Hvar

We spent 3 nights on the beautiful island of Hvar, Croatia. 

You can see the castle on the hill above the city.

 It was really hot, so we spent lots of time in the cool, clear water. (And eating gelato.) We rented a boat to visit some of the neighboring islands, and that was a fun day. 

The neighboring islands are beautiful. And their shape creates lots of coves for swimming.
(Obviously not my photo--source linked)

We anchored the boat wherever we wanted, then jumped off and swam, usually to the shore of an island (we floated the kids alongside while we swam).

This photo is an accurate summation of the experience of riding in a boat with Gavin.

Here's a photo of Jacob pulling Gavin to shore from the boat, which was anchored well away from shallow waters.

The rocking boat put one of the kids to sleep.
Too bad it wasn't mine...Isn't she precious?

There were no sandy beaches. People either swim from rocky beaches or from big (treacherous) rocks on the shore. Everyone definitely needed their water shoes! (Gavin's are pictured above on the boat.) Swimming in the Adriatic was a new body of water for us too.

Probably my favorite photo of the whole trip. 

Hvar harbor at night--a very beautiful place!