It is already December, so it’s about time it got really cold and winterish. Today is the day. It’s šipanly winterish: just rainy and windy, but never really cold. This is one of the reasons why I sincerely love this island, it just never gets really cold, and the rainy days don’t last for too long.
Anyways, today is one of those days, the wind is strong, it’s dark and grey so it's nice to simply stay at home and watch a movie or read a good book. I've been going through pictures and videos that I had taken last summer, and was surprised to find one I had forgotten about.
I’d like to share it with you in this post, and hopefully it can make you smile and brighten up your day a bit in case your are too sitting somewhere, wondering what to do with your gloomy cold Saturday afternoon.
Let me introduce to you the most passionate fisherman in Šipan. This is the only cat I know about, that literally jumps into the sea to catch his lunch. He doesn't care about the crowd he attracts, and doesn’t mind being the centre of everybody’s attention, at the centre of Suđurađ. All he cares about is this rapidly moving group of tiny black fishes, that tend to swim so closely to the shore, that one almost gets the feeling that they will at once jump right into one’s mouth. And yes, his goal is to catch this moment! Sorry I failed to catch it on camera, it was a very busy afternoon for me and unfortunately I had to miss it.
Here is one more passionate fisherman. Even more passionate than our famous Suđurađ cat.
This is Vyeko, the oldest member of our family. Vjeko is 73 years old, and is a retired fisherman. “Retired” is only on paper, because he likes to take every opportunity and go out into the sea to throw a net and try his luck. Just a year ago Vyeko got awarded the “Golden Hands” certificate by the Mayor of Dubrovnik, for being the oldest acting fisherman in the Dubrovnik area.
Vyeko’s father was a fisherman from Suđurađ. Back in time, more than 60 years ago, when life on the island was tough, Vyeko started going out into the sea, and fishing with his dad when he was just 12 years old. Since then the old man has been working hard, and fishing simply became his blood.
He always attracts the tourists’ attention and gets photographed when sitting on Suđurađ and repairing a net. He is such an authentic character, a spirit from other times, long passed but always alive here on Šipan, the place where it often feels like time stays still.
We are proud of you Vyeko and we love your young and strong, a true fisherman's spirit!
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