July 2007 - Croatia, Italy
Italy | Vieste | Vieste Harbor
Italy | Vieste | sun dried tomatoes
July 31, 2007
We decided to stay another day in Vieste. Big cold front coming across the Adriatic. Lots of NE wind and storms although it hasn't stormed here yet. The winds been blowing 20-30 kts all day and the big fishing boats all came in and are four deep against the quay. We put a coat of Sikkens on the lower teak deck this morning. Now this afternoon we're doing sewing projects. Al fixed the stitching on the main sail cover and we added another 8 inches to the cover. It never covered the whole sail. Now it does :-> Next project was four mesh bags to store electrical cords and hoses in. They were forever getting tangled up in the cockpit locker. Vic from Belgium walked by and he questioned weather we were on vacation or working. We answered today is a work day. Hopefully this front will move on through and we can continue to head south tomorrow. We found a man in Bari who can update the software on our Furuno radar/plotter so we can use the new Navionics chip we bought for the Mediterranean.
Love Sally and Al
Italy | Viesta | anchorage outside Vieste Harbor
July 30, 2007
Hi, We had a lovely night at anchorage and then moved into the Vieste harbor Monday morning after filling up with diesel. We went walking and shopping for three hours. We found a big open air fruit and vegetable market and several grocery stores. Al found an electrical shop and decided to buy cord to make a longer shore power cord. The cathedral was open put the castle is a military base so we couldn't go in it. We decided to go back and take a berth in the harbor. We visited with Catherine one of the owners of the dock we are on. She is from Toronto, Canada. She came on vacation, met her husband Antonio and has lived most of their married life here in Italy. Catherine gave us directions to shops we were looking for and we went out about town for another three hours. We get a lot more exercise in Italy than Croatia.
Love Sally and Al
July 29, 2007
Hi, We had a nice uneventful passage to Viesta, Italy. Light NW winds gave us extra speed. We saw dophins about 6 miles out. Our first since leaving Italy last May. Perhaps they are charged to live in Croatian waters... We arrived in Vieste, Italy about 7:30. Our new cruising guide for Adriatic describes Vieste as a small town and the harbor as over crowded. So the best option was to take one of 4 protected good holding anchorages. Well the EU has made some improvements. Vieste will be a huge marina when it is completed. For now nothing looks as our guide shows and about 3 different ormeggiatori were whistling and waving us into their spot. Since we had no lines or fenders out we decided to leave the harbor for a quiet anchorage outside and go back in the morning to check in.
Love Sally and Al
July 28, 2007
Hi, We had a lazy, quiet day on Saturday. We went ashore in Komiza, Otok Viz and checked out with the Port Captain and made arrangements to check out with the police at 6 AM Sunday. When we asked him when he would be in Komiza at first he said 8:00 and we said that was good. Then he said but if you want I will be here at 6:00. We said whatever works best for you. So he said I'll meet you at 6:00. An English couple we had met in Dubrovnik boat "Margareta" came into the anchorage. The invited us over for a glass of wine. Lovely couple, both retired doctors. It is now Sunday morning 9:00 and Al is just now back from clearing out with the police. He acted like he had never seen him before and we had talked to him for two days in a row. Oh well, maybe he's just not very bright. We have 70 nm to go. Not much wind so it'll be a motor/sail day. Hopefully we'll get there before dark tonight. There are several good anchorages so we don't have to worry too much about arriving late. Using our Italian sim card cell phone for a few weeks 0039 346 772 6629.
Love Sally and Al
July 26 & 27, 2007
Hi, The wind quieted down and we had a restful night on Wed. After breakfast Thursday, I went up the mast to the spreaders to grab the flag halyard that had broken loose. It was my first time and it was a lot easier than climbing that bell tower the other day :-> A couple of mega yachts in the anchorage. One is about a 200 ft sailboat. The other is a 200 ft mega yacht with a helicopter on deck. They launched about a 30 foot launch and took off for a tour. We never saw names on the boats as with their garage doors open the names weren't visible. We went into the town of Vis to explore. Lots of narrow stone streets and Venetian Gothic buildings. Our Lady of Spilica was a neat church. It seems the oldest and most interesting buildings in Europe are churches or castles.
