Blue, Green, Blue....

I know that a serious blogger doesn't take two weeks of holiday but somehow computer and holiday do not go together. I preferred to turn off the connection with the outside world and slow down time. And I am sure our eyes need a break from these bloody screens.

I decided to dedicate my post-holiday blogging debut to two colours - blue and green. For me some places are colours and light before everything else. Mljet is blue and green in all hues and shades, depending on the time of the day, the types of clouds and probably (not tested) the time of the year.

And that's how I am choosing to remember it: blue and green. I guess it's not very fair to objective reality to filter out every other colour and most of the other small things but isn't that the way memories work? Aren't memories stylized constructions bordering on the mythical?

So let me use this mental photo shop and let Mljet be blue and green for me and let all other colours disappear into the oblivion!

Jelica already mentioned that there are two big bays in the island called 'lakes' by the locals as they are connected with the open sea only by a very narrow strait. That's why they have different biodiversity and even the water is less salty for some reason. The two lakes and this part of the island was declared a national park some 40 years ago.

I like taking sneaking pictures of the sea. Somehow on such pictures there is a surmountable obstacle between the observer and the object. It's like a gate that you are invited to cross.

A sneaking view of the Big Lake

The noon light gives a light green shade to the pine trees. And there is this pleasant visual effect when one makes a picture of trees from below and it is due, of course, to the laws of perspective: it's as if the trees touch each other. And there is the blue sky above. It's as if Mljet is imprisoned between the blue of the sea and the blue of the sky

Pines and sky

This view of the Big Lake is above the trees. I put it here because of the intensity of the blue. There are many hiking trails on the island with splendid views.

Big Lake, Mljet

There is a small island in one of the 'lakes' - Sveta Maria - with a 12th century Benedictine monastery on it. I find it quite Borgesque: a monastery on an island in a lake on an island. Imagine if there was a small lake on this island with a small island and a smaller monastery and another lake.....

Sveta Maria, Benedictine Monastery

That's a very idyllic place where we used to go swimming in the mornings: an old boat, a pine tree stooping over it, stone path, young light-green trees, crystal-clear water. We used to climb the boat from time to time and jump. The kids called it 'our boat'.

Pristaniste (Harbour)

The only thing I was missing a bit these nine days was the rough open sea. The last day I went on an exploratory mission, parked the bike and climbed a hill separating one of the inner lakes from the open sea. This is the first glance of the sea. It was like a magnet for me after days by the quiet inner bays.

First glance of open sea, Mljet

I found a wonderful place for jumping into the sea but didn't dare to do it as it was at least 20 m high and there might have been some rocks below. I was tempted by the abyss though...

And after feeling my heart speed up at the view of a power beyond control I returned to the inner bay where there was a little floating man. Happiness!

Floating man

Don't we all need some alternation of rough seas and inner bays?