Lastovo Islands Nature Park
Lastovo Islands Nature Park is an archipelago of 46 islands, covered mostly in thick forests with steep coasts, surrounded by rich underwater life. We spent five days on the main island here, also called Lastovo.
Following WWII, the former Yugoslavia designated Lastovo as a protected military island, depopulating the area and forbidding any foreigners to visit. The natural beauty of the islands flourished during this time before Croatian independence, and is now protected as a conservation area for Mediterranean biodiversity.
We anchored with lines ashore in one of the most protected and beautiful bays in the Adriatic, just 50m away from an abandoned submarine pen. Lastovo was one of the last remaining footholds of the Yugoslav People's Army in Croatia. Though these pens were supposedly first built during WWII under German occupation for their U-boats.
The legacy of various military occupations in this area over the past century have left their mark on the island. Sometimes it’s hard to believe Croatia has had such a recent turbulent history. The juxtaposition between remote forest and imposing concrete structure should seem unusual. Yet somehow the tunnel sits comfortably in its hillside home. Having said that, paddle boarding into this huge man-made tunnel in the middle of a remote island in the Adriatic, was peculiar to say the least.
Hiking across the island from our anchorage took us to yet more abandoned military structures. A clandestine military base with huge crumbling warehouses, rusted out guard towers, decommissioned barracks, and one of the spookiest places we have ever visited… Somewhere between the azure waters and lush green hillsides we spotted a railway cart track leading into a small, dark tunnel. Naturally we followed it.
As we progressed further into the tunnel the air became cooler and the light diminished. We switched on our phone torches and in the eerie darkness we caught glimpses of old storage racks, wedged open steel bunker doors, and damp narrow escape routes. This extensive tunnel system once housed ammunitions, missiles and troop quarters. Today it’s just inhabited by a multitude of large cave wētā (spider crickets). On the other side of the island, we cooled off in the clear water next to yet another gunboat hideout tunnel. It all felt a little bit like something out of a James Bond movie.
We spent the rest of our days swimming between the boats of our friends; s/v Gambler, s/v Aihe and m/v Gratitude. We made friends with the summer wasps that came aboard each evening to drink fresh water from our deck. We bought homemade wine and local delicacies delivered straight to the boat. And we celebrated the 7th birthday of Sophie from s/v Gambler, who fittingly picked the “Island of the Brightest Stars” to have an astronomy party aboard Long Summer.
