By our last full day on Mljet, our little cove hideaway was starting to feel like home. It didn’t hurt that we were the only guests currently present at our villa (yay to pre-preak season) and thus were treated to a nice suite upgrade. On a trip this long it really is a treat to spend a few days in a remote location without the constant lingering feeling of needing to get out and see everything there is to see in each new place. We decided to make proper use of the strong Croatian sun and our apartment’s nice infinity pool before heading out for our last Mljet adventure.
One of Mljet’s most famous attractions is Odysseus Cave. The egg shaped cave has an entrance facing the sea and appears as a giant open-air gash from the land side, resulting from when part of its ceiling collapsed. Legend has it that Homer wrote about this exact cave in his epic poem The Odyssey. Apparently, the part of the story when Odysseus encounters the Cyclops in his cave may have been based on the island of Mljet. We visited Odysseus Cave in the afternoon and reached its seaside entrance after a steep hike from the road through ancient farming plots and down the Dinaric limestone shore. After passing a seemingly defunct bohemian cafe bar, we rounded a corner and could see the mouth of the cave agape; drinking endlessly from the Adriatic. Upon further investigation we realized that some hand painted symbols on the rocks around the cave entrance denoted cliff-diving platforms; some about 20-30 meters above the water. Looking down at the water below even from a much lower platform definitely gave a sense of vertigo. The significant depth of the cave’s channel was obvious, as the crystal clear water descended into a stomach turning midnight blue color. Still, one cannot simply come to Odysseus cave and not jump in (at least, one that is Max - not Addie). After a few jumps from novice height, we felt we (Max, and Addie by proxy) had properly experienced the landmark and headed back toward our car with a satisfied feeling.