Travel – Page 8 – Sailing Azure Seas

Mir to Sali

It sounds like the weather is divine everywhere, but we have had a week of beautiful weather here, after only two days of rain last week. We are swimming every day, as the days are still warm but the nights are beautifully cool. Frosty and Louise, we try to convince Lesley that we melted on those hot August nights, she hardly believes us.

There was no shop in Mir and we were shy of a few things for dinner, including bread. However, no sooner had we finished our swim, the fruit and vegetable man came to visit us. Toni’s supermarket visits us just before we start dinner, so his timing is impeccable. It is a whole new meaning to ‘having the groceries delivered’.

Home Delivery? — Toni’s Home Delivery at Mir

We sailed the full scope of Luka Telascica, a large natural harbour at the Southern approach to Dugi Otok. We moored at Mir, very close to the entrance and we wanted to see the whole harbour so we went on a tour of the whole bay. We sailed past one island with wild donkeys, who became very alert when we yelled out “donkeys”!

To get to Sali, we had to go through a narrow passage between Dugi Otok and Otok Kornat. The Prolaz Proversa Velachannel is 2.2 metres at the shallowest point with an east going current. The Thompsons pilot book says never to be attempted in a bora which blows strongly here or a sirocco, which creates big seas.

Passage between Kornat Island and Dugi Otok

We had a swim at a little island before lunch and then sailed into Sali. Lesley, James and I went for a swim again later in the afternoon, but there were a surfeit of black sea urchins (read stingy urchins), so I held back. James went back to Mercier. Lesley and I continued around a wonderul seaside path until we found a rocky beach with a handhold and no sea urchins. We were swimming and talking and the lady next to us asked where we were from. Her name is Marijan (spelling?), she was born in Sali but emigrated to the US with her parents in the late 60’s. Her parents have moved back to Sali. She lives in New Jersey and loves to visit them and swim here. We had a lovely chat, and she showed us the way over the hill into town, past her parent’s bouganvillea covered home.

On our travels we passed a tiny chapel, so beautiful dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary who looks after fisherman and we hope, sailors.

Sheltered Bay of Milna, Split and Trogrir

There has been a change in Croatia; the weather is changeable and the crowds seem to be diminishing as well.

Its been busy, Milna was very quiet but enjoyable, but we were too lazy to blog. Split was busy and our friend, Lesley joined us for the next sector of Mercier’s Voyage.

In Milna, we stayed at Marina Vlaska which is at the mouth of the harbour going into Milna. There were several benefits to staying here. Great showers, beautiful swimming beach right around the corner ( there could be no swimming in Milna Bay, too dirty) and the Illyrian Restaurant, which along with Croatian food, did a great Thai Curry and Sate. We did walk into Milna town, with its great chill out bars, but Marina Vlaska was the place to be.

From here it was an easy trip up to Split, which was a busy town but not as busy as the week earlier. Italian schools went back on Monday and we haven’t heard nearly as many Italian accents since then.

James welcoming Lesley with Aperol Spritz

Chill out Vis

On Thursday evening, we visited the crew of Nick of Time, Gloria, Alan and Bill on board their very plush Moody 45. We hear about life in Adelaide and the competitive evening card games, where sheep stations are on the line. Before dark, we jump back into the zodiac and set a date for dinner Friday night.

On Friday morning, we take the zodiac out for a spin and do a complete tour of the Bay of Vis for a fish eye view of the beaches and houses along the water front. Some houses are stone walls standing roofless and you realise they would be snapped up in a heartbeat if it were on Sydney Harbour. The stone from this part of the world is a matt white, beautiful and enduring. You can see how white the rock is at each islands waterline.

Later in the afternoon, we decide to walk up the hill to Fort George, it’s a 2.5 kilometre walk up the hill to see this Bristish Fortress built in 1813. A quick aside, we see that Vis has a cricket team, left over from circa 1813 when the British introduced cricket and the locals took it up for spirited matches on the oval.

We aren’t sure that we will find anything at Fort George, just bastion walls that we can see from the water. The views would be worth the trip. We pass the turn offs for several nude beaches on the way up. The signage was very interesting.

We almost didn’t go into the Fort itself, it was so quiet and menacing. Merro being the intrepid traveller walks into the fort; so I follow past fallen wood and giant holes encased in safety nets. We turn a corner and there is a red carpet in the ruins. We follow the red carpet, seeing huge wooden doors up ahead we go further into this labyrinth to Vis’s latest Chill Out Bar.

