Decades of storytelling

Since the eighties, when I started working in tourism, I have constantly been hearing stories about different adventures, legends, and customs. Again and again, we were told and trained how these stories should be passed on to tourists.

I remember how we used to stop by tobacco fields so that tourists could see, touch, and smell the plants. I remember how we presented freshly baked bread, still warm from the ashes under the bell. I remember going into the village and showing tourists an old mill that was still working. The landlady would bake delicious sweets, while the master of the house would proudly show off his wooden sculptures — a wonderful example of naive art.

When I was a child, I remember how mostly older men would invite tourists into their little boats and take them across the bay or to a beautiful beach.

Sponges, shells, stones — even today, you can see children selling beautiful natural objects to tourists.

Sweet memories by Darka 

All of this is a form of storytelling. Every smile from a boatman, every natural object sold, given, or collected represents a beautiful, sometimes even romantic story that travels to distant lands, telling people about our coast, our people, and our customs.

Shells ready to travel the world, by Darka

All materijal, including photos by Darka