Croatia | Otok Vis | Komisa | Good-bye Croatia dinner
Today we went around Vis island to Komisa. Another neat village. We passed by a hillside with machine gun pill boxes. The town is quite lovely. We are anchored outside the harbor near the swim beach. We plan to go tonight for dinner. We'll check out of Croatia tomorrow and then cross to Vieste, Italy on Sunday weather permitting.
Love Sally and Al
Croatia | Otok Vis |Komisa
Croatia | Otok Vis |Village Kut anchorage
Croatia | Otok Vis| Village Kut anchorage
Croatia | Otoc Vis| Komisa
July 25, 2007
Hi, We decided to go out to dinner last night about 8:30. We found a nice Panorama Konaba (restaurant) up near the cathedral. We ate on the terrace overlooking the sea. The breeze made for a pleasant evening. We had a mixed fish grill for two. It included tuna steak, calamari, octopus, crayfish, and a local "sea bass" (I think that means catch of the day). It was all wonderful and we'd order it again. It came with spinach potatoes (interesting combination) and bread. We were able to get water this morning so we didn't leave Primosten until 9:00.
We had a great motor sail to the island of Vis. This was a military base during World War II. It wasn't until 1989 visitors were allowed to land on the island. We haven't seen much except from our anchorage as the wind was blowing across the bay and we didn't want to leave the boat. We are actually anchored outside the village of Kut but Vis is only half a mile across the bay. Looking back toward mainland about 25 miles away we can see a forest fire burning. It's a different fire from yesterdays. This one appears to be somewhere between Trogir (where we were yesterday on the bus) and Split. The strong winds make it difficult to bring it under control. We saw fire fighting planes carrying water to the fire this morning. It's about 8:00 and the winds have quieted down. But we'll wait until morning to put the dinghy in the water and go sight seeing.
Love Sally and Al
Croatia | Trogir
Croatia | Trogir
July 24, 2007
Hi, Hot and windy. We saw 35kts during the night. It was nice being at the quay and running our air conditioner! Today we took a bus to the island of Trogir to buy a fan belt and sight see. The old town is very lovely and connected to mainland by a short bridge. We had lunch then went walking. The town was first settled by the Greeks of Issa in 380 BC. Then the Romans arrived in 78 AD. The Cathedral of St. Lawrence is spectacular.
Croatia | Trogir |view from St. Michael's Bell Tower
Croatia | Trogir | view from St. Michael's Bell Tower
I climbed the Bell Tower, scary but fantastic views. It wasn't too bad until I got to the open metal steps and the open arches. It was kind of freaky without walls around me as I climbed. The views of the town and the sea were fantastic so I guess it was worth it. Kamerlengo Castle(once the Venetian governor's palace, 1430) and St. Mark's Tower (built in 1470), Loggia and Clock Tower, and the palaces made for great photo shots. We found an auto parts store for our fan belt and headed back to Primosten. Tried to fill our water tanks and wash the boat only to discover the water was turned off. There is a forest fire north of here and a water ban is in effect. Should have filled up yesterday. Oh well. Hopefully we can fill up in Stari Grad. We still have half of our supply but we like to fill up when we take a berth.
Love Sally and Al
July 22 & 23, 2007
Hi, Another hot hot day. We stayed at Uvala Mir, Dugi Otok on our mooring buoy for another day. The park service men came by for garbage but no charge for the second day on the buoy. We took a picnic lunch and went on a dinghy cruise. It was too hot to walk the trail to the salt lake. It was a windier afternoon and evening so I didn't swim but Al dunked in a few times. It was dead calm this morning.
We left the anchorage at 6:30 planning to go back to Kanal SV Ante. We had spectacular vistas of the Kornati Island. Very little foliage, just rocky gray islands. Every quarter of a mile there was a rock fence that went from the shore over the mountain top. We went by Kaprije Otok but the quay was full and we wanted water and to run our air conditioner so we headed for Primosten where we stayed last week. We got the last spot at the quay and turned on the air. Relief... We were able to change oil and transmission fluid in comfort!! The wind has picked up from the SE and it's very hot, humid and hazy. Weare wondering if this is a real sirocco? (southerly or southeasterly wind from Africa) If it is, it sometimes takes 2 or 3 days to blow past. Sometimes lots of red, dusty rain. I guess time will tell. We're in a good spot so we'll wait and see.
