The Dalmatian Coast
We left our anchorage behind a small island near Tivat in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro and headed north. We figured we could spend about 3 weeks in Croatia - a country that has been on my bucket list for decades, and still retain enough Schengen time to get to Malta which is where we plan to leave Meraki over the holidays. It wasn’t enough time to see very much - there are over 1300 islands in Croatia, but we had come this far and we didn’t want to miss it.
As you round the point, when exiting from the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro, you are already in Croatia. The border divides the peninsula to the north.
If you look at the east coast of the Adriatic you will see that Croatia got most of the coastline and therefore nearly all the tourists. Its’ almost 4,000 miles of Adriatic Sea coast are dotted with caves, secret beaches, tiny islands, and Medieval towns. Bosnia-Herzegovina, on the other hand, looks landlocked — but take a closer look at the map. It actually has a small stretch of shoreline, but you could walk across it in an afternoon. This is called the Neum corridor, and it cuts Croatia in two. The twelve miles of Bosnia-Herzegovinian coastline separate the Dubrovnik region from the rest of Croatia to the north. The Neum corridor gives Bosnia-Herzegovina a shorter coastline than any other nation on earth aside from Monaco.
Just last summer Croatia officially opened the Peljesac Bridge, connecting the two parts of the country's Adriatic coast divided by Bosnian territory. The 2.4-kilometer-long (1.5 mile) cable-stayed bridge had been in the works since 2007, though construction did not start in earnest until 2017, when the European Union put up €357 million, or about 85% of the cost of the project.
We cruised north and, as instructed, we stayed outside of all the islands without making any stops before arriving at the customs dock in Dubrovnik to check-in and complete formalities. Along the coast we saw several towers where Croatian officials monitor boat traffic in their waters. We did as we were told and radioed Port Authority as soon as we arrived. It was a simple process to check in, and once legal, we entered a marina where we would stay for a couple of days.
The next day we took an Uber into Old Town. We had purchased Dubrovnik City Passes which provide access to many of the historical-cultural monuments and also includes free public transportation on the buses within the city.
The Dubrovnik City Walls are the city’s dominant landmark. The Old City is completely surrounded by stone walls. Construction began in the 9th century and the entire city was completely enclosed between the 11th and 13th centuries. Built to protect the city from war and epidemics, it stretches for a full 2+ kilometers (1.3 miles), and reaches a peak height of 25 meters (83 feet). It includes an immense system of forts, bastions, and walkways.
We spent several hours exploring the walls and perusing the Maritime Museum, the Museum of Modern Art and the Marin Držić House. We then continued up the hill outside of the Old City to the ticket booth for the Dubrovnik Cable Car. The ride takes but three and a half minutes up to the top of Srd Hill, 405m (over 1300 ft) above sea level, but without doubt the best views of Dubrovnik and the surrounding area are experienced from here!
Speaking of Srd Hill, the Croatian language is quite difficult to grasp. The alphabet has 30 letters in total; there is no q, w, x or y, but there are the letters č, ć, dž, đ, lj, nj, š and ž. The difficulty for me lies in the fact that Croatian seems to take issue with vowels. For example, VRHNJE means cream, the word for carrot is MRKVA and TRG is square. How does one pronounce those words? Translating labels at the grocery store is crazy hard and reading street signs is also nuts - even when attempting to translate from Serbian.
In truth however, it was not much of a hardship. Croatians get 8 years of english study in primary and secondary school. Given that 20% of the economy is from tourism it makes sense. Additionally, having joined the Schengen area, as well as the euro zone on Jan. 1st, they have seen a huge uptick in EU visitors - including travelers coming just for the weekend. Needless to say, I very quickly gave up trying to learn to say even the simplest things.
So many goodies!
Night vision camera, water-maker replacement valve, mosquito coils, impellers, impeller puller, Thai curry paste, power bars, coffee, swimsuits…
We spent the following day cleaning the boat, Tom repaired the anchor light, and I bought some fuel for Raki and re-provisioned. We also strolled through the marina neighborhood down to the public beach. Joanie arrived from Alaska the following morning and she brought with her a suitcase full of things we’d ordered: spare parts, equipment and “boat” improvement items, along with some yummy treats from home and a few clothes from my closet.
We took in the sights of Dubrovnik that evening but in truth we couldn’t wait to leave the busyness of the marina the next morning and head for a quiet anchorage. It was super hot, made worse by the surrounding boats and concrete docks. Furthermore, there’s no better way to cool down than swimming - which is prohibited within the marina. We had to go!
