A Pleasure Island![]()
Richard
Branson has one , so does Mick Jagger and so did Princess Margaret- when she
was alive. What these three well known individuals and
quite a few more in the same kind of
privileged position have in common is a favourite ( and very private ) island
retreat where they can enjoy the sunshine and find a little peace and quiet
away from their normal frantic public lives.
Now you don’t have to be wealthy, royal or a famous pop star to enjoy
the kind of peace and privacy you will find on the island of Koversada , but you do have to be a
rather special kind of person - as only
bona fide NATURISTS are admitted to this tiny island paradise.
Want
to know more ?? Then read on !!!
The
Adriatic coastline of what is now known as CROATIA is one of the most unusual
in the world. Along it’s unique
shoreline where the crystal clear blue seas are amongst the most beautiful to
be found anywhere , there are thousands of natural bays and coves , 1,185 islands and more than 40 fully
equipped marinas. And it is one of these
tiny natural wooded islands just off of the Istrian peninsular midway between
the picturesque Lim Fjord and the little fishing village of Vsar that forms the
most spectacular part of the naturist centre of Koversada.
This
huge mainland naturist site , the second largest of its kind in the world is
set in 120 hectares of what was originally ancient olive groves. Old twisted and gnarled olive trees many
hundreds of years old are still dotted here and there in between the pleasant
modern landscaping of the site that has taken place over the last 3 decades.
It
began here over 50 years ago now , primarily as a huge naturist camping site
and has gradually progressed as the years have gone by. Most of the tents have now been replaced by
caravans , many of which have now become almost permanent fixtures with
decorative awnings , palm trees and manicured gardens and proper brick built
barbecues , making it all look a bit like a little village of bungalows or
villas. The site has been progressively
updated over the years with proper macadamed roads , lighting and modern
facilities including a good number of terraced apartments , villas and
maisonette style accommodation to rent, built around spacious landscaped lawns.
The
outside toilet and shower blocks, which are available to all visitors are
amongst the best I have every seen anywhere – including I might say those in
some of the worlds better hotels. They
are sheer luxury in every way, incorporate the very latest technology and have
special toilet and washing facilities for children, for the disabled and even
baths to clean up your pet dog.
Although
the villas are self catering most of the on site apartments are not and so to
cope with this there are two large centrally situated dining halls which enable
the management to offer the facility of half board accommodation at very
reasonable cost. These are not
restaurants in the true sense of the word but nevertheless give a good daily
selection of buffet meals in the continental style. Breakfast is the best with a selection from
the cold counter of cheeses, hams, yoghurts, cereals and stewed and fresh
fruits. Still hungry - then there is a
full selection of fried dishes including egg, bacon, tomatoes and a strange
kind of sausage. There’s as much as you like of everything plus toast , jams,
honey, marmalade , tea and coffee to set you up for the rest of the day.
Dinner
, served from 7.30 until 9.30 is perhaps not the finest of cuisine and although
all the food is of perfectly good quality it can get to be a bit boring during
a full two week holiday. However, all in
all it is remarkable value for money even here in a country that is still a
little behind the rest of Europe as far as the cost of living is concerned. If you do feel like a change there are quite
a number of restaurants on site and to keep the cost of eating down you can
even change your evening meal for a packed lunch and eat it on the beach ,
provided you give them a days notice.
As
well as the restaurants there are also a number of shops and supermarkets , the
odd gift shop and market type stall and some children’s amusements. During the main holiday season there is music
and dancing in one or more of the bars and restaurant almost every evening , although
it all ends at a reasonable hour ( about 1 am ) to allow the other residents to
get some sleep. By the way, while you can wander the whole of this naturist
site at any time completely naked , they do like you to dress to go into the
restaurants , bars and shops.
