This was my best chance to run on Hvar so I’d set my alarm for 06:00. It’d mean I could be back from my run by 07:30, and having breakfast by 08:00. My route started from the courtyard in front of the cathedral, and continued along the quayside heading east. I passed the monastery I’d seen the day before and continued on as far as the road would allow.

It was a picturesque route, and quiet. I thought of how lucky I was to have the road almost to myself in the morning sun - there were only two other runners I’d seen out, but plenty of people walking. When I reached the end of the road I did what Forrest Gump did - I turned around and kept on running in the opposite direction.

Heading west, once I’d passed the Hvar old town again I found myself passing a lot of resorts and bars that would have been a party-goers dream. Again though, I ran out of road so turned around and ran back to the Hvar old town, and out behind the cathedral. Unfortunately going that way it didn’t take long at all to reach a main road, and this seemed like a bad idea to run on. Instead I ran back into town and began running up the hill to the fortress.

I have to admit - it was much harder running up it than I expected and had to walk a few times. It was okay though, as I was able to run back down at a reasonable pace and then did speedwork along the quayside. It felt better than any run I’d done in Croatia so far - perhaps it was starting to get a little cooler now.

On my way back to the apartment I picked up some cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and ate them before we headed out to meet the others on the speed boat. It was a decent size for the size of our group and would give us space to spread out, and be mostly protected from the sun if we wanted to be.

Before we could see anything, we had to first get passed the Vis channel. It took about an hour whilst listening to a selection of music such as Pink Floyd, and watching a dolphin. It was a shame that the one time I needed my big lens with me, I didn’t have it. I hadn’t expected to see any wildlife from the boat.

With calm winds it was a relaxing atmosphere, and the ride smooth. Our first stop was a cove on Vis which only had two other boats moored up. When we’d come to a stop and weighed anchor we each got into the water and swam ashore. Fortunately I’d got my underwater camera with me, but not so fortunate was that I’d forgotten my prescription goggles.

On my way back to the boat I took a slight detour to where the wrecked wing of an American WW2 aircraft was submerged. Without my prescription goggles I couldn’t see it that well - I found using my camera mostly submerged helped a little as I could wear my glasses above the surface. Even with the photograph it wasn’t possible to see if there was another wing or the fuselage anywhere nearby. It’s possible some of it had been removed since the discovery in April 2018.

We passed the ‘Green Cave’ as we navigated around the southern side of Vis - we could see there that Croatia was already trying to monetise everything. There were no facilities there for mooring, but to enter the cave you’d have to pay. Our tour leader wasn’t happy with it since it’d gone from being free to being HRK70.

Our next swimming stop was hidden away quite well, though two other boats were there when we arrived. After we’d jumped off the boat into the water another two boats arrived and tied up against ours whilst we were sitting on the pebble beach. This was a nice relaxing stop, and we joked that we’d defend the beach from these enemy invaders.

When we left there it was time for some food in Komiža, a small fishing town on the western side of the island. We all at together, though not all of us had a good meal. Strangely, two of the group that had the local tuna salad dish found it to taste like it’d gone off. The waiters seemed to recognise this is a common thought, and ignored them. Very strange - maybe it’s something to do with the way it’s prepared as this is an island where tuna is plentiful.

South of Komiža is Biševo - an island that is apparently only populated by five people throughout the year. It’d be awful if any of them didn’t get on with their neighbours. The island does hide a secret though - the ‘blue caves’ that my sister wanted to see on this trip more than anything.

We could see the area was still quite busy, so we started to circumnavigate the island instead. The queue for the blue caves was still quite long so we started to circumnavigate it. We reached the Seals Cave, and the speedboat started to enter. he further in we got, the darker it got. The skipper shone a light to point out different features of the cave and told us we could swim back out, or even swim further into the darkness to a hidden beach.

None of us swam to the beach that was hidden away in the darkness, though I wish I had. Instead I joined the few others that slowly but surely swam through the darkness and out into the light. It was certainly a different experience, though in some ways reminiscent of the cenotes in Mexico. I guess it was the swimming in darkness.

With most of the afternoon now over, it was time for the others to start drinking on our way back to the caves. These are caves we couldn’t use the speedboat for - we had to disembark, pay HRK100 each, and await our turn to join a smaller boat.

The entrance to the cave looked tiny - just a small opening above the waves which for most of the time wasn’t actually big enough for an empty boat. At first we couldn’t believe that was actually the way in - how could it be? As we got nearer we had to wait as three boats, one after another, squeezed through the opening with all the passengers ducking below the height of the boat as it passed through. Incredible!

When it was our turn to enter, we crouched inside the boat as rubber scraped against the rock. At first we were met with darkness, but a blue glow illuminated the cave ahead one which became clearer once we rounded the corner. Light was shining through an underwater opening, and caused the water to shine blue.

It was an impressive sight, and I think even the underwater arch made it that little bit more picturesque. At any one time there can be three boats in the caves so it’s difficult to get photographs without boats, and the entire time in the cave lasts a couple of minutes whilst they explain how the effect is created.

We returned to the speedboat, and headed over to Vis to continue the circumnavigation we’d started earlier. This included a submarine dock that had been left behind by the Yugoslavian army - the previous inhabitants of this island. A couple of people were walking across the top, suggesting they may be about to jump eighteen metres down into the water below.

They peered over, and hung around. It seemed like they were trying to find the courage to step off. We gave them time, but they never did, so we entered the cavernous dock. We passed a door inside, which suggested to me that there was an underground complex hidden here as well. It’d have been interesting to get off and look around, but the opportunity never arose.

When we left Vis behind us, the tour wasn’t quite over as we stopped on Palmizana which is most certainly a party island. We were given forty-five minutes there, but after about fifteen we’d all decided to get back on the boat and sit there instead. The drinks were expensive, and the decent seating areas were reserved for those spending the equivalent of over €2,000.

The speed boat captain took us sitting on the boat to mean we wanted to leave; so he returned and took us slowly back to Hvar whilst the others drank champagne and beer. This was a fairly short navigation, and after arriving back on dry land we said goodbye to the others so we could have sandwiches and ice cream on the seafront. Another day was over already.