Having decided to take the days as they came with no real plan other than to relax, play and explore, the following morning we cruised for just a couple of hours to an overlooked bay on the mainland. It was a pleasant afternoon and we even gave a boat tour to an admirer, a retired sea captain/fisherman, who was anchored nearby and had been interested in Nordhavns for some time. After dinner as evening approached, Joanie noticed a storm front outside the bay. Shortly afterwards, our friendly sea captain came back and said we were in for a big thunderstorm and advised us to follow him to the other side of the bay where it would be more protected. It was nearly dark, and we completely trust our anchor, so we were reluctant to move. But, local knowledge is worth heeding so without much delay we set out across the bay. It took a couple of tries to get the anchor to catch in the mud, but once it was set, we sat and waited for the storm. As it turned out we got plenty of rain that night but the wind didn’t increase to alarming speeds. It did, however, bring with it a relentless swell and we had a very turbulent and uncomfortable night.
Mljet National Park
We left quite early the next morning, not very rested, and headed north-west. After a gentle cruise and a couple of hours we stern tied at the island of Mljet in the Mljet National Park. We spent the day there unwinding, swimming and paddle boarding and observed entire schools of Mediterranean Flyingfish (Cheilopogon heterurus). They really do fly!
The weather predictions indicated a much larger storm approaching within a few days so we headed for an anchorage where we would be protected for the duration. We found ourselves in a small cove on the island of Lastovo within Lastovo Island Nature Park. The park includes 46 islands, islets, and rocks, including the largest - Lastovo Island, the only inhabited island inside the park. Shortly after getting our stern lines secured to the rocks, the park rangers motored into the bay. We paid the park fee and chatted for a bit. I asked them if there was a good restaurant anywhere nearby and they suggested one on the other side of the island. One of them also mentioned that he owned a small winery and asked if we wanted to try some local wine. DUH! Less than an hour later they returned with a couple of bottles of red table wine!
The following day we took Raki across our private cove, through a narrow channel, under a bridge, and then out across another large bay to the town of Ubli. It was super windy, the waves were kicking up and we were wet within minutes of getting in the dinghy but it was blazing hot and we didn’t mind. We soldiered on and after tying up, we walked to the grocery store for a few assorted (and completely unnecessary) things. We then walked on to the recommended restaurant for a late lunch. Holy Smokes! Yes, we were famished, but we got THE best pizzas ever. Perfect chewy yet crispy, thin crust, incredibly seasoned homemade tomato sauce and the freshest seafood and garden toppings. But even beyond that was a salad I could eat every day for the rest of my life! (mixed greens, arugula, cherry tomatoes, oranges, feta, grilled shrimp, sunflower seeds with a slightly sweet mustard dressing - divine!) The food was so amazing we immediately made a reservation for dinner the following night and left there completely satiated and content.
We had barely begun our transit home across the choppy seas when the dinghy motor started coughing and sputtering and then quit altogether. Tom cranked on it again and again but each time he put it into gear the engine died. The sun was dropping lower in the sky and the wind gusts were bearing down on us. There was nothing to do but start rowing. We took turns powering into the strong head wind and waves. As we approached the narrows and the bridge, the water started roiling and I was convinced, despite pulling my hardest, that we were not making any forward progress. Joanie continued her encouraging banter and eventually we made it under the bridge and through the narrows. Needless to say we made our way home to Meraki, arriving fairly exhausted having rowed into the wind for an 1.5 hours. Tom immediately began servicing the engine and determined that I had either purchased bad fuel or mistakenly filled our jug with diesel back in Dubrovnik. He flushed it out and ran it around the bay a few times before concluding it was once again good to go.
Our meal the following night was also memorable. The restaurants’ menu reflects the owner’s passion for local and Spanish cuisine and combines traditional Dalmatian flavors with a variety of different cultures using mostly their own fresh, homegrown and local ingredients. They have created something unique, innovative and beyond description! Save for the ferry from Split and Dubrovnik which provides easy access to the town of Lastovo, the village of Ubli has little to offer save for this little gem which should not be missed!
We continued to pay close attention to the weather forecasts and considered moving across our little cove the next day but in the end we decided our side would be fine - we simply would feel safer swinging on our anchor rather than shore tied. So after some slight adjustments we settled in. Everyone knows that forecasting the weather is difficult at best and so often inaccurate. This is compounded in the Mediterranean because the region has a nearly closed sea, surrounded by mountains from which numerous rivers originate. This results in a lot of interaction between oceanic–atmospheric–hydrological processes that play a huge role on extreme weather events. We were glad we had decided to free swing on anchor that night as the predicted wind speed proved accurate but the direction, at least in our little cove, was completely backwards and likely would have left us on the rocky shore.
We caught up on our sleep, snorkeled, swam ashore and clambered up the trail to catch the view out to sea, cooked, talked, laughed and otherwise played hard until we were ready to move along. We had set our sights on the Island of Vis but made a last minute detour just an hour into our transit as the aftermath of the storm was creating choppy confused seas and the voyage was super rough. A night in the bay of Gradina proved a great pitstop and we continued on to Vis the next day.
