Ston and coastal Croatia

Ston is located at the southern end of the Peljesac Peninsula, about 54 km north-west of Dubrovnik.

The 5.5kM wall was built during the Dubrovnik Republic; namely 14th and 15th C. At that time, a kilo of salt was worth the same as a kilo of gold. It was therefore essential to protect their salt production. The salt pans date back to Roman times and the same pans have been producing salt for over 2000 years using traditional techniques.

In addition to its salt and wall Ston is today known for its mussels and oysters that are farmed in the sheltered waters between the peninsula and mainland near Ston.The oysters perfectly complement French Chablis, or vice versa.

A fish we had not eaten previously was the red skarpina; a member of the grouper family. The locals recommend eating fish with a light coating of olive oil. We followed instructions noting that the Hvar and Brac olive oils have a more delicate flavour than the more robust Spanish olive oils.

There appears to be a viable fishing industry around the Croatian islands, much of it on a small scale and on a local basis, with one and two person boats; although we did see some larger vessels moured in ports.

The small operators assure a supply of fresh local fish to restaurants, but at a price. Although not easy to quantify, it appears to us that a quality fish meal in Crotia is more expensive than in Australia. This is similar to what we have previously found in Japan, Norway and Finland..