EN: In the Korčula archipelago, there is a total of 19 small islands, Vrnik is the second largest (after Badija) of them, and up to a few years back, it was the only inhabited island (sadly, not any more, as nobody lives here during winter time). There are around 30 houses on this 850 m long and 450 m wide island. It was world-famous for its quarries (place from which stone is excavated) which existed from old Roman times. The stone from here was used to build many famous buildings in the world, like Aja Sofija (Istanbul), White House (Washington), and many palaces and town halls in Venice, Vienna, Dubrovnik, Stockholm, and other Croatian cities on the Adriatic coast.
The island is completely dead during winter time, but it livens up during the summer when the tourists arrive.
Being an island, you can arrive only by boat – 6 km by car from Korčula up to the narrowest part, and then 100 m by boat. It is even close enough to swim…
There are several regular taxi-boat lines from Korčula to Vrnik, the prices vary.
At the time of the most intensive extraction and processing of stone, there were up to 600 (!!) workers working on Vrnik. The stone was excavated here even in the Neolithic period, and Diocletian (roman emperor) sent Christians from Salona to work here when they were pardoned from their death penalty. In the 14th century the stone was exported in Dubrovnik, Ston, and later in Šibenik and Zadar. Quarrying on the island lasted until 1966.
The cache is hidden in one of several abandoned quarries on the island. Watch your step. Follow the signs for the fast food restaurant, then pass the little church on the left side, and follow the narrow path between the high piles of stone remains to the quarry. Watch your step. The cache is under the very big stone.
HR: U arhipelagu Pelješkog kanala pored obale otoka Korčule, nalazi se skupina od 19 manjih otoka od kojih je Vrnik drugi najveći (nakon Badije), a do prije koju godinu je bio i jedini naseljen od svih (na žalost, ne više, jer po zimi ovdje nema nikoga). Na otoku dugom 850 a širokom 450 metara se nalazi tridesetak kuća. Bio je poznat u svijetu po svojim kamenolomima koji postoje još od rimskog doba, a od čijeg kamena su izgrađene mnoge poznate građevine u svijetu, kao Aja Sofija (Istanbul), Bijela kuća (Washington), te palače-vijećnice u Veneciji, Beču, Dubrovniku, Stocholmu i našim gradovima na Jadranu.
Po zimi je otok potpuno mrtav, dok živne samo ljeti, kad stignu turisti.
Do Vrnika se dolazi samo barkom, 6 km iz Korčule to najužeg dijela kanala, a onda morskim prolazom od 100 m barkom do Vrnika. Tako je blizu obale da se može i preplivati.
Postoji i nekoliko regularnih brodskih taksi linija od Korčule do Vrnika, cijene variraju.
U doba najintenzivnijeg vađenja i obrade kamena na Vrniku je radilo i do 600 (!!!) radnika. Kamen se na Vrniku vadio još u neolitu, a postoje i podaci da je Dioklecijan ovdje slao kršćane iz Salone kad bi im ublažio smrtnu kaznu. U 14. st. kamen se izvozio u Dubrovnik i Ston, a kasnije i u Šibenik i Zadar. Vađenje kamena na otoku je trajalo do 1966.godine.
Cache je sakriven u jednom od nekoliko napuštenih kamenoloma na otoku. Pratite putokaze prema fast food restoranu, nakon kojega prođete kraj male crkve s njene lijeve strane, i pratite usku stazu između naslaganih kamenih otpadaka do samog kamenoloma. Pazite gdje stajete! Cache se nalazi ispod velikog kamena.
