Croatian Sailing
When we arrived in Split it was another gloomy day and it didn’t seem as though it would be nice weather for the week of sailing ahead, however the next day it was a beautiful warm day with blue skies and the water was even a crystal blue. I checked into my boat hoping to get aboard with a few of the people I’d befriended on my way down on the Eastern Trekker to Split. Luckily I jumped on board with Tanya and Leigh so I had some friends who I already knew and would get another week with two familiar Aussie faces.
We set sail and headed toward our first destination, Hvar, the first of many beautiful Croatian Islands I was to see on this sailing trip. On the way we stopped for a swim stop in the amazing Adriatic sea, the water was great! After a few beers on the deck we all got to introductions, meeting our fantastic guide Carlos, and I also met a whole group of really fun and friendly people, this was just a taste for the fun times and great memories that were to come. Nic, Jimmy, Mr. Craig Evans.. Ha-ha all of them were a great bunch of characters that made me laugh until my sides hurt. We walked around the old town with Carlos with a brief orientation walk and saw the old ammunitions storehouse as well as a few really cool old buildings such as the bell/clock tower. After the walk Finn, Robbie and I (Finn and Robbie who were also doing the sail but unfortunately weren’t on my ship) sat down to dinner and we bumped into Jackie another girl who we’d met on Eastern Trekker who happened to be doing the sailing as well. Later that evening I met up with a group of people from the ships and we had a great night out at the local night spot. I had a few Tequila Boom Booms, which is basically a tequila shot but you wear an army helmet and get smashed in the head before you drink it ha-ha.. They hit you quite hard. (the drink and the barman lol).
The next morning we headed off early towards the Island of Mjet a small quiet island that houses a national park with a lake and cathedral, but not before another swim stop and a bit of a leisurely morning sitting around on the floaties and lilos. A few of us took a stroll around the island and got some spectacular photos of the beautiful scenery and the beautiful sunset. We had a great dinner back on board the ship that evening, the captain’s dinner that included risotto and a whole baked locally caught fresh fish. The food onboard was amazing! Lunches were 3 course meals. I think I might have to get to the gym when I get back to burn off some of this extra weight. After a relatively quiet night in Mjet we hit the hay prepared for another day.
Then it was a sail to the jewel of the Adriatic coast, Dubrovnik, this old town had a magnificent waterfront fortress that protected the city, apparently it’s never been breached, which the Croatians are quite proud of. We took a stroll through the city and climbed the walls to get some great snapshots of the contrasting landscape with high hills running down to the water. Carlos also gave us quite the history lesson on the former Yugoslavia and the tensions that still exist today between many of the Slavic speaking countries. As the weather was hot Tanya, Leigh and I also made our way over to a swim spot located next to the walls. You could also do a bit of jumping off the rocks there into the water. That night we also had a bit of a party evening planned and I got myself a bucket cocktail (1L), a little different to your typical pint or glass ha-ha. We moved to a few different places and naturally Gingy came along for the party before another night of rest preparing for a tough day of tanning and swimming and gorging on amazing cuisine.
Korcula was our next destination, the place where Marco Polo was allegedly born, although there are many skeptics who would disagree. We had a look about town and saw the old church and the “birth house” of Marco Polo. That night we had a cheaper alternative to going out, we all pitched in and had our own little beach party with our own buckets of a concoction that Justin and Brandy (a Texan couple from Dallas) made up, it was a great night of fun, we all really bonded that night and got to know each other, we even got to meet up with Monica (another guide) and her travellers (the girls boat ha-ha). Everyone got friendly with Gingy and he became one of the crew thereafter.
After another sail we headed back to the mainland to stop at the seaside town of Makarska, here we took a look about town and headed down to the beach where you could hire jet skiis and paddle boats, six of us, Tommy, Mr. Evans, Nic, Justin and Brandy and myself hired a boat and had a bit of fun out in the water paddling around and going down the onboard slide for a swim in the water. It was a great day, then we made our way back for a beer in the afternoon in preparation for our party in the cave bar later that night. The night club was made in a cave along the shoreline. We had a fun night dancing and then made our way back to the boat for a another rest. Unfortunately I missed out on my room that night as Nic had brought a girl back haha, we came to an arrangement, a hat on the door was a sign for “occupied”. So I bunked in another bed that night, hopefully he had fun! We all gave him a bit of a stirring in the morning.
The following day took us to the old Croatian pirate island of Pucisca, at the port of Omis, a group of us had a look around the town and then made our way up to the old fortress at the top of the hill, it was quite a hike but Gingy and I both made it up eventually. That evening, due to the appropriateness of the location we had a pirate party with more bucket cocktails on the beachside. We even had some girls who dressed up as Mexican stowaways!
We made our way back to Split the following day and unfortunately after a week of good weather it was a little too choppy to stop for a swim stop that day. But no matter considering how lucky we were during the rest of the course of the sail. We explored Split when we got back there and prepared for our final night out together before we said our final goodbyes. We even had a little presentation for Carlos getting him a sex in the city style necklace ha-ha. Luckily I found out I’d have the pleasure of having Carlos as my guide for another week as he was running my Eastern Trekker back up to Prague the following day. And even better was that a few more of the people on board, Kristina, Monica (the guide) and Michelle were also joining me for the trek. =)
