If you’ve been reading about Croatia, you’ve probably found out that we have over one thousand islands. The great majority is located in Dalmatia. Some sources say there are more than 1,200 islands, same say almost 1,300. You will rarely find a precise number and that’s because no one knows exactly how many islands are in the Adriatic! The number depends on a tide…One thing is certain – a long time ago many of these islands used to be a part of the land. As water was rising, they turned into islands.
It wasn’t an easy task to come up with the names for so many islands and for a long time, many of them were nameless. But at the beginning of the 20th century, during the rule of Austria, the list of islands was being made and locals had to think fast. The result was weird, to say the least. Some islands got quite peculiar names: Saddle, Basket, Gallows, Big Whore, Little Whore, Good Island, Deserted Island, Big Fart, Little Fart, Cow, Little Fig, Grandma’s Ass, to name just a few translatable ones!
Krk, Cres, Brač and Hvar are the four largest islands, and almost in that order. I say almost because we can’t agree on which one is larger – Krk or Cres (these are located in the northern Adriatic).
Islanders have their own dialect. Personally, I’d sooner understand a member of an African tribe than an old guy who’s been living on an island. Of course, they can all speak a language that resembles Croatian…
Each island offers something that no other island has or at least not of such a quality. That something often comes out of the kitchen; it’s either a traditional meal or a cake, or an autochthonous wine. When at Brač, one can enjoy the view from the highest point in the Adriatic; Zlarin is known for a long tradition of fishing and processing corals; Mljet is proud of its National Park; Hvar is the sunniest island (and currently one of the top 10 destinations in the world!), Krapanj is known for harvesting and selling sea sponges, and so on… It is less known that on Dalmatian islands one can taste the best lamb around, primarily because the sheep there graze on the natural Mediterranean vegetation, so their meat is soft and succulent. Another interesting fact is that even on seven Dalmatian islands there is no traffic allowed – ideal for those who’ve had enough of air pollution and enjoy walking or cycling. Do I have to say that the water around the islands is as clean as it gets? “Clean as a tear”, as locals would say…
You don’t have to choose from a thousand Dalmatian islands, simply because only around 50 are inhabited. If you haven’t been to an island, you simply haven’t seen Dalmatia!