Look to the Left!

Paddling to Saipan, Lopud in the background

Thursday is our day off and we try to decide what to do.  Ferry to Dubrovnik?  Nixed in about 5 minutes when we learn we need to be at the docks by 6 AM.  Hiking around the island?  Laying on the beach?  We opted instead to do one more kayak trip on our own.  We are going to repeat the trip of our first day – paddling halfway around the island then having lunch at the beach on the opposite side, and then continuing around the island back to the harbor.  The water was a lot calmer than our first trip and we were able to see some of the sights we passed by before, including an interesting deep cave, and a beautiful blue grotto.  When we reached the beach, it was sunny and warm  but in the distance, we could hear loud bursts of thunder and see the mushroom top of the thunderheads spreading our way from the mainland.  We decided to skip lunch and head home just in case bad weather was approaching.  Given the direction of the wind, it made sense to paddle home on the mainland side of the island but this is also where the storm appeared to be building.  As we turned the corner of the island and begin paddling parallel to the mainland coast, I had to keep telling myself – “Look to the left!  Look to the left!”  because to the right was my biggest phobia – LIGHTNING!, which was striking the hills and the water's edge along the mainland coast, with its ensuing angry claps and booms of thunder.   “Oh!  Look at that!”  yelled Bob.  “Shut up!  What!  How close is it?“ I asked franticly.  The panic was rising in me. Bob tried to calm me down, “Oh nothing, just a little lightning a long way off – at least three seconds away, no need to worry.”  I begin paddling at hyperspeed.   The wind is picking up, and we are nearly at the point of the island where we make our turn back to the harbor.  “Almost there, almost there,” I am chanting with hari-krishna like rhythm.  But slowly the storm dissipates and moves to the north, and I was now full of adrenaline and restless energy.  I got my second wind and although it was almost 2:30 PM we decided to continue paddling across the channel to Saipan Island and have lunch there.  It will take about an hour and along the way we were treated to a wonderful surprise – a huge pod of dolphins playing just to the west of us.  I counted at least 7 – Bob said there were more.  They were running through the swells and leaping in the air, and we stopped and watched them for a while, until a big ferry came along and scared them away.  

Saipan Harbor

To finish our outing, we paddled into Saipan harbor and had our last island lunch – a plate of Dalmatian ham which is much like a dried prosciutto, and some special cheese that tastes a bit like a good grana padano which has been soaked in home-pressed olive oil for four to five months.  Bob has an octopus salad which is also delicious.  I’d love to try to make this at home, but I have no idea where to find fresh octopus.   After an hour of relaxing at the seaside café, we begin our paddle home, picking a “point to point” route (from the western most point of Saipan to the western most point of Lopud) which puts the wind directly at our backs and allows to surf some large swells all the way home. 

Our last dinner was a special request from Vedran – another regional dish which his grandmother makes (alledgedly even better than our chef Antun;  Vedran made of point of letting him know this, in all the best humor).  The dish was cabbage rolls stuffed with meat, rice, and vegetables in a really aromatic red sauce which had mysterious ingredients that included, we believe, paprika, tomatoes and maybe bell peppers.  Vedran said it probably also included a packaged spice blend called Vegeta made of various vegetables, so I made a point of buying some from the grocer the next day to try it out at home.   Bob’s rolls were stuffed with rice, potatoes, and vegetables and the chef felt sorry for his lack of meat so gave Bob an extra large portion.  For dessert, we had home made candied lemon and orange peel, a perfect ending to the meal.  With that, we all bid goodbye to Antun and his wife Lily, whose excellent cuisine we will certainly miss.