The search for the elusive Kornati octopi...
This week, we catch up with Gaby from our Group Travel team - fresh from the Kornati Islands and a week of swimming alongside the white cliffs of Dugi Otok.
Gaby gives us some insight into what to expect from one of the more relaxing trips on the SwimTrek calendar - a location that offers warm coastal swims and plenty of island downtime to nap, stretch out with yoga sessions and sample the local seafood.
So, it's time to go circling islands, churning wakes for surfing dolphins and looking for common octopus, known to inhabit the area!
Drifting Into Kornati 'Island Time'
SWIMTREK: “What's your earliest memory of being in water?”
GABY: “I used to go swimming in a pool every single week with my whole family. It was actually one of my grandma's local pools, which she loved. We would always go there and then afterwards we'd go to her house for a warm roast supper.”
"Being with my family, I think was the thing I enjoyed the most..."
“My parents were forcing us to learn how to swim, but it was always so fun. Being with my family, I think was the thing I enjoyed the most. I've always loved swimming and when I was really little I would be on holiday, pushing my dad to take me in the sea. That's probably my earliest memory. I learned to swim by doing that. Later, we also trained at an indoor pool in a leisure centre. It wasn't anything glamorous, but we would just go all the time, and I would always look forward to it. My Dad used to throw the locker key into the deep end, and we had to dive and go and get it."
"My first open water swim - my parents still talk about it to this day. They're like: "You just disappeared, and we didn't see you for hours." I mean, obviously they checked on me and made sure I was still afloat. They just saw I was so content, like swimming around, jumping in the waves. If they left me, I would've been out there all day."
SWIMTREK: “So, before you went to Kornati, did you have any expectations for the trip?”
GABY: “Out of all our Croatia trips I think I knew the least about Kornati. It's one of our lesser-known trips. I guess, it just exceeded everything I expected. It was so beautiful. I couldn't get over how stunning the island was and the view from the hotel was just incredible."
"I couldn't get over how stunning the island was and the view from the hotel was just incredible..."
"The hotel is right on the water. It's not really a beach it's next to, but there's the harbourside and water below. There are a few jetties scattered around and a small bar. I was so happy to be staying at the waterside. The whole trip you have views of the sea. When we arrived, I just wanted to get into the water right away."
SWIMTREK: “And how were the swims? Did you meet any of the local wildlife?”
GABY: “There were so many fish I don't know the names for. So, so many fish! And then starfish on the seabed and a few jellyfish, but they were easy to avoid. I was looking for an octopus the whole week with other girls in my group when we were swimming from the rocks. They might just be really good at camouflaging, but we weren't able to find any."
"Oh, I almost forgot the dolphins too! We saw a lot of dolphins over the course of the swim days. They were coming close to the boat. The first one we saw was on its own and swimming under the boat and leaping out the water. Then more showed up and this big pod was suddenly all around us. It's like they show off when they know there's people watching."
"It's like [the dolphins] show off when they know there's people watching..."
"Every day after that the pods of dolphins showed up and swam together and were jumping high in the air beside the boat. It's really crazy. Even the boat captains seemed a little surprised. We weren't near the coast, so we didn't jump in, and I don't think you're allowed to swim from island to island because of the boats in Croatia."
SWIMTREK: “How many days did you swim in the end?”
GABY: “It was 5 days swimming in total. We arrived on the first night and had a short acclimatisation swim. That got everyone excited for the week on the evening of the first night. It was about 5-kilometres a day. The longest swim we did was on Tuesday, which was 4.6 kilometres. It was so good. And after the holiday you feel salty and really proud of yourself."
"After the holiday you feel salty and really proud of yourself."
"There were lots of different types of swimmers on the trip as well. They split us into three groups with 2 in the slower group. The middle group was the biggest with 8 and there were 5 in the fastest group. The slowest swimmers just went at their own pace and had support from a kayak the whole way. They looked like they were just loving it."
"It's definitely the right mindset to not care how fast you're going. It's not a race at all. You could miss so much if you were in a rush."
SWIMTREK: “What was your favourite swim during the trip?”