Love Sally and Al
Croatia | Dugi Otok | Telascica Nature Park|Uvala Mir
July 21, 2007
Hi, What a hot muggy night. I almost had Al get up and turn on the air conditioning. When we got up this morning everything was dripping from heavy dew. We left the anchorage about 10:00 to go about 28 nm. We thought we were going to have a nice down wind sail but once we got all the sails up it died down to us moving about 2.5 kts :-( We hung with it for about an hour and finally started motoring again. We traveled on the sea side of Dugi Otok all day. The cliffs are steep and water is deep right up to shore. We took a mooring buoy in Telascica Nature Park at the south end of Dugi Otok in Uvala Mir. Lovely steep cliffs and a salt lake to walk to when it's cooler out.
Love Sally and Al
Croatia | Otok Molat | Uvala Podgarbe
July 20, 2007
Hi, We did boat projects this morning and then motored to Uvala Podgarbe on Otok Molat. I did laundry as we traveled. Al bought an industrial wringer when we were home and it works great. It gets the water out of the clothes (no more blisters) and they dry so much faster. Podgarbe is a nice uninhabited anchorage. We did some more boat projects, swam many times, and took a dinghy ride. That's about all you feel like doing in this heat. The water is so nice and clear, refreshing. You can see down over 30 feet easily and a sand bottom. Kind of like Lake Superior only much warmer. Trying to make our T Mobile sim card work for our internet. No easy deal when you don't speak Croatian. I guess we'll have to go back into Zadar and go to T Mobile for some help.
Love Sally and Al
Croatia | Zadar
Croatia | Zadar |St. Mary's Church
July 19, 2007
Hi, We had a lovely motoring day checking out the sights along Otok Pasman and Otok Uglian. We went into Zadar on the mainland for fuel, money, groceries, and internet. Beautiful city, the cruising guide doesn't do it justice. We were only allowed to be tied to the quay for a two hour visit so we only had a small taste of what it had to offer. The old town is quite clean and busy. Archaeologists are working near the Cathedral of St. Anastasia on Roman forum ruins. The Church of St. Donat also built on the paving stones of the Roman forum in early 9th century and using the old honey colored stone from the Roman forum. Could have spent more time here but maybe we'll come back. No anchorages near by and didn't want to spend the big bucks in the marina. We motored back up to the north end of Otok Uglian and dropped anchor in Moline bay. Another steamy, hot day. Thank goodness for a cool sea and a nice breeze.
Love Sally and Al
July 18, 2007
Hi, Printed and scanned some documents and pictures this morning. So we left the anchorage around 11:00 and motor sailed up to Otok Pasman. We had one good hour with sails alone. We had planned to anchor but picked up a mooring ball for 70 kuna (not mentioned in either cruising guide but worth it) about 4:00 in U. Landin. That may explain why the bay next door U. Zincena we were originally headed for looked so crowded. But that bay may have mooring buoys too. We didn't go in and look. Very hot wind blowing through the anchorage. We found a "fly" on board that covers the upper deck over the boom. What a difference that makes in the cabin. We had a nice swim and decided to grill again tonight.
Love Sally and Al
Croatia | Sibenik | Cathedral of St. James
Croatia | Sibenik | Lourdes Grotto
July 17, 2007
Hi, Another lovely day on the Krka River. We motored down to Sibenik and picked up some fuel. We tied off to the quay for 4 hours and visited this lovely old town. The cathedral of St. James was spectacular. Built in a Gothic-Renaissance style completely of stone. The dome is interlocking slabs of stone, amazing. The old town was fun to walk through, alleys, stairways...
We motored down to Capljena bay and anchorage near the end of Kanal SV Ante leading back into the Med from the Krka River. Fun to watch Croatian families play along the shore. Daddy giving the kids "hyper-dives" as our boys called them. It always feels so good to jump in and cool off. The days are extremely hot but it generally cools off in the evening. Decided to grill a steak tonight.
