The Elaphite Islands

I've seen that spelled Elaphite and Elaphiti - they pronounce it eh-la-FEE-tee. These are three of the many islands around Dubrovnik called Kolocep, Lopud, and Sipan. They are inhabited but very small and extremely hilly. I ended up hiking twenty minutes to get to the Church of St. Nicolas the Greek on Lopud - but I'll get back to that.

In Lapad, the neighborhood I'm staying in, there are dozens of boat tours offering really good deals that include a panorama of the Old Town, trips out to all three of the islands, and a really good lunch. The tour itself was something like $35 for seven hours.

Pictures, first of Lapad Harbor:

On the way to Old Town:

Can't you just imagine a mermaid sitting on those rocks?

Coming up on Old Town:

The first of the Elaphite Islands, Kolocep:

Yes, I really did a day of sailing and hiking in sandals, and I didn't break anything.

The Church of St. Anton.

Inside

Church of St. Marije

Its bells

I'm not sure what this was. We only had 40 minutes on the island. I was looking for another church, but this is as far as I got before I had to turn around and head back to the boat.

The view from those ruins - see how colorful it is?

Onward to Sipan, the largest one, and lunch:

The old fortress

See the lizard? This is the only one I saw, but I know there were dozens and dozens around because it was so quiet I could hear them moving in the dried leaves. 

This was after hiking up some very steep hills looking for an old monastery... I think this was it. I didn't get any closer.

The boat where we had lunch - I had fish.

It's hard to tell, but I'm pretty sure this was over ten feet deep. The water here is so clear, that you can see the bottom in parts that are almost deep enough for cruise ships.

On to Lopud, the last of the islands, where we had the most time to explore. This is the place where I spent half an hour hiking up some very broken paths to find the church of St. Nicolas the Greek. The first place I went to was another church that didn't want us taking pictures, but I'll point out where the trek to St. Nicolas's began:

This is where I began hiking up to St. Nicolas's. Those wooden planks over the stairs are for their motored carts and motorcycles.

Higher

Higher

Middle of nowhere

...and this is the church. Really, that's it. It could fit inside my dormitory - it's so small I almost missed it.

The altar

The ceiling

Back to the harbor, and back to shore.

Back in Lapad Harbor