Friday May 17th, 2013 - Postira to Bol (Island of Brac), 40K

Peter's watercolor study of the harbor lighthouse in Postira, visible from our hotel terrace.

Once again, time is flying and our 2-night stay in Postira has disappeared in our bike mirrors! After breakfast at our lovely hotel we set out along the coast heading first for the town of Pucisca, a 17K ride on rolling terrain. The skies were still a bit leaden gray with hints of sun at times, but temperatures were mild and the wind way less formidable than yesterday.

In Pucisca we had an hour or so to chill and drink coffee overlooking their harbor.  We are seeing so many impressive boats with large crews  - the boats are spotless and orderly 99% of the time. At 11am the group reconvened to spend an hour at the Stoneworks school in town - it is a high school dedicated to teaching limestone and granite carving using only hand tools. Students are hired all over the world to help in authentic restorations of stone for historic structures. Too bad everything we admired was too large and heavy to put in our luggage!

Peter joins the singing group - they were a bit shy...

Loving up the locals at city hall in Pusisca.

We learned about the stonemason training school from guide Silvija and one of the instructors - it was very interesting!

Once we left Pusisca it was "time to climb"! We had a 6k grind in happy gears to a plateau area, then after another 6K of rolling hills we enjoyed an 8K screaming descent into Bol on the south coast of the island. We contended with hot sun, wind, rain, cool breezes and clouds, all within a span of one hour!

The hills are alive...with dots of bikers.

I'm in the foreground flying downhill - and the road stretches way on into the distance.

After cleaning up Peter and I enjoyed beer and pizza at a wonderful spot right in front of our hotel. We got a town map and strolled the narrow lanes and waterfront, finally arriving at a spot worthy of a quick sketch study by Peter.

At 5 PM we strolled down the harbor walk to the Jako Vino winery for a tour and a tasting. It was by far one of the most elegant and well-designed wineries we'd ever experienced - much like an art gallery. We toured the production area and then enjoyed a rose, white and red wine selection along with lovely hors d'oeuvres. It was hard to leave at 6 PM to let the next group in!

Loved the wine tasting rooms and the wine too!

Once again dinner was a home run of delicious food - I will let the pictures tell the story:

The appetizer - smoked tuna

Scrumptious John Dory fish with grilled veggies.

The vegetables were a feast for the eyes and the stomach.

More great times ahead tomorrow as we head to the island of Hvar by ferry at 9 AM and bike across the island to Hvar city - and of course there is a 10K climb...!