Love Sally and Al
Croatia | Krka River | Krka National Park | Skradinski Buk Falls
Croatia | Krka National Park | Skradinski Buk falls
Croatia | Krka National Park | Skradinski Buk Falls
July 16, 2007
Hi, We had a wonderful evening at Beretusc anchorage. The stars were magnificent. Much like the skies on the Canadian North shore... so far from the city lights the stars more numerous and brilliant. We had a full day today. We left the boat around 8:00 and took the dinghy to Skradin. We caught a ferry boat at 9:00 for the Krka National Park. The Skradinski Buk falls were spectacular. We walked the trail along and above the falls. The park has a working grain mill, blacksmith, laundry and paddle wheel. It was so lovely wandering along the courses of the water fall through the cool forest on such a hot day.
Croatia |Otok Visovoc | Franciscan Monastery
Croatia | Krka River | Krka River Canyon
We had a picnic lunch and then took another ferry above the Skradinski Buk falls through the Krka River canyon. We visited a Franciscan monastery (church and museum) on the island of Visovac and then continued upstream to Roski Slap water falls. There was another mill, loom exhibit, and wicker clothes basked prestntation centers. We went for a swim in cold fresh water! Lovely swimming area!! We got back to the boat about 6:00 and took another swim. This one a little saltier but not as salty as the Med.
Love Sally and Al
Croatia | Krka River and National Park| Beretusc Bay anchorage
July 15, 2007
Hi, We went to 8:00 mass, standing room only. This time lots of women singing and very few men. Just the opposite of Stari Grad. We had breakfast at a cafe off the harbor. We left for Krka River and National Park at 10:30. We had a short sail before heading up the river. It was a pretty passage up the river (about 8 miles). We dropped anchor about 3 miles from Skradin in Beretusc bay.
Croatia | Krka River | Skradin
We dropped the dinghy in the water and put on the 15 HP. Skradin is a cute quiet tourist town. The ACI marina is there and the river boats that take you into the National Park to the waterfalls. We plan to take the trip tomorrow. We have to take the river boat to Skradinski Buk (falls) as no other motorized boats are allowed in the park. We saw a picante pizza sign and just had to stop for a late lunch. It was some of the best we've had in Croatia. Enjoying a nice quiet anchorage off the river.
Love Sally and Al
Croatia | Primosten
July 14, 2007
Hi, We got up early (6 AM) today and put the dinghy on deck and headed north to Primosten. We took showers under weigh to use up water in the tanks. It's a cute little tourist town. We arrived by 10:30. We took a spot on the quay so we could fill our water tanks and wash the boat. It's so nice having a clean boat after two weeks at anchor :-> We walked around town after lunch and had an Italian ice cream cone. Our regular Croatian ice cream cones have not been very flavorful. Al took a nap (didn't sleep well last night after our ramming) and I read my book. We reported "the incident" to our insurance company although we're pretty sure it's not above our deductible. We wanted them to be aware in case the French boat's insurance company contacts them. We went for a swim, bought a bottle of local wine, and grilled on the George Foreman. We'll sleep good tonight not worrying about other boats or dragging anchor.
Love Sally and Al
Croatia | Split
Croatia | Split | Seaside Promenade
Croatia |Split | Clock Bell Tower
July 13, 2007
Hi, Another Friday the 13th this time in Split! We got our new life line and put it on this morning. Fits great. We did some grocery shopping preparing to move on tomorrow. Along about 4:30 a sailboat came into the harbor under sail. She kept coming straight at us. Al kept yelling turn the boat...sail the boat. No motor she kept yelling but didn't think to sail the boat and ran straight into our port quarter. We pushed her off but she continued to just drift finally sailing off the next boat. An Englishman in a dinghy came along side and told her to pull her sail down and he towed her away from the next boat. Al and Christian got into their dinghies to help. What a mess. Finally tied them off of another boat until someone from the harbor could come and tow them in.
