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While visiting the lovely island of Hvar in Croatia, we stayed in Jelsa. Prior to our trip there, a friend in Sarajevo warned about the drunken Lager Lads and other such morons in Hvar Grad on the far western point of the island. While a beautiful spot that city, we were told that we had better be ready for vomit in the water and broken glass on the sidewalk. Additionally most people seemed to emphasize that rather open gay couples had been flocking to the town as well. The last bit didn't bother me at all, being from San Francisco, but the locals weren't too in to it. The locals also happened to not be in to drunken Lager Lads trying to grope the local girls and so a group of these Brits got beat up badly last year, with the beaters not getting caught, which I do happen to be a fan of. Island Justice is tough justice, but sometimes deserved.       So, after hitchhiking from the pitstop of Sućuraj, we found a nice apartment at a good rate that had a terrace overlooking the bay and port of Jelsa. It also happened to have a really sweet older couple running all of it, which included appointing the apartment with everything we could need. A quick stop to the local store in the town and we were set for a few days, which actually turned in to a couple of days extra because we were so relaxed there that we didn't want to leave.       Around the town there isn't too much. The wine growing area is close by, but you need a car to enjoy most of it. The rather overrated Tomić has a tasting room in town, but that's about it. Just outside the bay of the town to the left there is a pretty good beach, which is naturally full, but not crowded and when boats don't illegally dump their sewage on a Monday morning, the water is quite nice. Overall, it's really the relaxing quality of the town and a lack of most of the drunken idiots you find in Hvar town that make Jelsa a very appealing alternative.       There is one down side to the town, which is which it earned a "nearly" in the title and that's the fact that the church bells drive you insane. Some people complain about the mosques calling for prayer five times a day, but really, clanging church bells at six in the morning that go on for an hour are much, much more unnerving. Toss in the fact that on a Saturday that we were there, Mišo Kovač was singing for all the town to hear. Badly. Out of tune. And until two in the morning. Those church bells are a real killer at six when you've had the crooning of Mišo the night before. Honestly, I think it's a revenge against the tourists, but even still, I highly recommend Jelsa if you're staying on Hvar.