Fort George Chill Out Bar - note rope tied to trees for safety rail. OHS? — Fort George Chill Out Bar – note rope tied to trees for safety rail. OHS?

We truly had no idea that this was here. They have music here and the young Taiwainese waitress, 19, told us that Fort George opened in June and they hoped to put in a full kitchen. It may have begun as a pop up bar for Yacht Week crews but was morphing into a inventive Chill out bar. 19 also mentioned that they have music and the views at Sunset were definitely worth a visit.

Friday evening brings Gloria, Alan and Bill back for a quick drink on Mercier and we decide to try a Trip Advisor tip, Konoba Lola’s. Twilight is fast turning into night. You walk up three stone streets via narrow laneways and stairs. You walk into a stone walled courtyard and the tables are separated in garden rooms. Here the ‘walls’ are 3 foot tall hedges of rosemary and lavender, bathed in candlelight. All the furniture seem to be charming little pieces from estate sales. The wine cooler was an old enamel pitcher. Food was imaginative, local produce and fish or beef. A gorgeous fountain in the middle hedge with a red Alice sofa – just magical.

Courtyard garden of Lola's. Tables seperated by hedges and fountains. — Courtyard garden that is Lola’s. Tables separated by hedges and fountains.

Croatia has been a marvelous place, not the least for meeting sailors from home. We are really enjoying these pleasant interludes during our travel. We are in Brac now and looking forward to Lesley Sommerville’s visit. Friendships, new and old, are a highlight of travelling.

Stari Grad, Hvar

We motored over to Stari Grad; it seemed quiet. The only sign of activity are the yachts moorning on the quay. It was midday and taciturn Stari Grad seems to go home for lunch. We walked along the bay in the heat. The town is scenic but the walk toward the ferry quay is enticing. We wandered towards the shade of a pine covered path, we witnessed picnics virtually in the water.

We found a very nice cafe, under fragrant pine trees, with great music. You could jump down a few stairs and go for a swim, come up and have a shower and sit back down to your piccolo latte.

About 4PM, the town came to life and you could see its vitality return and Stari Grad became vibrant. Children, dogs and their minders were walking up and down the handsome white stoned Novo Riva, with yachts in the center of small fishing boats and giant day tripper boats. Music coming from boats and the chatter of friends enliven the atmoshpere, hard to believe that it is the same town we landed in four hours earlier.

Up at the top towards the Trig Stepjana Radica, we walk along the bay towards the market.

At the market, all the fruit and many of the veggies are covered in bees. The stall holders are stoical and set up sacrificial watermelons, so the bees will leave everyone alone but we think it is just successful in attracting more bees. Bees come back to Mercier, drunk on grapes. We take the grapes outside and send the staggering bees home.

Sacrifial Watermelon — Sacrificial Watermelon

Last night, we met up with the crew of Sarayu, Dennis, Bosjana and Caroline, the five of us went to a lovely restaurant, Jurin Podrum in one of the alleys parallel to the Quay. We talked about passages and directions, it has been great catching up with other Aussies. We are sharing the same experiences, it’s a powerful tonic.

Moreska Korcula

Korcula is a lovely island northwest of Dubrovnik, with a walled city fortress and history going back hundreds of years. Francesco Da Mosto did a documentary (Francesco’s Mediterranean Voyage Ep.3) including the Moreska Korcula or the traditional sword dance of Korcula. In this land narrated by its history of invaders, this story is about a lovely girl who is captured by the Black Prince and saved by the Korculean prince.

We were in Korcula on the night the Moreska was playing and had a most interesting evening. First people watching as every seat was taken in the ‘theatre’ space, the welcome by a CJ Craig* look alike MC in five languages, traditional songs sung acapella by the Korcula equivalent to the Circular Quay chorus and finally the Moreska itself. Here are a few photos.

The Black Prince taunting the Korculeans

Face Off with the Princess in the background

Sparks fly off the swords, the good guys win but the interesting fact is that this is a family tradition. These men are following in the footsteps of their fathers, grandfathers and other ancestors. Croatia is a land of tradition and new beginnings.

* CJ Craig of West Wing, played by Alison Janney.

Polace (Mljet) – Korcula

Polace (Mljet) is a lovely harbour on a very very long island. Mljet is about 388 sq miles, comprised mostly of pine forests and a large national park.