We have a bent stanchion and a huge gouge in our teak toe rail. It could have been much worse but bad enough. Al had to take our documents and go make a report with the Harbor Authorities. We were told that since 1991 where we were anchored is no longer a designated anchorage and if we filed a police report we would be fined 5000 Kunas ($1000) We have an new 1007-2008 Croatian written cruising guide which says it is an anchorage and 25 other boats are anchored here. Oh well we'll see how it all turns out as the French boat turned it in to their insurance. As I said It could have been worse as they just missed our shrouds. Love and God bless
Love Sally and Al
July 12, 2007
Hi, We had a wonderful day in Split. We found a rigger in the marina who is making us a new life line to replace the broken one. We walked and walked through town. We visited two museums and just enjoyed the Roman/Venetian archetecture. Our American friends from Milwaukee, invited us over for cocktails. An Australian couple joined us and then left for a dinner engagement. Another couple from France joined us for dinner at Konoba Varos. Great food (steak)and great company. Tired...
Love Sally and Al
July 11, 2007
Hi we decided to head for Split Harbor on the mainland today. Winds were suppose to be 6-15 out of the NW early switching to SW. Wrong it was NW all day. We motored for 3 hrs right into 15-22 kt. winds and seas. Then about 6 miles from Split we could sail. So up went the main and out came the jib. Great sail for about 45 minutes, just flying doing over 7 kts. Then the wind really started to howl 25-35. Thankfully we only had 3 miles to go. Split Harbor was protected but still blowing like a "son of a gun". We dropped anchor and went below for lunch. Pretty soon a dinghy pulled up to warn us a boat was dragging anchor heading right for us. We had to haul up our anchor and move forward. An arriving French boat followed us as we hauled up our anchor and dropped his right where we had planned to be... Oh well perhaps he thought we were leaving! The wind is beginning to quiet down (6:00) so hopefully we'll have a peaceful night. Maybe we can put the dinghy in the water. 17:30 Put the dinghy in the water and went to town and what a wonderful town it is. Old Roman Palace and wonderful Venetian buildings. We look forward to our visit tomorrow!!
Love Sally and Al
July 10, 2007
Hi, Forecast was for lots of wind and seas today so we decided to stay put for another day on our mooring ball in Stari Grad. We went grocery shopping and then to lunch. We had fried calamari, potatoes, bread, and salad. It was actually much better than I expected. We baby sat Clive's dog Dino while he walked to the next town to see the vet. Dino has a glandular problem and he keeps chewing himself and starts bleeding. He's a Spanish dog and looks like a red/blond German Shepherd. He's been doctoring him for over a year and it keeps flaring up :-( Too windy to grill so we George Foreman our chicken. Beautiful evening. It cooled down and no bugs so we sat in the cockpit until 10:30! love and God Bless
Love Sally and Al
Croatia | Otak Hvar | Hvar | Hvar harbor and Fortress wall
Croatia| Otok Hvar | Hvar harbor
July 9, 2007
Hi, We took a bus over to Hvar today. What a lovely city but touristy. The architecture has a lot of Venetian influence. The streets are narrow and cobblestone with many stairways leading up the hillside. We visited the cathedral and a museum at St. Marks. Then we had a nice lunch over looking the harbor. After lunch we walked up to the monastery but the museum was closed so we walked up to the castle and took the tour. Lots of picturesque moments. The bus ride was a real treat. Steep winding narrow roads with few guard rails. It was quite unsettling when we would meet another car or people on bicycles. In one spot near Stari Grad, a car had to back up to let us pass through. Checked our land email and got to see some wedding pictures :-> love and God Bless
Love Sally and Al
Croatia | Otak Hvar | Stari Grad
Croatia | Otak Hvar | Stari Grad
July 8, 2007