GABY: “In my opinion the best swim we did was a circumnavigation. It was after the long swim on Tuesday. The water just seemed much clearer in the shallows around the island. We were swimming over rocks and all this underwater terrain and shoals of skittish fish. Again, I couldn't name them, but there were lots of visibly different species. We also took a long lunch, anchored in this calm bay. Conditions were perfect. That whole day was just so special."
SWIMTREK: “What did you do during your downtime on the trip?”
GABY: “There are some early starts, and the boat rides range from an hour to 15-minutes. So, we had time to just chill on the boat and my group was so social. Sometimes we'd arrive at the next swim spot, and everyone would just be sitting there and still in conversation for a while. You also had 2 hour or so breaks between the morning and afternoon swims. We would snack, eat lunch and sunbathe on the boat. It was super-hot some days. Then you could dive in to cool off and explore around the boat, snorkelling and looking for that sneaky octopus."
"After the afternoon swim we were usually back at the boat harbour for about five o'clock. On the last night we had a group dinner and the guides did a quiz. We all ordered pizzas, and went down to the jetty. It was such a nice evening. At the welcome meeting, the first thing Ali (our lead guide) said to us was: "We're all on island time here." There's no rush. It's very chill. All of the boat captains had that kind of mindset as well."
"The first thing Ali (our lead guide) said to us was: 'We're all on island time here.' There's no rush. It's very chill. All of the boat captains have that kind of mindset as well..."
"Some afternoons you have totally free to yourselves. A few of us went on coastal walks outside of town or visited the neighbouring town, which was a couple of kilometres away. The walking was quite flat, and it was great to explore. One day, I went with the guides, and we drove all the way to the other side of the island and had a little explore and had dinner there. No one was saying: "I wish we had more time to rest. Everyone thought it was a good balance between swimming and downtime."
_"Most days we did a little yoga on the boat as well. Some of the swimmers napped. It was a more relaxed trip, I think - maybe, more like Mallorca when the afternoon swims are later to leave space for siesta time.
SWIMTREK: “How about the food - were there any meals you particularly remember?”
GABY: “The food was actually great. I'm vegan, so I feel like I can never appreciate everything on offer, especially in the Mediterranean, when it's so much fresh fish. I'm not fussy at all. I'm happy with plain pasta if that's all there is. There was a couple of really good restaurants, and we had a great meal on the first night - a group dinner in the harbour. I had this gluten-free pasta with a creamy, mushroom sauce."
"I think most of us took our dinners home since the portions were so big. There was so much fresh seafood. In the day, you could literally see the fish being brought in from the sea. We were there early in the season, and it wasn't very busy. I imagine it would get a lot busier. Another restaurant was at the highest point on the other side of the island, which is really long. It had incredible views of the coast and sea below."
"The lunches we had between swims were great too - hot food and salad. The Captain had his daughter and mother-in-law onboard who made all the food. We had fresh, home-cooked lunches every day, which were super-filling and good to refuel us between swims. Then there were fried sardines, and everyone was thrilled about those. Plus, lots of delicious rice and pasta dishes with fresh salad and bread. There was a veggie and meat option too. It's all family-run and the Captain's son-in-law was one of the skippers as well."
"There was so much fresh seafood. In the day, you could literally see the fish being brought in from the sea..."
SWIMTREK: “Last two quick questions - can you tell us a little more about your base on the island where you stayed? And, is there anything you wish you'd packed to bring with you?”
_"So, 'Dugi Otok' translates to 'Long Island' in Croatian. I think it's the longest island in the Kornati group. It's really big. It feels like the whole Kornati island group is in a less travelled part of the Mediterranean. Dugi Otok felt really unexplored to me. It was honestly one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. The hotel where we stayed was nice too and clean and the staff were lovely. Pretty much every room had a balcony of a decent size."
"The one thing I wish I took was more sun cream. I'm really glad I brought a black vest to swim in. I burned on the first day, so the next two days I was wearing my rash vest. I also brought my fins, and I probably didn't need them because I was in the top group. I wish I brought my own GoPro as well. I could’ve taken more underwater shots with all the fish and documented my search for the octopus!"
"It feels like the whole Kornati island group is in a less travelled part of the Mediterranean. [Dugi Otok]... was honestly one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen."
Want to learn more?
If you’d like to learn more about any of our trips, including dates of travel, kit lists and further itinerary information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us on info@swimtrek.com.