In Polace, we went to Joseph’s Restaurant and tied stern to, we buy dinner and the mooring is free. In this case, the restaurant reminds me of a Mexican Cantina, the decor is rough and ready but the service is friendly and food is fresh and simply cooked. We can easily walk all of Polace which is in a national park and has its own Roman ruins of an ancient Palazzo.

We were moored next to a large gullet and it was amazing to see this ship ‘park’ next to us, with apparent ease.

Badjia, a small island off Korcula. The gullet is the timber boat on the left.

We left the next morning and only motored for about 40 minutes, when we pulled into a protected bay almost enclosed by islands. It was too deep to anchor but we could have a swim because Mercier just drifted quietly. Refreshed, we proceed on to Korcula.

Otok Korcula is the island of Korcula and there is also an ancient fortress town of Korcula, smaller than Dubrovnik but still formidable.

City Steps into Korcula, note the Venetian crest in the wall

You can look over the walls and see yachts, fishing boats, para-sailing, wind surfers, swimmers and divers. Lovely restaurants have a line of tables against the bastion wall, so you can look out to the island of Badjia and other towns on the coast.

It is now high season, Korcula is bustling, a veritable hive of activity. We walk the Bastion walk and it’s impossible to walk together, there are so many other tourists. We hear languages from dozens of countries, including quite a few Americans and Australians.

Dubrovnik- Walking the Bastion

The city walls of Dubrovnik deliver many exciting panoramas, you walk the perimeter of the city at varying heights and look inward into the resilient city or out to the busy sea. The walls are 1940 meters in length and up to 25 meters high. Dubrovnik Card also tells us that there are three forts, 16 towers and 6 bastions.

View out to see from the Bastion — View out to sea from the Bastion

Today was forecast to be cloudy, possibly rainy and windy. We stowed everything down below on the boat and took the bus into town.

The merits of walking the bastion mean that you climb many stairs; the pay off is that the view is enhanced. You get a look at life not from street level but from a loftier perspective. We are view junkies, so we take the stairs.

We walk for a kilometer around the top of the wall from Pile Gate towards the Bokar fort and then on to the Fort of St John. The sky was grey but looking over the Ploce Gate and mountains behind the city, dark storm clouds were threatening. We thought this might be the right time for a lunch break.

We walked down into a labyrinth of tiny streets and looked for an indoor restaurant. We could see that awnings were not going to keep us dry. We passed a few cafes, but a few large raindrops focussed the mind. We found a table free and ducked in for a dry lunch in a nice little Italian.

Not just rain, but hail. Awnings didn’t offer much protection.

After lunch we decide some indoor activities were in order and we went to the Rector’s Palace followed by the Maritime Museum.

Open courtyard at the Rector's Palace — Open courtyard at the Rector’s Palace

Three hours after those early raindrops, the skies cleared and we resumed the walk of the bastions with some lovely vistas.

Congratulations to Ben and Jacqueline for making my cousins, Lorraine and Fred, Grandparents. Welcome to the world, Aiden. Happy Birthday to cousin Sonya, & pals Kim and Charlene. Hope you are all spoiled. It was Lorraine and Ben’s birthday recently but they were just waiting for another happy event. Auguri, to you all.

Porto Montenegro throws a Party

Frosty and Louise have left us for a small Greek island, with a bar that you can drink at while your feet are wading in the water. After over 500 miles on Mercier, from Malta to Montenegro, another 10 hour drive with Rad through Albania, and a short taxi ride at 160Km per hour to Lefkada, we think they deserve a nice quiet drink with Marg. But we miss them. If you go into photo gallery and click on Kotor, you will see a few more photos of our stay in Montenegro.

John Stephens must have heard the sighs coming from Mercier and realised the loss of our playmates was causing us a bit of ennui, so he invited us to a party on Saturday night- a James Bond party. Well actually a Misahara jewelry launch* Hmm, what to wear? 35 degrees and sunny even at 6:00PM.

Porto Montenegro is glamourous and there were quite a few amazing dresses on the tall, slim local beauties. The violin & guitar duo added an air of sophistication to the event.

Conversations abounded about cruising in the local area and in Croatia with Aussies John Stephens and PM Marina Director Tony Browne. They are the fonts of local knowledge about sailing in this area.

Fellow Aussie John Stephen has been welcoming and a font of local knowledge — Fellow Aussie John Stephens has been so welcoming and a font of local knowledge

Tony Brown, ex Bruny Island, Aussie is the Marina Director. He has promised great tips for Croatian cruising. — Tony Browne, ex Bruny Island, Aussie is the Marina Director. He has promised great tips for Croatian cruising.