There
are no proper sandy beaches here , but as well as the acres of pleasant lawns
and tree lined meadows , the site also has about a mile of coastline with flat
rocks and little bays which are ideal for sunbathing . The sea is beautifully clear and clean but
the rocky bed can be a bit slippery and there are lots of spiny sea urchins
about so plastic sandals are recommended for sea bathing.
For
me the nicest part of Koversada is the
tiny island after which the entire site is named. It’s linked to the mainland by a long and not
too pleasing looking concrete bridge, but once on the other side its easy to
forget about everything.
A walk on the wild side.
Really
quite small and covered with trees and criss-crossed by little winding pathways
it seems to be much bigger than it really is and you can walk right around the
perimeter in about 20 minutes or so. One
side of the island is the wild side with huge breakers crashing onto the rocks
and the bravest of the swimmers dodging the waves to get in and out of the sea,
while on the other are little narrow sandy beaches where whole families with
children bathe in perfect safety. There
are patches of lawn to catch the full sun or shady spots under the towering
pines to sleep off your midday glass or two of wine.
Huge
gulls stroll about the island as if they have every right to be there ( as
indeed they do ) while tiny squirrels the same shape as red ones only a smokey
black colour , play amongst the rocks and bushes with no fear of human life at
all. I stood and watched one day as a
pair of cormorants fished for their lunch right in the middle of a small group
of children playing in the sea , diving down and coming up often right amongst
them , neither child nor bird showing any fear of the other. I had never seen anything like it
before. This is truly a place where
nature of all kinds is at perfect peace with mankind.
There
is a restaurant on the island, built at its highest point where you can dine on
a huge terrace that looks out right over the sea to some of the other islands
beyond. On one breathtakingly beautiful
evening I stopped eating for a moment to take a picture from the terrace of the
sun setting – the very one that I have used at the front of this feature. It was a wonderful end to another a
wonderful day.
down the hatch.
For
those that like to find other things to do or other places to go this entire
area has lots to offer. As well as the
inland lakes, thermal spas and health resorts Croatia has one of Europe’s
largest concentrations of castles, mansions and country houses. Sea trips are naturally a speciality here,
with plenty of local places to visit , or a little further afield the
magnificent city of Venice awaits the more sophisticated traveller. Read more about this and see the photos in a
future BLOG.
Another
highlight is the fish picnic where guests sail off on the MS RUDOLFO down to
the Lim Fjord being serenaded by the Captain on his accordion as they go. There’s
a really jolly atmosphere and half way
through the day they stop for a luscious on-board meal of char grilled sardines
and fresh mackerel. It makes my mouth
dribble even now just thinking about it.
We fed the scraps to the huge seagulls which the sailors call Kiki ,
that swarmed around the boat as soon as we started cooking. There was plenty to drink all through the
journey, a choice of slivovitz ( plum brandy ) , red wine or orange juice and
as much as you wanted.
It
was very scenic along the Fjord, where we saw the famous fish farms and also
passed by the old town of Rim. The boat
moored up for a while by an ancient cave said to have been used by pirates in
the old days. We all trooped up to have
a look around inside it. It smelt a bit
of old goat but it was interesting to see the rock formations which dated back
thousands of years.
KOVERSADA
is a very well kept , clean and well maintained site which has a planned
programme of making at least one major improvement to every year. All the management and reception staff speak
English , as do many of the shops , bar and restaurant workers.
From
the UK you can drive to Koversada and I am told that it will take around 16
hours from (say) Dover, you can fly direct to PULA airport or you can even go
by train. For accommodation you can
book directly with Anita Marketing - the site operators or through one or two
specialist travel agencies.
The
people of Croatia have now finally been able to put the years of hardship and
worry behind them and recognise that tourism is a major part of the future of
their economy. They are almost all
polite, sincere and hardworking especially so the young who are absolutely
determined to make their new country succeed.
If those that we met on our recent trip, not just in the naturist centre
but at the airport , on board the ships , in the villages and in the textile
hotels are any example to go by , I am pretty certain that they will succeed in
their task.
c. b.m &
m.g
