View from Above: GAlešnjAk, CroAtiA
Galešnjak is nestled
between Pašman
Island and mainland
Croatia, in the
Pašman Channel
of the sparkling
Adriatic Sea.
love at first site from around the world
A rare island discovery attracts romantics
from spACe, you'd neVer spot it.
On land, you'd probably miss
it. Even from a boat barreling
straight for it, you wouldn't
see anything special about this
shoreline. And so it went for
years. The heart-shaped island
of Galešnjak remained virtually
unnoticed until an aerial Google
Earth view highlighted the
Croatian phenomenon. This
secret spot has since become a
96
Tempus-Magazine.com . Spring 2013
dream destination for lovers from
around the globe.
The island's unusual shape
(one of the world's few naturally
occurring hearts) was actually
frst noted in the early nineteenth
century, when Napoleon's
cartographer Charles-François
Beautemps-Beaupré marked it on
his map of the Dalmatian coast.
Then, after two hundred years
of radio silence, island owner
// By Kathryn White
Vlado Juresko got lucky with
Google. The web giant's now
famous aerial photo proved what
Juresko had faintly suspected
all along: His private island was
a heart-shaped stunner. Little
Galešnjak's popularity soared
after its introduction to the
world, and ever since, Juresko has
been fooded with requests from
couples clamoring to stay on
Lovers' Island.