Then came Bond – James Bond, he plummeted off the pontoon into the bay for a high speed chase of the bad guys. That will teach them to spike his drink. Too many photos to add to the page, but click on Photo Gallery and then Bond.

*see the jewelry at www.mishara.com

The Bay of Kotor

On Monday, we motored over to Kotorski Zaljev, first arriving at the Islands off Perast via narrow straits, with steep green hills on either side of the water way. Think of it as motoring from the RPA in Pittwater up to Cottage Point. Just past half way, we come to the Islands off Perast. We went to the northern end and put down the anchor and had a swim. It was like swimming in the ‘Sound of Music’ with a remarkably alpine look.

We were swimming in an ancient ‘fjord’ created as the result of a drowned river valley, but the steep sided mountains made us feel like we were in northern Europe. We admired both small islands both with churches and their spires.

Otok Gospa id Skrpjela or Our Lady of the Rocks has distinctive blue domes and is a manmade island. According to the Thompsons, the island was created by sinking captured pirate ships with stones and sinking them on the reef. In 1452, they found an icon of the Virgin Mary on a stone and in 1630 built a church to her. Every year on 22 July, the townspeople of Perast go out and drop a stone on the reef.

Right next store the island of Sveti Djordje, the site of a very rich Benedictine Abbey. The cypress trees surrounding the Church are striking.

Perast was on the way to Kotor, Mercier is too big to tie up on the quay, but we motored slowly by the UNESCO protected former Venetian maritime center. A city of Venetian style palazzos line the foreshore and go up into the hills.

One afternoon, we passed some very well dressed people in front of a lovely stone building and I wondered if they were going to a wedding. As we came nearer we could see they were at the elegant entrance to the fruit and vegetable store.

Approaching Kotor, you see striking mountains, a long fortress wall, used to protect the city and possibly a cruise ship. At the top of the mountain is the Fortress of St John with only 1350 stairs to reach the top. On Monday night, we sat on a rooftop having dinner, listening to music and decided we would start the climb at 8AM on the next morning.

Just some of the stairs up to the fortress- the old town in the triangle below

Louise raced up the mountain, so she would have time to sketch with Frosty right behind her. James stayed with me, while I scheduled strategic stops to take early morning photos of Kotor and the bay.

It was a great start to the day.

Montenegro

We sailed through the confused seas off of Capo Santa Maria di Leuca, the point where the Ionian Sea and the Adriatic Sea meet. It was confused for several hours and not terribly comfortable.

The large yellow moon was so bright that the stars were very hard to see. Louise and I thought we would take photos. All the caveats for photography of night skies were broken – what good is a tripod on a lurching boat. We could barely keep the moon on the screen, our cameras turned into game consoles. We were giggling and shreiking as the red globe careened over the camera frame.

Midday the next day, we sailed into the Port of Bar, Montenegro. It is a very picturesque harbour and town, mountains coming down to meet the sea. The biggest activity seems to be a passeggiata at sunset, the whole town is out for a walk. During the afternoon it was very quiet but by night Bar comes alive.

Yesterday we left Bar and sailed northwest for a swim in Uvala Canj and then lunch. It was a beautiful spot for a swim and Mercier makes it easy to get off and on the boat. The water is very deep, so has a beautiful warm float on top of a very chilly pond of water.

Frosty’s towel must have blown off the rail and you could see it so clearly, he thought he would just be able to swim down and grab it. He realised once he hit the cold water and was no closer that it was 9 metres below us. That towel is Frosty’s gift to Montenegro.

After lunch we sailed a few more miles to the most photographed island in Montenegro, Sveti Stefan. Financed in the 15th Century by reclaiming loot from pirates, a family was able to buy the island, fortify it and build a church. In 1952, the whole island was converted to a luxury hotel. No cajoling could tempt James into leaving the boat, but the resort does look historic and luxurious at the same time.

We anchored off nearer to the swallow’s island and had a lovely barbeque. Along the way near U Canj, we came across two different rock formations abutting each other, this is a visual record between the Triassic-Jurassic Boundary. (Crne, Weissert, et all)

Red rock meets gray rock = Triassic meets Jurassic

Finally, to John and Jenni, so sorry to hear about your bingle, glad you are safe and sound in Italy. Recuperate quickly, enjoy being pampered and then enjoy Italy.

Category: Travel