Anchored in the large broad bay of Komiza on the island of Vis turned out to be the perfect jumping off spot to visit the Blue Cave just 9 km (5.5 miles) away in the Bay of Balum on the neighboring island of Beševo. Biševo Island, right in the center of the Dalmatian archipelago is only a few square miles in size. It’s composed of limestone rock and is the most remote inhabited Croatian Island with just 15 residents. We had read that it’s best to arrive for the tour early to avoid long wait times so we motored across to the moorings by 8am. From there a small taxi boat takes you ashore to buy tickets before boarding an even smaller tour boat which takes you around the point and into the cave.
The cave is the result of sea erosion of the surrounding limestone. The entrance is narrow and you have to duck to get through -1.5m high (5ft) and 2.5m wide (8ft). It is smaller than I imagined inside - but there is space for 4 small tour boats at one time. A silver-blue light illuminates the space inside as the sunlight bounces off the sandy seabed through a crack in the arched roof. It is nothing short of magical - well worth the entrance fee.
We exited the cave and returned to Meraki by mid morning, pulled anchor and circled around to the north side of the island. We picked up a mooring buoy, a first for us, in Vis Harbor. Vis has been ruled by many empires – British, Venetian, Ottoman, Italian, and Yugoslav and it remained inaccessible and off-limits for the longest time as it served as a Yugoslav military base from 1950 to 1989. The island has a sleepy, and low-key vibe. It exemplifies what the Dalmatians call fjaka (pronounced fyaka) meaning a relaxed way of life.
We did some window shopping, visited the farmers market and picked up fresh fruit and samples of meat and cheese. The next evening we strolled the oldest neighborhood of Kut, ate a traditional Croatian dinner at a very fancy garden restaurant which we followed up with delicious gelato found on the backstreets of the village.
Rotten lava rock that broke off its base.
We had one more night before heading into the big city of Split so we found a remote anchorage for one final swim. We chose a super narrow v-shaped bay (room for only us) and tied ourselves to shore. The surrounding shoreline was sharp, jagged lava rock which made securing the lines an exercise in balance and finesse while attempting to remain unscathed. We were expecting high winds again so we added an extra mid-ships line on the upwind side after one of the boulders I’d selected to tie onto broke off at its base during the afternoon. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the wind came from the opposite direction than predicted and we wished we had added two mid-ships lines - one from each side. Yet another lesson learned. We had a final swim and headed into Split.
We stayed in a marina in Kaštela Bay half way between Split and Trogir and spent one day exploring each community. We walked the streets of the Green Market in Trogir and marveled at the beautifully displayed, packaged and bottled delicacies. We bought truffle oil, honeyed nuts and dried fruit, olive oil and sweets. We tried on sun hats and enjoyed cold drinks beside the quay. The next day in Split we visited the Diocletian Palace - one of the best preserved monuments of Roman architecture in the world, and we happened onto a sphinx! Who knew there are Sphinxes at the Palace?
When I think of sphinxes, ancient Egypt come to mind. So why has the symbol of Egypt, thousands of kilometers away, been standing for centuries in the center of Split? Turns out Roman Emperor Diocletian was fascinated with Egyptian culture and decorated the Palace with numerous 3500-year-old granite sphinxes, thought to have originated from of Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III. Only three have survived the centuries. This particular sphinx is made from African black granite. It is called an androsphinx - a creature with the body of a lion and the head of a human, but its limbs end in human arms, instead of the claws of a lion.
On our last morning in the marina we were sitting on the back deck discussing the day when I heard a familiar voice. I could have sworn I recognized the New Zealand accent I was hearing. I looked across the dock to the sailboat opposite us and there was Nick Hathaway from 45 Degrees Sailing, an instructional Youtube channel we have been following for years. He smiled at me as I stared somewhat dumbstruck, and I told him that we had learned quite a bit from him. He laughed, stating that he wasn’t aware he’d reached the motor yacht cruisers! He came aboard and we chatted briefly before they slipped their lines and sailed off. Amongst other things, we learned about stern tying, Med mooring and picking up a mooring buoy single-handed from him. We learned about weather indicators and preparing for storms. His channel is both educational and entertaining. He delivers his instruction with a dry sense of humor and a clever wittiness. He has over 20 years of experience in the yachting industry and I feel fortunate to have met him. Especially so, as he was only in the marina for three hours.
Our Croatian cruise had come to an end. Joanie departed for Alaska at the crack of dawn the next morning and we headed south shortly afterwards towards Dubrovnik to exit the country. There are so many wonderful hidden pockets of natural beauty here, made even more special by sharing it with a friend. We are so grateful for our time together and treasure our shared experiences.
