđari, Babine kuća, past the Small Lake to the bay and the village of Pomena on the NW of the island. In Pomena there is the only hotel on the island, a catamaran docks in the port, and there are quite a few bars open along the coast with fantastic views of the crystal clear water and the open sea. So paying 8 € for a coffee with milk and a glass of natural orange juice in the company of a local with a dog and two other tourists was not a problem.
Early in the afternoon, I finally found the Odysseus cave. I was planning to visit it for my birthday, but ‘google always took me by’. Now I saw why. 🙂 Only a few meters and less than half an hour of walking, but the steep path, even if again with fantastic views, would not suit me in the hedonistic atmosphere at that time. However, the first part of the route, through olive groves, again brought enthusiasm for hand-picking olives, helping, respecting, and appreciating nature …
Although we arrived at the cave around 13.00, it was too late for the ‘overflowing’ colors in the cave. We were greeted by a dark hole, an abandoned café called Calypso, and swarms of flies, but hypnotic views of the cliffs and the sea below, the islands on the horizon … Sitting in the shadow of the building, it was time for the island’s legends. First of all, of course:
The Legend of Odysseus and Calypso
The most famous island legend is the legend of Odysseus and the nymph Calypso – ‘goddess of beauty, tranquility and peace’ – who is said to have fallen in love with a Greek hero and kept him on the island for 7 years – in the Odyssey called Ogygia: “It was the most beautiful island of all seas and oceans …” For several decades, the author A. Vučetić has studied and connected the Odyssey with the Adriatic climate and collected material for a book that tries to prove that this miraculous island is Mljet and not Malta. Apart from the fact that both Ogygia and Mljet are a ‘magical island of green forests’, there are also four freshwater springs on Mljet that never dry out – which includes Homer’s description of Ogygia, and is not found in Malta.
Mljet – St. Peter’s Island
In addition to Odysseus, another shipwrecked person is said to have been saved to the island. On his journey from Jerusalem to Rome, the apostle Paul is said to have experienced a terrible storm that almost sank his ship. The sailors found refuge on a wooded island infested with snakes, and then spent the next three months here…
Queen Teuta
Mljet is also said to be associated with Queen Teuta, who is described as a brave, bold, strong, and extremely beautiful woman. She assumed the throne after the death of her husband Agron and ruled Illyria at the height of her power. She was be happy to visit the island of Melita (Mljet), which she called the ‘magical island‘ and was completely in love with it. Her fleet and pirate ships often anchored in the bay of Polače, and due to the rich fishing and beautiful forests, her husband is said to have visited the Large Lake and spent his free time there. After the king’s death, Teuta experienced a new love idyll on the island with the Illyrian military commander Demetrius of Hvar, but Illyrian piracy and attacks on Roman galleys soon after her departure from the island led to a war with the Romans, in which she lost a large part of her territory. From the great Illyrian kingdom, her country was reduced to the area from today’s Dubrovnik to the mouth of the Drim River, and the rest of the part was ruled by Demetrius of Hvar – her former military commander and lover…
I changed my worldly opinion of Odysseus as a ‘Greek hero’ some time ago when I read the book Circe (Madeline Miller) – only after I named a guide dog after him in my novel Train for Heaven on Earth. Well, a few millennia later, it is clear to me that the tender and disappointed Calypso did not die of grief when her lover left, I also doubt that Teuta, after her betrayal and military defeat, committed suicide by jumping off a cliff in the Bay of Kotor. Mljet has shown that the time has come when women can write their own stories! So to the next story, to Circe’s island – Korcula …
As I told the Australian woman who first had a crush on the golden retriever on the lower deck (she had to leave her golden retriever at home) and then came also to pet Tara: I miss my deceased golden retriever too (the Odyssey or Ody in my novel), but this white Swiss shepherd represents the next level of life – not only metaphorically, but apparently also literally. 🙂
