| Three times a day the bus leaves Vis harbour for the 25-minute drive
to KOMIZA , the island's main fishing port - a compact and intimate town
with a palm-fringed seafront on one side and a ring of mountains on the
other. Dominating the southern end of the harbour is the Kastel , a
stubby sixteenth-century fortress which now holds a Fishing Museum (Ribarski
muzej; daily: July & Aug 9am-noon & 6-10pm; June & Sept 9-10am & 7-10pm;
15kn), whose worthy display of nets and knots is enlivened by the
presence of a reconstructed falkusa , one of the traditional,
triangular-sailed fishing boats common to these waters until the early
twentieth century. You can walk out to the seventeenth-century
Benedictine Monastery (Muster), about a kilometre behind the town on a
vineyard-cloaked hillock. Most of the island's population congregate
beneath the monastery every year on St Nicholas's Day (Sveti Nikola,
December 6), when an old fishing boat is hauled here by hand and then
set alight.
Rearing up above Komiza to the southeast is Mount Hum , at 587m Vis's
highest point. To climb it you can either scramble up a series of tracks
which ascend steeply from behind the Benedictine monastery, or follow
the road as it works its way round the southern side of the island, and
turn left to the hamlet of Zena Glava (about 10km in all). There's a
wonderful view of the Adriatic from the top, with the pale grey stripe
of the Italian coastline far away to the west, and the mountains of the
Croatian mainland to the east.
Buses from Vis Town terminate about 100m behind the harbour, from where
it's a short walk southwards to the tourist office (July & Aug daily
8am-10pm; rest of year Mon-Fri 8am-1pm; tel 021/713-455), on the Riva
just beyond the Kastel. There's a comfy modern hotel, the Bisevo (tel
021/713-095 or 713-279; £20-25/$32-40/¬36-45), and plenty of rooms
available from a number of agencies in the centre, such as Darlic &
Darlic (tel 021/713 760, ines.darlic@st.tel.hr ) on the harbourfront,
and Srebrnatours (tel 021/713 668, sandra.vitaljic@st.tel.hr ) on
Ribarska just to the north. There are a couple of pizzerias on the
harbour, and one good seafood restaurant just off Ribarska, Bako , which
has a vine-shaded terrace right on the beach. For drinking , head for
the tiny main square, which is ringed by lively café-bars.
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