Almost every day Mor Mor and Far Far have been here we end up on some 4-6 mile walking adventure. They have been troopers with the heat, hills, and lack of transportation. Another chilly day found us in the hills exploring inland. We had headed to the town of Skript, the oldest town on the island of Brac. A steep dirt road up the hillside in the heat was no simple task and at this time of year, we have been on our own for most of these adventures. The trail winded its way through olive fields until at last, we reached the top of a ridge and the edge of a cemetery and stumbled our way into the back of the museum of Skript.
We were discussing a collection of old stones and wondering if they were old gravestones when the most enthusiastic museum curator I have ever met came out and started to tell us the details. This woman has found her passion in life and we were blessed with her gift. The next few hours she showed us around the whole museum, Roman "cyclops" stones, olive wheels carved into the ground, fortress details where hot oil could be spilled on invaders, a mausoleum made with beautiful arches and Egyptian stones from 1500 BC. She acted out the history, showed us books and pictures, let us touch see and feel the history from the beginning of the time in Brac until today. She showed us iPhone pictures of her house, posters of her uncle and made the history come alive. We were the only ones in the museum and she probably spent 2 hours with us.
The day continued to unfold magically. We left inspired but hungry only to stumble into wine, bread, and olive oil. Right outside of the museum was an old castle where an elderly woman whos lack of English did not slow her down in telling us every detail. The tour ended in her winemaking basement in the castle and bottles of wine marked with gold paint pen - so we bought one and she ran to her house upstairs to open it for us. After all, we had finished all our water.
After the castle we walked a little further and next was on olive oil museum - with tastings. After pushing the olive wheel, asking our million questions about black, vs green, processing differences and history she lead us outside to a table with olive oil, homemade bread, cured olives, and fig jam. Again, the only ones in the area, we enjoyed a lovely and refreshing snack in the sun where the attendant showed us a new, more comfortable and frankly lovely way back home. A paved path without cars winded down the ridgeline straight back home completing our circle through the history of this magical little island.
The girls learning what happens next to the olives.
Making our way up the steep hillside to Skrip.
The old and the new - layers upon layers of history.
Our “tour guide”
Leaving castles with wine.
Stone everywhere on this island. This amazing stone roof.
Figuring out how the whole thing works.
This was a Roman “signature” of the the creator of the this mausoleum. I love how these small details transcend time.
Exploring the ancient architecture.
Oil tasting at the olive oil museum before heading home.