Hi, We went to 10:00 mass and the Cathedral St. Stephen's in Stari Grad today. It was a high mass with lots of singing and a baptism. The choir was all men and most of the men in the congregation sang out loud and clear (very few female voices). One of the altar boys (8 or 9 years old) sang the first reading in a lovely clear voice. This was quite interesting as we've never hear a reading being song before, responsorial psalm yes but not a reading... We went to breakfast at the Pit Stop. Bacon, eggs, bread and coffee for 30 kuna. We visited the palace museum. It was the home of the poet Petar Hektorovic who lived from 1487-1572 one of the fathers of Croatian Literature. He designed his fortress/home and included a salt water/spring water fish pond and beautiful gardens within. We lazed about in the heat of the afternoon reading. We are reading the Iliad (Al) and the Odyssey (Sally) It's been 35 years since we last read them and decided it was time to do so again. Many times during our sightseeing in the Mediterranean reference is made to Homer and his works. We head for Greece next so we want to be up on our Greek Gods and mythology :-> love and God Bless
Love Sally and Al
Croatia | Otak Hvar | Stari Grad
Croatia | Otak Hvar | Stari Grad
July 7, 2007
Hi, Had a lovely day in Stari Grad. Found two good grocery stores, butcher, and fresh fruit and vegetable market. We walked around the old town and enjoyed the narrow streets and architecture. We met a nice couple from Ohio and exchanged tales. We did some work on the boat and caught up on our emails. We had cocktails with Clive again and came home to grill. Thats all for Artemis today. love and God Bless
Love Sally and Al
July 6, 2007
Hi, The winds died down after dinner so we did walk to town last night for the Folk Music/Dance performance. It was set up outside, theater in the round style down by the bay. It was a beautiful night and the performance was great fun. The Folk Singers were eight men and the basses were fantastic (low,low notes). A visiting Italian Folk Dance group performed and then the local sword dancers. The Korcula Sword Dance has been performed for over 400 years and was quite fun. We had a quiet, restful night at anchorage.
Croatia | Otak Hvar | Stari Grad
We left at 8:30 and motored (winds on the nose) eight hours to Stari Grad on Hvar Island. It was a beautiful day and the islands are quite spectacular so the day flew by. We picked up a mooring ball in Stari Grad. Clyde from Spain got in his dinghy and helped up tie off. The help was much appreciated as we had not picked up a mooring ball yet and he gave us some good tips for next time. We've been invited over for a glass of wine. We plan to stay here through the weekend and take a bus over to Hvar one day. Happy weekend. (of course everyday is a weekend to us) Love and God Bless Sally and Al Had an interesting conversation aboard our English/Spanish friends boat. George from Croatia, Mickey from Bosnia, and Clyde from England.
Love Sally and Al
Croatia | Otok Korcula | Korcula | Folk Dancers - The Sword Dance
July 5, 2007
Hi, Well we had lots of excitement for the Fourth of July. We woke up just before midnight to the wind howling and boats dragging anchor. We put out fenders and ran our engine for an hour as the front moved through. We didn't drag but many boats around us did and one ended up on the small islet just behind us. Nothing anyone could do as everyone had their own boats to contend with. They were in no danger but a poor place to be :-( We went back to bed around 1:30 then another front came through abou t3:00 and we ran our engine again for 45 minutes. Not a restful night. We slept in this morning and the boat on the islet was off and gone when we got up. We stayed on the boat all day. Al did some Sikkens and AIS install work. I read cruising guides deciding where we'll go next. Al's reading the Iliad and I'm reading the Odyssey. Both take place in the Med and lots of references to places we've been or are going to. It's a bit cooler with NW winds gusting all day. We did move further up into the anchorage as we came close to the islet last night but our anchor held. When we hauled it up it was a tough pull so we were set good but we'll sleep better knowing we're further away from the islet. Unless it really quiets down we won't be able to leave the boat to go to the Folk Dance performance. I especially wanted to see the Sword dance. Oh well perhaps another port. Love and God Bless
Love Sally and Al
Croatia | Otok Korcula | Croatai has the BEST pizza
Croatia | Otok Korcula | Uvala Luka| Korcula
July 4, 2007
Hi, Happy Fourth of July. We don't have any other Americans in our anchorage tonight so we are on our own. We have no other crew on board this year to help us sing the Star Spangled Banner. Last year Judy, Larry and Mike were aboard as we were crossing the North Atlantic. We had a lovely day in Korcula today. It's a cute touristy town. Lots of shops, narrow winding streets down to the sea. We visited the cathedral and walked by Marco Polo's birthplace. Maybe we'll take the tour tomorrow. We had great pizza at Pepe's Pizzeria on the terrace overlooking the bay. Al got a haircut. When the girl was done she gave him a mirror to check out the back. He gasped and pointed at the bald spot. She laughed and said that's the new "in" style. We found a place to fill our wine bottles but it was closed. We'll do that tomorrow too. We plan to stay another night in this anchorage because on Thursday there's a folk dance and music performance in front of the gates to the city. We're looking forward to a night on the town. Love and God Bless
Love Sally and Al
Croatia | Otok Korcula | Uvala Luka
Croatia | Otok Korcula | Uvala Luka
Croatia | Otok Korcula|| Korcula
July 3, 2007
Hi, Had a few sprinkles during the night and the wind switched our of the SE. We decided to move to a new island and anchorage. We sailed to Korcula Island and anchored in Uvala Luka. It's a neat all weather anchorage near the town of Korcula. We traveled by a ship building yard as we entered into the anchorage. Ship repairs, agriculture, wine making and quarrying are the main industries here. We took a dinghy ride into town and picked up some beef for supper. Then we took a cocktail dinghy ride around the surrounding islands. What a beautiful area. The mountains on the mainland to the east and the red tiled roofs, Cathedral, old city walls, and towers of Korcula make a very picturesque setting. We plan to walk to town and see the sights tomorrow. Marco Polo was born in a house near the cathedral. We continue to enjoy the warm Mediterranean water and take a swim each evening. SO refreshing. The boats like to anchor close here and hang their fenders out. We're use to big open spaces between theboats on lake Superior. We come in and are so careful about where we anchor and then five more boats come in and anchor on top of us. Love and God Bless
Love Sally and Al
July 2, 2007
Hi, We met some more Minnesotans today from Minnetonka, Noel Coon. He use to have a boat (Captain Cool)in Port Superior and would do the Trans Superior back in the 70's. Now he has a large cruiser. He left Lake Superior last September, went out the St. Lawrence Seaway and wintered in the Carribean. It's funny how we met them. His daughter was sitting on a fur covered scooter with a fur Viking helmet on getting her picture taken. Someone said she looked like an Alaskan Viking and I said, "No a Minnesota Viking." She replied, "I am from Minnesota..." We met another man when walking. He lives here and he use to be Chief Engineer on a ship hauling grain to Duluth. It's a small, small world. It's one of the great parts of cruising...the people we meet. Al spent most of the day working on a new gismo he picked up when we were home. It's called AIS and it identifies and tracks all ships over 300 ton. It will be a great help when making night passages in busy shipping areas. Now if he can just get it working... We are enjoying another lovely evening in Poluce, on Otok Mljet. Al is finally discovering we can slow down and not change ports every day :-> Love and God Bless
Love Sally and Al
Croatia | Otok Mljet | Miljet National Park | Pomina anchorage
Croatia | Otok Mljet | Miljet National Park | Poluce | Monastery of St. Mary
July 1, 2007
Hi, We had a great day in Poluce on Mljet. We took the dinghy to shore and walk along the waterfront. We bought a ticket for 90 kuna (about $18) per person. That include our entrance into the National Park, bus ticket to the lakes and a ferry ride to an island with a Benedictine Monastery of St. Mary . We decided to walk over to the lakes as there was a nice path through the woods and we wanted the exercise.
Croatia | Otok Mljet | Polmena |Benedictine Monastery of St. Mary on the small island
After visiting the lakes we walked to Pomena another town in the National Park. On our way back to Poluce we got a little lost but a Park Service van came by and he gave us a ride to the road that would take us back to our boat :-> We took a dinghy ride around islands in the vicinity. Then we came back for a swim. We met a guy from Australia who offered to give us his cruising tips for Croatia so we plan to visit in the morning with our flash drive. We met another boat from Montreal Canada heading for Israel, Cypress and then Turkey. While walking we met a family from Chicago (originally from Buenos Aries). Parents are Physicists who come every summer to work at a Nuclear Plant in Switzerland and then take their kids somewhere in Europe for a vacation. We also met a young couple from a suburb of Rochester NY. It's always so fun to meet new people and hear how they came to be where they are today. We plan to spend another day here tomorrow. Love and God Bless
Love Sally and Al
